Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, but new research aims to help physicians diagnose the disease early, when it’s more easily treated. Researchers are studying the fluid secreted by the pancreas to determine if subtle changes in proteins and the sugars that adorn the proteins, known as glycans, can herald the presence of cancerous or precancerous cells. According to the scientists, glycomics, the study of the kinds and amounts of glycans expressed by cells and the roles they play in cellular processes, is “the wave of the future” in cancer diagnostics.

Working the night shift doesn't appear to increase the risk of developing cancer, suggests the findings of a new study of Swedish workers. Recent studies -- and corresponding news headlines -- have found that regularly working the night shift may increase the risk of developing breast, prostate and colon cancers.

Well, it's the middle of May, so it's time for the BSA to do their yearly ritual of putting out their bogus stats on how much software "piracy" is costing the industry. They do this every year... and every year the numbers are quickly debunked. In fact, a few years back the numbers were debunked by the very research firm that collected the data for the BSA. Basically, the BSA takes every report of pirated software and counts it as a loss. It also fails to count how much legitimate software was purchased after people got hooked on unauthorized copies of the software. In other words, the numbers are totally useless. However, it looks like the press may finally be catching on. Rather than trumpeting the "loss" numbers, most of the press reports are focusing on the supposed percentage of software that's unauthorized -- which actually is a pretty meaningless number when you think about it. The Associated Press report even included a single sentence noting that critics have pointed to problems with the BSA's numbers, but still noting that "$180 billion" could be lost in the next four years. I guess it's progress that the headlines aren't focused on the loss number, but the press still doesn't bother questioning where the BSA came up with its numbers or how accurate (or inaccurate) they may be.