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Scientists find surprising link between iPS cell reprogramming, blood cell formation and cancer

The ability to reprogram cells has revolutionized stem cell research with major implications for almost all fields of modern biology. A decade ago Shinya Yamanaka described a procedure that revolutionized stem cell biology. Using a genetic trick that introduces a cocktail of four genes into cultured cells from human biopsies, he was able to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) from mature skin or blood cells

15 Mar 2016

New microfluidic biosensor can identify white blood cells quickly for AIDS diagnosis

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a highly sensitive biosensor based on a differential immuno-capture technology that can detect sub-populations of white blood cells. As part of a small, disposable biochip, the microfluidic biosensor can count CD4+/CD8+ T cells quickly and accurately for AIDS diagnosis in the field.

14 Mar 2016

Synthetic nanoparticle can light up and treat atherosclerotic plaques

Atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up inside arteries, is a prolific and invisible killer, but it may soon lose its ability to hide in the body and wreak havoc. Scientists have now developed a nanoparticle that functionally mimics nature's own high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The nanoparticle can simultaneously light up and treat atherosclerotic plaques that clog arteries. Therapy with this approach could someday help prevent deadly heart attacks and strokes.

14 Mar 2016

Research uncovers biological differences between male, female breast cancers

Male breast cancer (Male BC) has important biological differences that distinguish it from female breast cancer, but to date these have been little studied and Male BC patients have been excluded from many clinical trials in breast cancer.

11 Mar 2016

Low bone mass higher in HIV-infected males than in females

Accumulating evidence suggests that rates of low bone mass are greater in HIV-infected males than in females. Researchers led by Grace Aldrovandi, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, studied 11 biomarkers associated with inflammation, bone loss and/or bone formation in about 450 individuals - assessed by sex and HIV status - to try to determine causes of this differential bone loss.

11 Mar 2016

New procedure allows kidney transplants from incompatible donors

Researchers have found a way to stop patients rejecting kidneys that have come from incompatible donors, potentially slashing the waiting time for thousands of people in desperate need of the procedure.

10 Mar 2016

Vanderbilt investigators isolate human antibodies against H7 bird flu

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have isolated human antibodies against a type of bird flu that has killed more than 200 people in China since 2012 and which may pose a worldwide pandemic threat.

10 Mar 2016

Consuming green tea with dietary iron may lessen health benefits of green tea

Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits.

9 Mar 2016

Research highlights association of western diet with Alzheimer's disease

Recent research has established associations between certain environmental factors, including eating a western diet and being sedentary, with an increased susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease. In fact, it is estimated that a combination of diet and inactivity contributes to as many as 25% of Alzheimer's cases. Nonetheless, little is known about the exact disease mechanisms and how or why this increasingly common middle-age lifestyle can play such a big role in subsequent cognitive function.

7 Mar 2016

Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute awards grants for 10 bladder cancer research projects

A study of obesity and related metabolic changes on bladder cancer incidence and deaths, and a plan to use stem cells to grow novel urinary tubes are among 10 research projects awarded funding by the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute.

7 Mar 2016

RUVICA (ibrutinib) capsules approved for treatment-naïve CLL patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) capsules for treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

4 Mar 2016

Researchers find Achilles' heel of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa have found the Achilles' heel of one of the most aggressive forms of leukemia that affects both children and adults. They have also identified a possible new treatment that exploits this fatal weakness.

2 Mar 2016

Researchers find way to boost the body's natural cancer-killing cells

The immune cells, called natural killer cells, hunt and destroy foreign cells in the body, including cancer cells that spread and form tumours.

27 Feb 2016

EMA grants Orphan Drug Designation to venetoclax for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced the European Medicines Agency has granted Orphan Drug Designation to venetoclax, an investigational, oral B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) inhibitor, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

26 Feb 2016

Asterias announces successful completion of End-of-Phase 2 meeting with FDA for AML therapy

Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. today announced the successful completion of an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for AST-VAC1, its investigational therapy targeting acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

24 Feb 2016

Researchers launch clinical trials to test novel cellular-immunotherapy to treat three types of blood cancer

Cancer immunology is based upon boosting the body's own immune system to vanquish malignancies. It is among the fastest growing areas of oncology research. Researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center have launched three clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of a novel cellular-immunotherapy that uses modified T cells - one of the immune system's primary weapons - to treat three different types of blood cancer that often defy existing therapies.

24 Feb 2016

Calgary researchers develop new class of nanomedicines to treat autoimmune diseases

A new study from the University of Calgary could change the way researchers understand and treat autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

22 Feb 2016

Parvus' novel therapeutic approach employing nanomedicines published in Nature

Parvus Therapeutics today announced the publication in Nature of a seminal paper describing the discovery and applications of a novel therapeutic approach employing nanomedicines, referred to as "Navacims"TM, to reprogram white blood cells to become regulatory cells capable of blunting autoimmune responses and restoring the equilibrium of the immune system.

19 Feb 2016

DEK gene present in plasma can help predict outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have discovered that a human cancer-causing gene, called DEK, can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients. DEK may help doctors understand how a person's immune system could be used to treat cancer or predict outcomes for patients.

18 Feb 2016

Specialised white blood cell in birds can destroy fatal fungal infection

Scientists have discovered that a specialised white blood cell found in birds can destroy a potentially fatal fungal infection which affects more than one million people every year.