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Losing a limb can be a traumatic experience and, in some cases, emotional and physical pain can linger for years. To better understand the phenomenon, dubbed "phantom limb syndrome," a graduate student is inviting amputees to come forward and share their experiences for a major study.

Studying thousands of patients, Japanese researchers have found a strong link between tooth loss and increased risk of three cancers -- esophageal, head and neck, and lung. They suggest that preservation of teeth may decrease risk of developing these diseases.

Fertility researchers have used DNA fingerprinting for the first time to identify which embryos have implanted after in vitro fertilization and developed successfully to result in the births of healthy babies. The technique, combined with sampling cells from blastocysts before implantation in the womb, opens the way to pin-pointing a handful of genes that could be used to identify those blastocysts most likely to result in a successful pregnancy.

A study of Florida beaches has shown that wet sand and dry sand above the intertidal zone have significantly more fecal bacteria than near-shore seawater. Scientists researched whether indicator bacteria survive longer in sand relative to open water and found that all feces-derived bacteria were capable of enhanced growth and survival in sand, while in seawater the bacterial populations steadily decreased over time.

A chemical compound derived from vitamin A prevents cancer from forming and is being developed by the National Cancer Institute as a daily preventive pill. The compound, which still faces several rounds of clinical trials, successfully stopped normal cells from turning into cancer cells and inhibited the ability of tumors to grow and form blood vessels. If successful tests continue, researchers eventually hope to create a daily pill that would be taken as a cancer preventive.

Girls and children who have asthma and are exposed to tobacco smoke respond particularly well to montelukast (Singulair), a new study shows. Researchers also identified two biomarkers that may help physicians predict even more precisely which patients will benefit from montelukast.

To prepare for a return to the moon, researchers are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to lunar particles. The findings will influence the design of lunar bases and could also provide benefits for health care on Earth, such as improved delivery of aerosol medications to the lungs.

Researchers have pinpointed the protein that can lead to genetic changes that cause lung cancer. They discovered the production of a protein, FANCD2, is slowed when lung cells are exposed to cigarette smoke. Low levels of FANCD2 leads to DNA damage, triggering cancer. Cigarette smoke curbs the production of 'caretaker' proteins, like FANCD2, which prevent cancer by fixing damages in DNA and causing faulty cells to die.

As environmentalists have pointed out, it can be as dangerous to be outdoors behind a city bus -- walking or bicycling -- as it is to be in front of one. All the exhaust and smoke -- even when they have been reduced by clean-air technology -- can damage a person's health. The dangers of urban air pollution are of special concern to those who exercise by running, bicycling or skating. These individuals, while trying to help their bodies through exercise, should take care that they do not harm themselves through exposure to air pollution.

Scientists have in two recent studies shown that a receptor called ALK7 plays important roles in the regulation of body fat deposition as well as the release of insulin from beta-cells in the pancreas. These findings have implications for the development of treatments against diabetes and obesity.