Archives

A new study illustrates the real potential for contamination of globally sourced foods and proposes a conceptual framework of supply chain quality management. Various quality problems have been associated with foods and ingredients imported from China. There exists limited capacity of current regulatory bodies to police product flows, including lack of enforcement by the FDA, according to the new research.

Autophagy is a process by which a cell degrades its own components. In tumor cells, this mechanism is frequently initiated by anti-cancer therapy. It is not known why the cells respond by activating the catabolic process of autophagy. Researchers have now been able to show that blocking of autophagy makes cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy.

Cavities or not, your teeth could be in more trouble than you know because of a silent and destructive phenomenon called dental erosion. Scientists have found that the incidence of dental erosion, which is the steady loss of the teeth's protective enamel, is on the rise in the United States.

What makes you suddenly dart into the bakery when you spy chocolate-frosted donuts in the window, though you certainly hadn't planned on indulging? As you lick the frosting off your fingers, don't blame a lack of self-control. New research reveals how hunger works in the brain and the way neurons pull your strings to lunge for the sweet fried dough. The research demonstrates how our brain decides what to pay attention to in a world full of stimuli -- not just sweets.

Of all the times of life to give up smoking, a recent study shows that on retirement is a great time to kick the habit. The research showed that a total of 42.5 per cent of those who had recently retired had quit smoking, compared with 29.3 per cent of those in employment and 30.2 per cent for those who were already retired. The results indicate those who undergo the transition into retirement are more likely to quit smoking than those who do not.

New revelations have been made on possible ways to switch genes on and off that impacts on previous understandings of the biological process of how cells interpret their DNA. Until now, it had been presumed that in the chemical process of methylation (when a gene is turned on or turned off) a gene was stable and unchangeable.

Researchers trying to improve cancer immune therapy have made an unexpected find: They've produced the most accurate mouse model to date of inflammatory bowel disease, a cluster of conditions that afflict approximately 1.4 million Americans with abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea.

Dr. Giuseppe Giaccone, Chief of the Medical Oncology Branch at the National Cancer Institute, presented the final results from a positive double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial with talactoferrin alfa in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The data were presented at the 2008 Targeted Therapies for the Treatment of Lung Cancer meeting in Santa Monica, California. This was the second successful, randomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled trial with oral talactoferrin in NSCLC. The first was with talactoferrin in combination with first-line chemotherapy.

New guidelines for on-field treatment and emergency transport of young athletes with suspected neck injuries should recommend keeping both helmet and shoulder pads on for initial stabilization and transport, followed by removal of both, once the patient is in a controlled setting, according to new research.

Young, athletic, first-time shoulder dislocation patients benefit from arthroscopic surgery long term, according to a new study. The study found that for highly active patients, surgery, rather than conservative methods, yielded excellent results.