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Study identifies novel mechanism by which tumors can resist cancer immunotherapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study led by Benoit Van den Eynde, Director of Ludwig Brussels, has identified a novel mechanism by which tumors of the aggressive skin cancer melanoma can resist cancer immunotherapy.

10 Nov 2017

Researchers show how rhythm of DNA replication can be manipulated to kill cancer cells

Human cells divide and create new cells throughout life. In this process, a steady – even rhythmic – supply of DNA building blocks is needed to create new DNA. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen are the first to show exactly how human cells regulate this process so it does not fail and cause illness.

10 Nov 2017

Researchers find distinct molecular signatures in chronic fatigue syndrome and Gulf War Illness

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have found distinct molecular signatures in two brain disorders long thought to be psychological in origin -- chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War Illness (GWI).

10 Nov 2017

New biomarker could lead to early detection of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified a peptide that could lead to the early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

10 Nov 2017

UCR researchers elucidate how blood clots shrink

Blood clotting is the "Jekyll and Hyde" of biological processes. It's a lifesaver when you're bleeding, but gone awry, it causes heart attacks, strokes and other serious medical problems.

10 Nov 2017

Low blood phosphate levels may pose danger to cardiovascular health

Low phosphate in the blood is linked to the risk of heart attack and coronary artery disease, a new study in the journal PLOS One reports.

10 Nov 2017

Former NFL players twice as likely to have enlarged aortas, study finds

Former NFL players were more likely to have enlarged aortas, but further study is needed to determine whether that puts them at greater risk for life-threatening aneurysms, researchers found.

9 Nov 2017

Increasing hydroxyurea dose linked to reduction in hospitalization for young sickle cell anemia patients

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have shown that using the drug hydroxyurea to boost average fetal hemoglobin levels above 20 percent in children and teenagers with sickle cell anemia was associated with at least a two-fold reduction in hospitalization for any reason.

9 Nov 2017

KU Leuven researchers unravel how cell division timer works

Human cells use a timer to divide: each cell gets at least 30 minutes to divide its genetic material between the nuclei of two daughter cells.

9 Nov 2017

Scientists characterize infection mechanism of Rift Valley fever virus

Rift Valley fever virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, is responsible for outbreaks in livestock in Africa and can also be fatal in humans. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, working with the University of Göttingen, have characterized the mechanism used by the virus to insert one of its envelope proteins into the host cell membrane, thereby enabling it to infect the cell.

9 Nov 2017

New pencil-like spectrometer holds promise for remote medical diagnostics

Spectral images, which contain more color information than is obtainable with a typical camera, reveal characteristics of tissue and other biological samples that can't be seen by the naked eye.

9 Nov 2017

Study finds role of body clock in wound healing

A new study conducted at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK, has found how wound healing is regulated by the body clock in such a way that injuries that occured at daytime heal nearly 60% faster than that at night.

9 Nov 2017

Fruit flies raised on low protein diet early in life have longer lifespan, research finds

Fruit flies raised on a low protein diet early in life can live over twice as long as their peers, according to new research from the Francis Crick Institute.

9 Nov 2017

Elevated levels of chronic stress hormones may promote EGFR inhibitor resistance in NSCLC patients

Elevated levels of chronic stress hormones, such as those produced by psychological distress, may promote resistance to drugs commonly used to treat lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

9 Nov 2017

Researchers catch killer cells red-handed in the act of microbial murder

Immune cells called "killer cells" target bacteria invading the body's cells, but how do they do this so effectively? Bacteria can quickly evolve resistance against antibiotics, yet it seems they have not so readily been able to evade killer cells. This has caused researchers to become interested in finding out the exact mechanism that killer cells use to destroy bacterial invaders.

9 Nov 2017

Antiviral drug selectively targets the most aggressive viruses, research says

An antiviral drug that inhibits a virus' replication machinery selectively targets the most aggressive viruses, according to new research that looked at the infection of individual cells by a virus and the consequence of antiviral intervention.

9 Nov 2017

Scientists uncover mechanism that prevents tumor growth in melanoma

Natural Killer (NK) cells, lymphocytes of the innate immune system with strong cytotoxic activity, play a major role in the immune response against tumors.

8 Nov 2017

Complete new skin from transgenic stem cells for boy with rare genetic disease

Hassan, a then seven-year-old boy from Germany, in 2015, presented to the doctors with a rare skin disease called junctional epidermolysis bullosa or JEB. This condition leaves the skin thin and papery and easily breakable. It has been compared to “butterfly wings” because of their fragile nature.

8 Nov 2017

Researchers discover mechanism behind skin inflammation in eczema

Publishing online this week in Cell Host & Microbe, researchers at Johns Hopkins report the discovery of a key underlying immune mechanism that explains why to how our skin becomes inflamed from conditions such as atopic dermatitis, more commonly known as eczema. Toxin-producing bacteria on the surface of our skin induces a protein that causes our own cells to react and cause inflammation.

8 Nov 2017

New gene therapy trial for X-linked myotubular myopathy offers hope to children

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is one of the few centers participating in ASPIRO, an international Phase 1/2 clinical trial of a gene therapy product called AT132 for X-linked myotubular myopathy – a rare disease characterized by severe muscle weakness, breathing difficulty and early death.

8 Nov 2017