Studies and Analyses

Seeking to find a way to lessen patients’ vulnerability to deadly infections following chemotherapy, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have figured out a way to boost the immune function in animals following such treatments. Their approach involves increasing the pool of cells that give rise to neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that is critical for fighting bacterial and fungal infections but is particularly ravaged by chemotherapy.

“Our approach ha

More than half of adults over the age of 65 have trouble sleeping, characterized by both lighter sleep and frequent awakenings during the night. A decline in cognitive function is common with advanced age, and research has shown that disturbed sleep in younger adults and in the elderly causes daytime sleepiness and negatively affects cognitive performance.

Now, a study by sleep researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine suggests that even short-term ex

Except for women in their 40s, women who are screened with mammography every 2 years may not have an increased risk of late-stage breast cancer compared with women screened every year, according to a new study in the December 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The ideal interval between screenings for breast cancer using mammography has not been determined. In the United States, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening with mammograph

Keeping blood pressure & cholesterol low may help some dementia patients more than Alzheimer’s drugs

Could the same actions that help prevent a heart attack or stroke also prevent or slow the memory loss, confusion and thinking problems of dementia? A new study suggests that for many people, the answer could be yes. And for some, the impact of steps like controlling blood pressure and cholesterol might be greater than the effect of high-priced memory-preserving drugs.

Journal of The Royal Society Interface

Sharks can detect changes in the geomagnetic field by Dr G Meyer, Dr N Holland and Mr P Papastamatiou

Scientists have long suspected that sharks are able to use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate across seemingly featureless oceans but until now evidence of this ’compass sense’ has been circumstantial. We showed that captive sharks can be trained to swim over a target whenever an artificial magnetic field is activat

They piggyback on iron-storing proteins after surviving digestive juices

A new study from the Department of Pathology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine shows that the infectious version of prion proteins, the main culprits behind the human form of mad cow disease or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), are not destroyed by digestive enzymes found in the stomach. Furthermore, the study finds that the infectious prion proteins, also known as prions, cross