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Everolimus therapy might treat Myc-driven lymphoma

Drugs that are used in the clinic to treat some forms of breast and kidney cancer and that work by inhibiting the signaling molecule mTORC1 might have utility in treating some of the more than 15 percent of human cancers driven by alterations in the Myc gene, according to data from a preclinical study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Dec 2012

Altered gut microbiota associated with symptomatic atherosclerosis and stroke

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, demonstrate that an altered gut microbiota in humans is associated with symptomatic atherosclerosis and stroke.

15 Dec 2012

Fluidigm, GIS announce establishment of first single-cell genomics research center in Asia

The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), an institute under the umbrella of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and Fluidigm Corporation today announced the establishment of the first research center in Asia exclusively dedicated to accelerating the understanding of how individual cells work, and how diagnosis and treatment might be enhanced through insight derived from single cells.

15 Dec 2012

Researchers question animal models that measure generalized anxiety disorder

Pre-clinical trials - the stage at which medications or therapies are tested on animals like laboratory mice - is a crucial part of drug development. It's only then that scientists can assess benefits and side effects before a drug is administered to patients.

14 Dec 2012

Study finds new evidence that vitamin D decreases risk of autism in children

A study just published online in the peer-reviewed journal Dermato-Endocrinology found additional evidence that vitamin D reduces the risk of developing autism.

14 Dec 2012

Biological factors, cell behaviour drive tumour growth contributing to therapy failure and relapse

Cancer scientists led by Dr. John Dick at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have found a way to follow single tumour cells and observe their growth over time. By using special immune-deficient mice to propagate human colorectal cancer, they found that genetic mutations, regarded by many as the chief suspect driving cancer growth, are only one piece of the puzzle. The team discovered that biological factors and cell behaviour - not only genes - drive tumour growth, contributing to therapy failure and relapse.

14 Dec 2012

Knocking out PKNP gene is the Achilles' heel of some cancers

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered that knocking out a particular "partner" gene is the Achilles' heel of some cancers.

14 Dec 2012

TUBB5 gene responsible for microcephaly: IMP study

Neurobiologists at the Research institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna have discovered one of the key genes required to make a brain. Mutations in this gene, called TUBB5, cause neurodevelopmental disease in children.

14 Dec 2012

Pairing statins with cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors might effectively treat melanomas

A novel approach to identifying potential anticancer drug combinations revealed that pairing cholesterol-reducing drugs called statins with cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors might provide an effective approach to treating intractable melanomas driven by mutations in the NRAS and KRAS gene.

14 Dec 2012

MicroRNA-218 especially low in medulloblastoma

Between the blueprint of the genome and the products of its expression lie microRNAs, which can boost or lower the rate at which genes become stuff. In fact, many cancers use microRNA to magnify the expression of faulty genes or shrink the expression of helpful genes that would otherwise suppress tumors. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that in medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor of children, microRNA-218 is especially low.

14 Dec 2012

EZH2 protein enables advanced prostate cancers to spread without stimulation by male hormones

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a molecular switch that enables advanced prostate cancers to spread without stimulation by male hormones, which normally are needed to spur the cancer's growth. They say the finding could lead to a new treatment for prostate cancers that are no longer controlled by hormone-blocking drugs.

14 Dec 2012

Arginase, IDO could hold clues to help 79 million Americans with prediabetes

Two enzymes that are elevated in prediabetes could hold clues to helping the 79 million Americans with the condition avoid serious vascular complications and maybe even identify those most at risk for full-blown diabetes, researchers say.

13 Dec 2012

UCL scientists discover more than 200 gene locations for Crohn's disease

More than two hundred gene locations have now been identified for the chronic bowel condition Crohn's Disease, in a study that analysed the entire human genome.

13 Dec 2012

Relatives of schizophrenia patients show cortical thinning

Patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives show significant cortical thinning compared with mentally healthy individuals without such a family history, researchers report.

13 Dec 2012

New way to effectively make designer drugs that hit collections of protein targets simultaneously

An international research collaboration led by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Dundee, in the U.K., have developed a way to efficiently and effectively make designer drugs that hit multiple protein targets at once.

13 Dec 2012

Change of fatty diet can cause feelings like drug withdrawal and depression

Even before obesity occurs, eating fatty and sugary foods causes chemical changes in the brain, meaning that going on a diet might feel similar to going through drug withdrawal, according to a study published today by Dr. Stephanie Fulton of the University of Montreal's Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated CRCHUM Hospital Research Centre.

13 Dec 2012

GM604 target regulates over 4,000 genes: Genervon

Genervon scientists have confirmed that the target of GM604 regulates over 4,000 genes. More significantly, it modifies ALS disease progression by modulating at least 30 significant ALS related genes. It does this through at least 8 pathways, potentially more, and up to 22 biological processes.

13 Dec 2012

Study focuses on nontraditional lifestyle of Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor proteins

Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered a protein that does its best work with one foot in the grave.

13 Dec 2012

Study finds many patients with family history of LINE-1 hypomethylated colorectal cancer

When people with a family history of colorectal cancer develop the disease, their tumors often carry a molecular sign that the cancer could be life-threatening and may require aggressive treatment, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report in a new study.

13 Dec 2012

Delayed childbearing may protect against triple-negative breast cancer

Younger women who wait at least 15 years after their first menstrual period to give birth to their first child may reduce their risk of an aggressive form of breast cancer by up to 60 percent, according to a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study.

12 Dec 2012