Researchers from the University of Colorado-Denver and Health Sciences Center and Stanford University have discovered a molecular mechanism that explains how cells respond to DNA damage and other acute stresses, and if disrupted can cause cancer. Their findings, which could lead to new diagnostic markers and cancer treatments with fewer side effects, will appear in two reports in the May 21 advanced online version of the journal Nature.

According to recent estimates, hepatitis has become a worldwide health problem, affecting millions of people in the U.S. and abroad. Researchers are experimenting with combinations of anti-inflammatory medicines like interferons to improve hepatitis symptoms. In research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® 2006 (DDW), new combinations of therapies are making significant progress to improve symptoms of the disease. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

As visualization technologies like ultrasound continue to improve in quality and safety, researchers are making the most of the opportunity to access new areas of internal organs that have not previously been examined without open surgery. In a group of studies presented today during Digestive Disease Week® 2006 (DDW), endoscopic procedures are demonstrating significant improvements in the quality and delivery of evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of the GI tract and surrounding areas. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

An obstetrician well known for his care of and research into multiple-birth pregnancies has found that dietary changes can affect a woman's chances of having twins, and that her overall chance is determined by a combination of diet and heredity. By comparing the twinning rate of vegan women, who consume no animal products, with that of women who do eat animal products, Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an attending physician at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY, found that the women who consume animal products, specifically dairy, are five times more likely to have twins. The study is published in the May 2006 issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, available May 20.