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New technique uses acoustic waves to measure the stiffness of living cells

MIT engineers have devised a new, noninvasive way to measure the stiffness of living cells using acoustic waves. Their technique allows them to monitor single cells over several generations and investigate how stiffness changes as cells go through the cell division cycle.

11 Feb 2019

Immunotherapy drug found to be effective in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma

A multi-center phase II clinical trial investigating pembrolizumab as a first-line and programmed cell death-1 therapy in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma reports lasting tumor control, generally manageable side effects and improved overall survival.

8 Feb 2019

Drug cocktail may help combat breast cancer

MYC, a gene with high cancer-initiating potential, is overexpressed in over 40% of breast cancers. While MYC programs breast cancer cells to build more macromolecules (anabolic metabolism) it also creates a metabolic vulnerability by making them more sensitive to a type of cell death known as apoptosis.

6 Feb 2019

Protein CDK6 appears to be key factor in influencing development of MPN

MPNs are a group of rare, malignant diseases of the bone marrow involving the production of an excess of red blood cells, white blood cells and/or platelets.

6 Feb 2019

Iridium attached to albumin can attack cancer cells when blasted with light

A new compound based on Iridium, a rare metal which landed in the Gulf of Mexico 66 M years ago, hooked onto albumin, a protein in blood, can attack the nucleus of cancerous cells when switched on by light, University of Warwick researchers have found.

4 Feb 2019

Climate change linked to increase in congenital heart defects

Rising temperatures stemming from global climate change may increase the number of infants born with congenital heart defects in the United States over the next two decades and may result in as many as 7,000 additional cases over an 11 year-period in eight representative states, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

30 Jan 2019

Stress and paradoxical sleep associated with pathways of brain cell death and survival

The first and most distinct consequence of daily mild stress is an increase in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a new study in the journal PNAS reports. The research also demonstrated that this increase is associated with genes involved in cell death and survival.

28 Jan 2019

Researchers uncover new role of heterochromatin in maintaining chromosomal integrity

Although many people are aware that chromosomal damage and shortening contribute to the aging process, understanding how chromosomal defects occur is about more than just finding a way to turn back the clock. Large changes in the structure of chromosomes, known as gross chromosomal rearrangements, can result in cell death or genetic diseases such as cancer.

24 Jan 2019

Cellular recycling process may prevent cancer initiation, finds study

Just as plastic tips protect the ends of shoelaces and keep them from fraying when we tie them, molecular tips called telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes and keep them from fusing when cells continually divide and duplicate their DNA.

24 Jan 2019

Old oligodendrocytes can repair damage in the brains of patients with multiple sclerosis

A new study shows that there is a very limited regeneration of cells in the brain of patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

23 Jan 2019

Study reveals potential pathway for endothelial cells to avoid apoptosis

Cell death is an important aspect of tissue homeostasis, as well as inflammation and disease pathogenesis related to infection, injury, and tumor growth.

17 Jan 2019

Scientists find link between colitis and colon cancer

Lingering inflammation in the colon is a known risk factor for colorectal cancer and now scientists report one way it resets the stage to enable this common and often deadly cancer.

14 Jan 2019

MGH-led research team reveals how solid stress impacts tissue surrounding brain tumors

A Massachusetts General Hospital-led research team has demonstrated, for the first time, how solid stress - the physical forces exerted by the solid components of a tumor - impacts the tissue surrounding brain tumors and contributes to resulting neurological dysfunction and neuronal cell death.

8 Jan 2019

Johns Hopkins researchers identify new marker for early detection of colorectal cancers

Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein involved in cell proliferation and the development of new blood vessels that could serve as a marker for the early detection of colorectal cancers.

7 Jan 2019

Discovery may lead to new form of treatment for diabetes

Diabetes is caused by damaged or non-existing insulin cells inability to produce insulin, a hormone that is necessary in regulating blood sugar levels. Many diabetes patients take insulin supplements to regulate these levels.

7 Jan 2019

Researchers reveal cause of possible genetic problems in mitochondria

A group of researchers from the Andalusian Centre for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine has revealed the importance of eliminating any excess of defective products that might have accumulated in the mitochondria, as its presence generates mitochondrial instability and information loss on the mitochondrial genome.

3 Jan 2019

Study: Mice lacking PARL protein display specific problems in the nervous system reminiscent of Leigh syndrome

Leuven researchers led by professor Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven) have identified a new role for PARL, a protein that has been linked to Parkinson's disease.

3 Jan 2019

Targeting thymidylate biosynthesis in kinetoplastid and apicomplexan protozoans

Kinetoplastid and apicomplexan parasites include protozoans which are responsible for human diseases, and cause a serious impact on human health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. Chemotherapy is the main option to control these pathogenic organisms.

27 Dec 2018

Neuronal cell death in Alzheimer's disease may actually not be a bad thing, shows study

For the first time, scientists at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, Portugal, have shown that neuronal cell death in Alzheimer's disease may actually not be a bad thing - on the contrary, it may be the result of a cell quality control mechanism trying to protect the brain from the accumulation of malfunctioning neurons.

27 Dec 2018

New mechanism may explain neurons shrinking in Huntington's disease

A hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's is the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain. The cells don't die quickly, though. They first start to disconnect from each other because their neurites -- long finger-like extensions that make connections all through the brain -- become smaller.

25 Dec 2018