Health and Commerce
Since its debut six years ago, Redwood City-based startup Auris Health has quietly raised $500 million to develop a series of tools designed to innovate surgical robotics technology.
The company’s latest product, Monarch, is a controller-operated robotic camera that allows physicians to visualize the inside of the human body.
The technology, which was approved by the FDA earlier this month, could become a key tool in helping physicians diagnose lung cancer early on.
Sniffer dogs can detect lung cancer.
Dogs can be trained to accurately identify the scent of lung cancer long before symptoms develop, according to researchers.
Continue reading… “Sniffer dogs can detect lung cancer”
The White House is lit the color pink to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
As cancer death rates continue to fall in the U.S. not all segments of the population are benefiting, the American Cancer Society said Friday.
Continue reading… “Cancer death rates in the U.S. continue to drop”
Heart-transplant blood vessel in chronic rejection
UCLA researchers have pinpointed the culprit behind chronic rejection of heart, lung and kidney transplants. Published in the Nov. 23 edition of Science Signaling, their findings suggest new therapeutic approaches for preventing transplant rejection and sabotaging cancer growth.
Continue reading… “Mechanism Behind Organ Transplant Rejection Identified”
Scientists have described a new ultra-rapid acting mealtime insulin (AFREZZA™) that is orally inhaled for absorption via the lung. Because the insulin is absorbed so rapidly, AFREZZA’s profile closely mimics the normal early insulin response seen in healthy individuals. AFREZZA is awaiting approval by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This presentation took place at the 239th American Chemical Society National Meeting, being held in San Francisco, California, USA March 21-25.
Continue reading… “New Form of Insulin Can Be Inhaled Rather Than Injected”
A new American Cancer Society study finds progress in reducing cancer death rates is evident whether measured against baseline rates in 1970 or in 1990. The study appears in the open access journal PLos ONE, and finds a downturn in cancer death rates since 1990 results mostly from reductions in tobacco use, increased screening allowing early detection of several cancers, and modest to large improvements in treatment for specific cancers.
Continue reading… “Cancer Mortality Has Declined Since Initiation of ‘War on Cancer’”
Nicotine in third-hand smoke, the residue from tobacco smoke that clings to virtually all surfaces long after a cigarette has been extinguished, reacts with the common indoor air pollutant nitrous acid to produce dangerous carcinogens. This new potential health hazard was revealed in a multi-institutional study led by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
Continue reading… “Carcinogens Form from Third-Hand Smoke”
Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Continue reading… “Soft Drink Consumption Increases Risk of Pancreatic Cancer”
The immune system’s T cells have the unique responsibilities of being both jury and executioner. They examine other cells for signs of disease, including cancers or infections, and, if such evidence is found, rid them from the body. Precisely how T cells shift so swiftly from one role to another, however, has been a mystery.
Continue reading… “‘Missing Link’ In Immune Response To Disease: Sheer Mechanical Force”
Even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults, according to research presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
Despite a 30-year lifespan that gives ample time for cells to grow cancerous, a small rodent species called a naked mole rat has never been found with tumors of any kind — and now biologists at the University of Rochester think they know why.
Continue reading… “Scientists Discover Gene That ‘Cancer-proofs’ Naked Mole Rat’s Cells”
Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear. Now, researchers at Rush University Medical Center have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the link.
