Stomach cancer is actually two distinct disease variations based on its genetic makeup, and each responds differently to chemotherapy, according to an international team of scientists led by researchers at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School . The finding, published in the August 1, 2011, edition of the journal Gastroenterology , is the first large-scale genomic analysis of gastric cancer to confirm the two discrete tumor types.

The first study to compare contemporary approaches to surgery and medical therapy for heart failure caused by clogged coronary arteries found coronary bypass surgery should be considered in addition to medical therapy, according to researchers at Duke Clinical Research Institute. The findings were presented today at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session and simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. “This is the first study in over three decades to provide important insight into the care of high risk heart failure patients with coronary disease who are candidates for bypass surgery in the setting of modern medicine,” said Eric J.

New genomic analyses suggest that the most common genetic variants in the human genome aren’t the ones most likely causing disease. Rare genetic variants, the type found most often in functional areas of human DNA, are more often linked to disease, genetic experts at Duke University Medical Center report. The study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics on March 31.

A curious contagious cancer, found in dogs, wolves and coyotes, can repair its own genetic mutations by adopting genes from its host animal, according to a new study in the journal Science .

Depending on the level of smoking and dietary vitamin C intake, vitamin E supplementation may extend the life-span of restricted groups of men, according to a study published in the Age and Ageing . Several large randomized trials of humans found that vitamin E supplementation does not reduce mortality. However, the average effect on mortality in a group of people with a wide age range may mask an effect of vitamin E on the life-span

SPOKANE, Wash.— Washington State University sleep researchers have determined that the air traffic controller in the crash of a Lexington, Ky., commuter flight was substantially fatigued when he failed to detect that the plane was on the wrong runway and cleared it for takeoff.