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Patients Prefer ''Virtual'' Colonoscopy but Dislike Preparation

Surveying patients who were screened for colorectal cancer, investigators at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis found that most prefer “virtual” colonoscopy to traditional screening, but most had positive appraisals of both. Patients didn’t, however, like the bowel preparation prior to either screening test.

Cell suicide gene also plays role in skeletal muscle development

Investigators have discovered that a protein causing mature cells to commit suicide also helps primitive muscle cells called myoblasts fuse together, allowing them to develop into muscles. The finding of this unexpected new role for the protein, called FKHR, suggests that future research might offer clues to how mutated forms of this molecule cause a form of muscle cancer in children called rhabdomyosarcoma.