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Bacterial ‘fight club’ approach effective for finding new drugs from natural sources

Creating bacterial "fight clubs" is an effective way to find new drugs from natural sources. That is the conclusion of a team of Vanderbilt chemists who have been exploring ways to get bacteria to produce biologically active chemicals that they normally hold in reserve. These compounds are called secondary metabolites.

30 Jun 2015

People with recurrent depression have significantly smaller hippocampus than healthy individuals

The brains of people with recurrent depression have a significantly smaller hippocampus - the part of the brain most associated with forming new memories - than healthy individuals, a new global study of nearly 9,000 people reveals.

30 Jun 2015

New informatics technology could accelerate search for potential new drug targets on protein structures

Researchers have developed a new informatics technology that analyzes existing data repositories of protein modifications and 3D protein structures to help scientists identify and target research on "hotspots" most likely to be important for biological function.

30 Jun 2015

New species of tRNA-derived small RNAs contribute to cell proliferation in cancer

Since their discovery in the 1950s, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) have been best known for their role in helping the cell make proteins from messenger RNA templates. However, recent studies have led to a previously-unsuspected concept that tRNAs are not always the end product; namely, they further serve as a source of small RNAs.

30 Jun 2015

Wistar Institute study shows that PI3K inhibitors may make a patient's cancer even worse

The enzyme phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) appears to be exploited in almost every type of human cancer, making it the focus of considerable interest as a therapeutic target, with many PI3K-inhibiting drugs currently in various stages of clinical development. However, PI3K inhibitors have only shown modest clinical activity with patients who receive these drugs experiencing very little improvement in survival.

30 Jun 2015

New discovery could lead to personalized treatment for colon cancer

A UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center discovery of just how a certain tumor suppressor molecule works to prevent tumor growth could lead to a personalized treatment approach for colon cancer.

30 Jun 2015

Retina contains microtubule "roadway" that provides energy required for visual processing

Researchers have discovered a thick band of microtubules in certain neurons in the retina that they believe acts as a transport road for mitochondria that help provide energy required for visual processing.

30 Jun 2015

Study may predict which glioblastoma patients may respond well to dasatinib drug treatment

Clinicians testing the drug dasatinib, approved for several blood cancers, had hoped it would slow the aggressive growth of the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma; however, clinical trials to date have not found any benefit. Researchers at Mayo Clinic, who conducted one of those clinical trials, believe they know why dasatinib failed — and what to do about it.

30 Jun 2015

New research reveals that male and female mice use different cells to process pain

New research released today in Nature Neuroscience reveals for the first time that pain is processed in male and female mice using different cells. These findings have far-reaching implications for our basic understanding of pain, how we develop the next generation of medications for chronic pain—which is by far the most prevalent human health condition—and the way we execute basic biomedical research using mice.

30 Jun 2015

Two antibodies show early promise in preventing and treating MERS

As the South Korean epidemic of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) continues unabated, researchers have raced to find treatments for the deadly virus, which has killed more than 400 people since it was first discovered three years ago in Saudi Arabia.

30 Jun 2015

Researchers identify better way to screen for lung cancer

The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, is pleased to announce that two of its oncologists and a research scientist are helping pave the way to an easier, more accurate, less invasive way to screen for the most common form of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the most common cancer in men worldwide and the number one cancer killer in the United States.

30 Jun 2015

Exhausted army of immune cells may damage the very body they are supposed to protect

An 'exhausted' army of immune cells may not be able to fight off infection, but if its soldiers fight too hard they risk damaging the very body they are meant to be protecting, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge.

30 Jun 2015

Scientists develop high-throughput strategy to build de novo genomes

Scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a new approach to build nearly complete genomes by combining high-throughput DNA sequencing with genome mapping. The methodology enabled researchers to detect complex forms of genomic variation, critically important for their association with human disease, but previously difficult to detect.

30 Jun 2015

Study could point the way to new treatments for people with severe asthma

The immune response that occurs in patients with severe asthma is markedly different than what occurs in milder forms of the lung condition, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Those unique features could point the way to new treatments, they said in an article published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

30 Jun 2015

Canada's first human gene therapy trial for choroideremia now underway at Royal Alexandra Hospital

Canada's first human gene therapy trial for eyes -- the replacement of a faulty gene with a healthy one -- is now underway at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to preserve and potentially restore vision for people with a genetic disorder that leaves them blind by middle age.

30 Jun 2015

University of Oklahoma professor finds key mosquito protein for development of new malaria vaccine

A University of Oklahoma professor studying malaria mosquito interaction has discovered a new mosquito protein for the development of a new vaccine that is expected to stop the spread of the disease in areas where it is considered endemic.

30 Jun 2015

Study on fruit flies, brewer's yeast may provide clues about cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Scientists at the University of Malta and the Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (CNRS/Université de Montpellier) have shown that fruit flies and brewer's yeast can reveal clues about the cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the most common genetic killer of infants.

30 Jun 2015

Kay E. Davies named recipient of ASHG's 2015 William Allan Award

The American Society of Human Genetics has named Kay E. Davies, DPhil, Dr. Lee's professor of anatomy, associate head of the medical sciences division; and director of the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit in the department of physiology, anatomy and genetics at the University of Oxford, the 2015 recipient of the annual William Allan Award.

30 Jun 2015

Study may lead to better treatments for children with neuroblastoma

Researchers studying the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma have detailed how cancer-driving mutations evolve during chemotherapy, and they hope to exploit this knowledge to design better treatments for children.

30 Jun 2015

Rare genetic variants in A2ML1 gene responsible for chronic middle ear infections, say researchers

Many parents have heard the night-time cry of "my ear hurts." For some children, this might happen frequently beginning in infancy and even persist into adulthood. An international consortium led by those at Baylor College of Medicine may have taken the first step on the road to understanding why only some people get frequent painful or chronic middle ear infections. The culprit may be rare genetic variants in a gene called A2ML1.

30 Jun 2015

Medical Science News

Bacterial ‘fight club’ approach effective for finding new drugs from natural sources

People with recurrent depression have significantly smaller hippocampus than healthy individuals

New informatics technology could accelerate search for potential new drug targets on protein structures

New species of tRNA-derived small RNAs contribute to cell proliferation in cancer

Wistar Institute study shows that PI3K inhibitors may make a patient's cancer even worse

New discovery could lead to personalized treatment for colon cancer

Retina contains microtubule "roadway" that provides energy required for visual processing

Study may predict which glioblastoma patients may respond well to dasatinib drug treatment

New research reveals that male and female mice use different cells to process pain

Two antibodies show early promise in preventing and treating MERS

Researchers identify better way to screen for lung cancer

Exhausted army of immune cells may damage the very body they are supposed to protect

Scientists develop high-throughput strategy to build de novo genomes

Study could point the way to new treatments for people with severe asthma

Canada's first human gene therapy trial for choroideremia now underway at Royal Alexandra Hospital

University of Oklahoma professor finds key mosquito protein for development of new malaria vaccine

Study on fruit flies, brewer's yeast may provide clues about cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Kay E. Davies named recipient of ASHG's 2015 William Allan Award

Study may lead to better treatments for children with neuroblastoma

Rare genetic variants in A2ML1 gene responsible for chronic middle ear infections, say researchers

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