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A new technology with research and clinical application including the early detection of disease has just been invented. The new fluorescent "barcodes" called nanostrings, offers greater sensitivity and accuracy than current detection methods.

Two new studies provide insights into lung disease and lung function in young adults. One links low levels of a protein called adiponectin in fat cells to an increase in asthma risk in young women. A second finds that high levels of a protein called ICAM-1 is associated with lower lung function.

New research has revealed the genetic determinants of fat storage in cells, which may lead to a new understanding of and potential treatments for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

A re-analysis of data from the landmark Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial finds that finasteride may reduce the risk for prostate cancer without boosting the odds of aggressive tumors. Adjusting for prostate volume, findings from landmark PCPT trial refute notion that drug boosts aggressive disease.

A common ingredient in many vaccines stimulates and interacts with the immune system to help provide protection against infectious diseases. Vaccines must possess not only the bacterial or viral components that serve as targets of protective immune responses, but also ingredients to kick start those immune responses.

BOSTON -- U.S. medical scientists said they've conducted a trial that supports first-line use of targeted therapy to treat lung cancer. The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center researchers said the study -- the first such U.S. clinical genetic screening trial -- supports the use of targeted therapies as primary treatments, rather than only after standard chemotherapy has failed.

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.

BOSTON -- U.S. medical scientists said they've conducted a trial that supports first-line use of targeted therapy to treat lung cancer. The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center researchers said the study -- the first such U.S. clinical genetic screening trial -- supports the use of targeted therapies as primary treatments, rather than only after standard chemotherapy has failed.

In women at increased risk for breast cancer, adding a screening ultrasound examination to routine mammography revealed 28 percent more cancers than mammography alone. However, the additional ultrasound exam substantially increased the rates of false positive findings and unnecessary biopsies, according to an American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) study published in the May 14, 2008 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association. This ACRIN study enrolled 2,809 women at increased risk for breast cancer at 21 sites and 2,637 of these women were eligible for analysis.

The investigational chemotherapeutic agent eribulin mesylate (E7389) demonstrated activity in a heavily pretreated population of women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a multi-center Phase II clinical trial. The study also suggests that eribulin mesylate has a manageable tolerability profile, with a low incidence of Grade 3 (severe) and no Grade 4 (disabling or life-threatening) neuropathy. These data (abstract #1084) will be presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on Monday, June 2 from 2 to 6 p.m.