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Research supports polygenic phenotype in schizophrenia

Cumulative genetic risk for schizophrenia has been linked to impaired prefrontal brain activity, in findings that support an additive genetic risk model for a polygenic phenotype.

25 Apr 2013

Researchers find deficiency in anti-tumor protein can delay DNA repair after radiation treatment

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found that a deficiency in an important anti-tumor protein, p53, can slow or delay DNA repair after radiation treatment. They suggest that this is because p53 regulates the expression of two enzymes (JMJD2b and SUV39H1) that control the folding of DNA.

23 Apr 2013

MD Anderson scientists demonstrate new way to restore tumor suppression

Tumor suppression, the family business of the sibling genes p53, p63 and p73, is undermined from within by the split personalities of p63 and p73, which each produce protein forms that not only block the work of the other two genes but also shut down its own cancer-stifling fraternal twin.

10 Apr 2013

Findings could help develop new ways to predict risks of tobacco-associated cancers

Believe it or not, while researchers have explored which genes are mutated in each type of tobacco-associated cancer, until now no one had thought to look across these types for common genes that might predict patient outcomes. Results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 show that in lung and bladder cancers, genes related to the regulation of the cell cycle are associated with poor patient outcomes.

10 Apr 2013

Scientists discover new mechanism that regulates replication of insulin-producing beta cells in pancreas

Bringing scientists a step closer to new treatments for diabetes, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and The Mount Sinai Medical Center have discovered a novel mechanism that regulates the replication of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.

27 Mar 2013

Research shows THz pulses destroy skin tissue and increase tumor-suppressing proteins

Terahertz (THz) radiation, a slice of the electromagnetic spectrum that occupies the middle ground between microwaves and infrared light, is rapidly finding important uses in medical diagnostics, security, and scientific research. As scientists and engineers find evermore practical uses for this form of radiation, questions persist about its potential human health risks.

15 Mar 2013

SRSF1 protein can prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53

Some cellular proteins have multiple, and occasionally opposing, functions. Professor Adrian Krainer and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory demonstrate in a paper published online today in Molecular Cell that the oncogenic protein SRSF1 can also trigger a stop in cell growth and prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53, the powerful tumor-suppressor protein.

8 Mar 2013

Insight into how protein synthesis and degradation help regulate delicate ballet of cell division

Biochemists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst including assistant professor Peter Chien recently gained new insight into how protein synthesis and degradation help to regulate the delicate ballet of cell division. In particular, they reveal how two proteins shelter each other in "mutually assured cleanup" to insure that division goes smoothly and safely.

5 Mar 2013

Four genetic variations may increase risk of colorectal cancer

An international research team co-led by cancer prevention researcher Ulrike "Riki" Peters, Ph.D., M.P.H., and biostatistician Hsu Li, Ph.D., at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified variations in four genes that are linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

21 Feb 2013

New medication could help patients with renal tumours triggered by tuberous sclerosis

In collaboration with the Berlin TSC Centre, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin has developed a new therapy for patients suffering from renal tumours associated with the rare genetic disease tuberous sclerosis (TSC).

13 Feb 2013

Non-coding RNA MALAT1 influences lung cancer metastasis

The vast majority - approximately 80 percent - of our DNA does not code for proteins, yet it gets transcribed into RNA. These RNA molecules are called non-coding and fulfill multiple tasks in the cell. Alongside a well-studied group of small RNAs, there is also a class of so-called long non-coding RNAs consisting of more than 200 nucleotides.

6 Feb 2013

Study demonstrates new fragile genomic sites responsible for chromosomal alterations in tumors

Cancer arises from the accumulation of mutations and structural changes in chromosomes, which in some cases give rise to combinations that favour the growth or expansion of the disease. In this context, chromosomes tend to lose or duplicate entire regions, although, the mechanisms that initiate these chromosomal abnormalities are not fully understood.

1 Feb 2013

OncoEthix initiates OTX015 Phase I study in hematologic malignancies

OncoEthix, the Swiss-based specialist in oncology drug development, announces progress in its Phase I study of OTX015, a novel BET bromodomain inhibitor, with the first dosing of a patient.

31 Jan 2013

DRCRF announces recipients of Nov. 2012 Damon Runyon Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 15 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.

29 Jan 2013

SLU team discovers molecular pathway that contributes to triple-negative breast cancer

In research published in the Jan. 17 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology, a team led by Susana Gonzalo, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, has discovered a molecular pathway that contributes to triple-negative breast cancer, an often deadly and treatment resistant form of cancer that tends to strike younger women.

23 Jan 2013

G-quadruplexes also exist within the human genome

In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving 'double helix' DNA structure - the chemical code for all life.

21 Jan 2013

Sp2 protein plays a key role in creation of neurons from stem cells

A protein known as Sp2 is key to the proper creation of neurons from stem cells, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Understanding how this protein works could enable scientists to "program" stem cells for regeneration, which has implications for neural therapies.

16 Jan 2013

Over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances drug resistance

Increased NEK2 gene expression linked to increased drug resistance, faster cancer growth, and poorer patient outcome - The finding may improved diagnostic and prognostic tools for cancer care and could lead to improved cancer therapies

16 Jan 2013

Susceptibility genes for bovine digital dermatitis found

Researchers have identified genetic variants that influence susceptibility to bovine digital dermatitis, an infectious condition that causes lameness of the hindfoot.

9 Jan 2013

Key link between stem cell factors that fuel ovarian cancer's growth and patient prognosis

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a key link between stem cell factors that fuel ovarian cancer's growth and patient prognosis. The study, which paves the way for developing novel targeted ovarian cancer therapies, is published online in the current issue of Cell Cycle.