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Novel biomarkers linked to improved outcomes with immunotherapy in metastatic breast cancer

Two novel biomarkers have been found to correlate with improved outcomes with immunotherapy in metastatic breast cancer and may help to identify the patients most likely to benefit from this treatment, according to exploratory studies reported at the ESMO Breast Cancer Virtual Meeting 2020.

22 May 2020

Hydrocarbon bonds may help synthesize large range of novel organic molecules

The most common chemical bond in the living world -- that between carbon and hydrogen -- has long resisted attempts by chemists to crack it open, thwarting efforts to add new bells and whistles to old carbon-based molecules.

22 May 2020

Researchers reveal the molecular biology behind Hyaline Fibromatosis Syndrome

Hyaline Fibromatosis Syndrome (HFS) is a rare but severe genetic disease that affects babies, children, and adults. Hyaline, a glassy substance, accumulates in the skin and various organs, and causes painful deformities that can lead to an early death.

18 May 2020

Study shows human monoclonal antibodies can effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2

US researchers have published a proof of concept on the efficacy of human monoclonal antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in laboratory conditions, as well as their pioneering use in a mouse model. The study is available on the preprint server bioRxiv*.

17 May 2020

Low-molecular-weight drugs could help against COVID-19 says study

Chinese researchers have worked on using existing low molecular weight drugs to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 disease.

10 May 2020

Researchers re-purpose cancer-fighting artificial antibodies for COVID-19

Researcher Paula Bates, John Trent, and Don Miller developed a therapeutic drug that could potentially block the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Their research was initially aimed at helping patients suffering from multiple types of cancer.

27 Apr 2020

COST Action creates “Task Force” of researchers to contribute to Covid-19 research

STRATAGEM COST Action (New diagnostic and therapeutic tools against multidrug resistant tumors) has created a "Task Force" of researchers contributing to Covid-19 research.

23 Apr 2020

Researchers uncover how cancer cells don their invisibility cloaks

Immunotherapy drugs that target a protein called programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on the surface of cancer cells have quickly become a mainstay to treat many forms of cancer, often with dramatic results. But exactly how cancer cells turn on this protein was not completely understood.

22 Apr 2020

Supercomputer helps find 64 compounds as potential inhibitors of the COVID-19 protease

A new study published in Chemrxiv in April 2020 describes the identification of 64 compounds that could potentially be inhibitors of replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is causing the current COVID-19 disease pandemic. The research was carried out using a pharmacophore model of an essential viral enzyme, mining data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) database of conformations of approved drugs.

16 Apr 2020

Tumors commandeer cell death pathway to avoid immune system attack after radiation

Cancer cells avoid an immune system attack after radiation by commandeering a cell signaling pathway that helps dying cells avoid triggering an immune response, a new study led by UTSW scientists suggests.

13 Apr 2020

New family of molecules to join altered receptors in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's

An article published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry shows a new family of molecules with high affinity to join imidazoline receptors, which are altered in the brain of those patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.

3 Apr 2020

Scientists unravel a new mechanism that triggers cell death and inflammation

Z-form nucleic acids are double-stranded DNA and RNA molecules with an unusual left-handed double helix structure, as opposed to the classical right-handed Watson-Crick double helix. Z-nucleic acids were discovered more than 40 years ago, but their biological function has remained poorly understood.

31 Mar 2020

Study paves way for identifying ovarian cancer patients who will not benefit from combination therapy

A study suggests it may be possible to identify those who will not benefit from drug combination for advanced ovarian cancer.

19 Mar 2020

Research demonstrates control mechanism of force-induced cell-to-cell attachment

Using the amphibian Xenopus laevis as a model, Drs. Noriyuki Kinoshita and Naoto Ueno from the National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan and Dr. Ileana Cristea from Princeton University, USA have demonstrated that physical forces, such as centrifugal force, enhance cell-to-cell attachment and increase the stiffness of embryonic tissues as a result of force-induced cell shape change.

18 Mar 2020

Levels of sBTLA proteins may be a marker of overall survival in patients with HCC

In the 2020 February 25 issue of Scientific Reports, a research group from the Department of Hepatology in Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan reported that levels of a circulating soluble immune checkpoint protein can be used as a potential marker to predict overall survival in patients with advanced HCC.

9 Mar 2020

Administering immunotherapy alongside chemoradiation for advanced NSCLC appears to be safe and tolerable

Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey shows administering the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab together with chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation treatment (chemoradiation) is safe and tolerable as a first-line therapy for patients with stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer.

21 Feb 2020

Novel melatonin receptor molecules potentially address circadian rhythm disturbances

Like breathing or blinking, behaviors regulated by our circadian rhythms, such as digestion and sleep-wake cycles, go unnoticed by most people.

10 Feb 2020

Researchers reveal new activity above the surface in brain-cell receptors

Like buoys bobbing on the ocean, many receptors float on the surface of a cell's membrane with a part sticking above the water and another underwater, inside the cell's cytoplasm.

7 Feb 2020

Purdue-developed 'fluorescent markers' begin Phase 3 clinical trials

On Target Laboratories Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing the use of Purdue University-discovered fluorescent markers to target and illuminate cancer during surgery, has announced the results of a multi-institutional Phase 2 clinical trial in which outcomes were improved for 26% of patients undergoing pulmonary resection for non-small-cell lung cancer.

6 Feb 2020

Biophysicists shed light on the structure, functioning mechanism of CysLT receptors

Biophysicists from the MIPT Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases have teamed up with colleagues from Canada, the U.S., Japan, France, and Germany to shed light on the structure and functioning mechanism of the CysLT receptors, which regulate inflammatory responses associated with allergic disorders.

21 Jan 2020