http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A large tract of land not far from E. John Ainsworth's Pleasanton, Calif., home bears no evidence of the research on radiation health effects he led in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. http://www.physorg.com/news154273528.html Medicine & Health Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:46:36 EST news154273528 (PhysOrg.com) -- Evidence of star birth within a cloud of primordial gas has given astronomers a glimpse of a previously unknown mode of galaxy formation. The cloud, known as the Leo Ring, appears to lack the dark matter and heavy elements normally found in galaxies today. The unexpected discovery comes thanks to instruments aboard NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) spacecraft which are sensitive to the ultraviolet radiation emitted by newly formed stars. http://www.physorg.com/news154186484.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:35:40 EST news154186484 A widely used blood pressure medication may be the key to preventing brain function loss common after radiation treatment, according to a newly published study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The findings offer the hope of an improved quality of life for cancer patients. http://www.physorg.com/news154174058.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:08:09 EST news154174058 (PhysOrg.com) -- About 150 million years ago, an evolutionarily hybrid creature, a dinosaur on its way to becoming a bird, died in what is now Germany, and become fossilized in limestone. http://www.physorg.com/news153919451.html Physics Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:25:31 EST news153919451 Women who as children got radiation treatment for Hodgkin's disease are almost 40 times more likely than others to develop breast cancer, according to findings from five institutions, including the University of Florida. http://www.physorg.com/news153660140.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:23:22 EST news153660140 Galaxies, including our own Milky Way, consist of hundreds of billions of stars. How did such gigantic galactic systems come into being? Did a central region with stars first form then with time grow? Or did the stars form at the same time throughout the entire galaxy? An international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy is now much closer to being able to answer these questions. http://www.physorg.com/news153054280.html Space & Earth Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:05:07 EST news153054280 Reporting of radiation therapy details in randomized controlled trials for Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is deficient due to a lack of reporting of key radiation therapy descriptors and quality assurance processes designed to ensure the accuracy and reproducibility of treatment regimens, according to a February 1 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news152980469.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:35:13 EST news152980469 Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells - tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers - are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these conditions. Part of the reason, say researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, is the presence of a protective pathway meant to shield normal stem cells from DNA damage. When the researchers blocked this pathway, the cells became more susceptible to radiation. http://www.physorg.com/news152977118.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:39:16 EST news152977118 At the radiation dose levels used in cardiac imaging exams, such as cardiac CT or nuclear medicine scans, the risk of potentially harmful effects from ionizing radiation are low. However, since the exact level of risk is not known, people without symptoms of heart disease should think twice about seeking, or agreeing to, these types of cardiac studies. This is the conclusion of an advisory committee convened by the American Heart Association's Council on Clinical Cardiology and Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention. A Mayo Clinic cardiologist led the committee. http://www.physorg.com/news152819843.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:57:43 EST news152819843 Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein critical for the growth of pancreatic cancer. Blocking the expression of the protein slowed or prevented tumor growth in mice and made cultured cancer cells vulnerable to the conditions of low oxygen that occur in solid tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news152721466.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:42:03 EST news152721466 (PhysOrg.com) -- Theorists have long wondered how massive stars--up to 120 times the mass of the Sun--can form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth. But the problem turns out to be less mysterious than it once seemed. A study published this week by Science shows how the growth of a massive star can proceed despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward. http://www.physorg.com/news151252308.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:31:48 EST news151252308 The ability of biomolecules to flex and bend is important for the performance of many functions within living cells. However, researchers interested in how biomolecules such as amino acids and proteins function have long had to make inferences from a series of X-ray-like `still pictures` of pure crystalline samples. http://www.physorg.com/news151088065.html Physics Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:54:25 EST news151088065 In 2004 Lyncean Technologies announced the construction of the Compact Light Source (CLS), a miniature synchrotron which uses inverse Compton scattering to produce high-intensity, tunable, near-monochromatic x-ray beams. The CLS was designed to bring state-of-the-art protein structure determination to the home laboratory -- but it has also promised to have a broad impact across the spectrum of x-ray science. http://www.physorg.com/news150537938.html Physics Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:05:38 EST news150537938 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the early part of the 20th Century, Carnegie astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding. The rate of expansion is known as the Hubble constant. Its precise value has been hotly debated for all of the 80 intervening years. The value of the Hubble constant is a key ingredient in determining the age and size of the universe. http://www.physorg.com/news150383835.html Physics Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:17:15 EST news150383835 Few things are as tiresome as house hunting and moving. Unfortunately, metastatic cancer cells have the relocation process down pat. Tripping nimbly from one abode to another, these migrating cancer cells often prove far more deadly than the original tumor. Although little has been known about how these rogue cells choose where to put down roots, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now learned just how nefarious they are. http://www.physorg.com/news150383375.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:09:35 EST news150383375 (PhysOrg.com) -- Storing and sending information using quantum phenomena is one of the hottest areas of research today; scientists across the globe are investigating how to make quantum communication possible for real-life applications. In a key step, a group of researchers was recently able to greatly improve the lifetime of a form of quantum memory. http://www.physorg.com/news150115833.html Physics Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:50:33 EST news150115833 In a first of its kind study, a first-degree family history of prostate cancer has no impact on the treatment outcomes of prostate cancer patients treated with brachytherapy (also called seed implants), and patients with this type of family history have clinical and pathologic characteristics similar to men with no family history at all, according to a January 1 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news150115064.html Medicine & Health Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:37:44 EST news150115064 While radiation treatments deliver precise doses of high-energy X-rays to stop cancer cells from spreading or to shrink tumors, oncologists have become increasingly concerned about inadvertent exposures during head and neck cancer treatments to nerves responsible for upper body mobility. To reduce the possibility of permanent nerve damage, UC Davis Cancer Center researchers have taken the lead in establishing new treatment guidelines for physicians nationwide. http://www.physorg.com/news148561594.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:06:34 EST news148561594 A novel angled gantry approach to coronary CT angiography reduced radiation exposure to the breast by more than 50%, according to Thomas Jefferson University researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news147587177.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:26:17 EST news147587177 A new Mayo Clinic study found that patients with low-grade gliomas survived longest when they underwent aggressive surgeries to successfully remove the entire tumor. If safely removing the entire tumor was not possible, patients survived significantly longer when surgery was followed by radiation therapy. This study is available online as an advance publication in Neuro-Oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news147546162.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:02:42 EST news147546162 Patients treated with radiation prior to surgery for advanced rectal cancer have fewer instances of cancer recurrence and better overall survival rates, according to a recent Geisinger report. http://www.physorg.com/news147446266.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:17:46 EST news147446266 A new analysis of the National Cancer Institute's cancer registry has found that as many as one in five older women experience delayed or incomplete radiation treatment following breast-conserving surgery, and that this suboptimal care can lead to worse outcomes. http://www.physorg.com/news147372503.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:48:23 EST news147372503 Women with early-stage breast cancer who have undergone breast augmentation may be treated successfully with a partial-breast radiation treatment called brachytherapy, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Patients treated with brachytherapy have better cosmetic outcomes and avoid the risk of the implant hardening, compared to patients who undergo whole-breast radiation therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news147355452.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:04:12 EST news147355452 Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most difficult to treat cancers. Now, in a major step forward, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have shown that administering radiation therapy prior to surgery nearly doubles survival in pancreatic cancer patients with operable tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news146854196.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:49:56 EST news146854196 Breast cancer patients who receive breast-conserving therapy and radiation do not need a follow-up mammogram until 12 months after radiation, despite current American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines that recommend follow-up mammograms at between six and 12 months after radiation, according to a November 15 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news146832545.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:49:05 EST news146832545 For breast cancer patients who underwent a mastectomy who undergo radiation therapy after immediate breast reconstruction, autologous tissue reconstruction provides fewer long-term complications and better cosmetic results than tissue expander and implant reconstruction, according to a study in the November issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. http://www.physorg.com/news146415200.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:53:20 EST news146415200 Scientists have new insight into the response of human skin to radiation and what drives the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the November 21st issue of the journal Molecular Cell, may be useful in the design of new strategies for prevention of malignant melanoma. http://www.physorg.com/news146406507.html Biology Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:28:27 EST news146406507 Radiology and cardiovascular researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., today presented new data that shows the risk of cancer from exposure to radiation during computed tomography for cardiovascular disease has been overstated and that new estimates are several times lower than previously published conclusions. The MUSC researchers presented their findings at the American Heart Association's meeting in New Orleans. http://www.physorg.com/news145536165.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:42:45 EST news145536165 Radiological health expert Daniel Hayes, Ph.D., of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suggests that a form of vitamin D could be one of our body's main protections against damage from low levels of radiation. Writing in the International Journal of Low Radiation, Hayes explains that calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, may protect us from background radiation and could be used as a safe protective agent before or after a low-level nuclear incident. http://www.physorg.com/news145280339.html Medicine & Health Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:38:59 EST news145280339 Thanks to ESA and UK technology transfer support, a British company has developed a device based on the gamma-ray detection equipment used in ESA`s Integral astronomy satellite to detect and identify the radioactive material mixed with conventional explosives in ‘dirty bombs`. http://www.physorg.com/news144597130.html Technology Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:52:10 EST news144597130