Scientists at the University of Iowa say they’ve found a surprising new clue in how cancer tumors form in the body.

The research team discovered that a small minority of cancer cells actively recruits other cells – including a lot of healthy cells – into the tumor.

For the study, published in the American Journal of Cancer Research, the scientists analyzed 3-D recordings in real time of the movements of cancerous human breast tissue cells. They found that a small group of tumorigenic cells – cells that form tumors – extends a sort of cellular cable to grab neighboring cells, both healthy and cancerous, and reel them in to enlarge the tumor mass.

This may help explain why tumors contain such a large proportion of healthy as well as cancerous cells. The discovery suggests that the growth of a tumor is not simply a result of cells sticking together, but rather a case of tumor cells actively “recruiting” other cells.

In the new study, the team determined that as little as 5 percent tumorigenic cells can actively create a tumor by getting cancerous and healthy cells to clump together through forming cellular connections between them. This is the first time such a ratio has been discovered.

Senior author David Soll explained that the tumor mass grows as a result of cells being joined together by bridges made up of tumor cells. “There’s nothing but tumorigenic cells in the bridge (between cells), and that’s the discovery. The tumorigenic cells know what they’re doing. They make tumors.”

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Sourced from: Medical News Today, Scientists discover new clue to how cancer tumors form

More good news for coffee lovers. Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) have concluded that regular caffeine consumption is not linked to extra heartbeats, a finding that runs counter to previous research.

While extra heartbeats are a common occurrence, the condition can lead to heart problems, stroke and death in rare cases.

The research team assessed 1,388 participants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Cardiovascular Health Study database, which includes 6,000 patients. They excluded patients with persistent extra heartbeats.

In total, 61 percent of the participants consumed more than one caffeine item per day. Results showed that there was no difference in premature atrial contractions (PACs) or premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) per hour no matter how much coffee, tea or chocolate they consumed. Those two conditions, when present, are linked to a higher risk of stroke and heart disease. Also, study participants who consumed such products more frequently did not have extra heartbeats.

This is the first study that is community based and that examines the impact of caffeine on extra heartbeats. Previous studies examined patients with known arrhythmias.

The study authors concluded: “Clinical recommendations advising against the regular consumption of caffeinated products to prevent disturbances of the heart’s cardiac rhythm should be reconsidered, as we may unnecessarily be discouraging consumption of items like chocolate, coffee and tea that might actually have cardiovascular benefits.”

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Sourced from: Medical News Today, Coffee lovers rejoice: regular caffeine does not cause extra heartbeats

It’s a startling fact – the average American child sees more than 40,000 commercials each year. Now a team of researchers from the University of Liverpool contends that all that exposure may be contributing to the country’s growing childhood obesity problem.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that food advertisements don’t just influence what brands people choose, but also how much they eat.

The researchers looked at more than 22 studies designed to examine the link between unhealthy food ads and food consumption. Participants were both children and adults. They measured the food consumption of those who were exposed to ads through the television or internet, and compared them to the food consumption of those who weren’t exposed to such ads.

Children exposed to unhealthy food advertisements showed a significant increase in their food consumption. When researchers looked at whether television ads had a greater effect than internet ads, they found no difference.

Unhealthy food ads did not have the same impact on adults.

A different study, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, found that if a child watched more than one hour of television a day, he or she was 39 percent more likely to become overweight and 86 percent more likely to become obese by first grade.

Childhood obesity rates in America have more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the last 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Sourced from: Medical Daily , Study: Junk Food Ads Make Kids Eat “Significantly” More Food