A basic hand-grip test has proven to be a reliable tool to monitor the decline of patients with Parkinson’s diseases. UBC researchers Jenn Jakobi and Gareth Jones, both Health and Exercise Sciences professors at UBC’s Okanagan campus, recently completed a study that examined the methods used to monitor the progressive advancement of Parkinson’s disease (PD)—a degenerative...
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Biggest Breast Cancer Breakthrough: Map Links Breast Cancer Cell Shape And Genes To Disease Outcomes
Cell Shape-Gene Network Can Predict Cancer Outcome Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London took a closer look at cell shapes in millions of imaging scans of more than 300,000 breast cancer cells and information for about 28,000 genes. They discovered that the changes in cell shape, which can result from physical pressures...
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How are calluses and throat cancer related?
Many of us develop calluses at one point or another, but for some people calluses and corns can become severe and highly inconvenient. In some rare cases, extreme thickening of the skin is a symptom of a particular form of esophageal cancer. New research investigates the link between foot calluses and cancer of the esophagus...
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The drugs don't work, say back pain researchers
Commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, used to treat back pain provide little benefit, but cause side effects, according to new research from The George Institute for Global Health. The findings of the systematic review, published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, reveal only one in six patients treated with the pills, also...
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Tailored treatment? 107 genes found linked to high blood pressure
Identifying the genetic markers for hypertension early could allow patients to keep the pressure low as they age In the US and the UK, high blood pressure (hypertension) affects approximately one in every three adults and is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Efforts to combat the condition through customized treatments might have...
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2017 sneak peek: What the new year holds for science
Expect researchers to glimpse an event horizon, continue striving for quantum supremacy and brace themselves for a political hangover. Kevin Frayer/Getty China’s steel industry is a major source of pollution. Rough seas for climate If the United States pulls back on its climate commitments as president-elect Donald Trump has promised, China, the world’s biggest emitter...
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Dozens of soccer players at the same university diagnosed with CANCER – after playing on 'contaminated' field
Washington state soccer players say playing on artificial turf gave them cancer Made of ground-up rubber tires, the turf fields contain carcinogenic chemicals One soccer coach has a list of 237 players – all whom played on the fake grass A state investigation, however, says there is no risk playing on artificial turf More than 50...
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Textile muscles could find use in a literal "power suit"
The technology could be incorporated into garments worn under regular clothing There are many people who could use a bit of help moving their limbs, but they don’t necessarily need a full-on exoskeleton. Well, imagine if their clothes could provide that help. Such a thing may one day be possible, thanks to the recent creation of “textile muscles.”...
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Scientists find brain hormone that triggers fat burning
TSRI Assistant Professor Surpriya Srinivasan (left) and TSRI Research Associate Lavinia Palamiuc led the new study. Biologists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in the gut. Their findings in animal models could have implications for future pharmaceutical development. “This was basic science that unlocked...
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Computer-based cognitive training program may help patients with severe tinnitus
In a study published online by JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, researchers evaluated the effect of a cognitive training program on tinnitus. Individuals with tinnitus have poorer working memory, slower processing speeds and reaction times and deficiencies in selective attention. Neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections) has been the foundation...