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Scientists make seminal breakthrough in understanding molecular basis of bile duct cancer

A team of scientists from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, Fundeni Clinical Institute (Romania) and Koen Kaen University (Thailand), have made a seminal breakthrough in understanding the molecular basis of bile duct cancer or cholangiocarcinoma, a rare but highly lethal form of liver cancer.

4 Nov 2013

High throughput ChIP microplate launched by Porvair

Porvair Sciences has announced that it will officially launch Chromatrap®96 HT – an innovative 96-well chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay plate at Epigenomics of Common Diseases (Wellcome Trust, Cambridge, UK) from 7th-10th November 2013.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 17 Oct 2013

CNIO researchers perform first exome sequencing for non-infiltrating bladder cancer

Bladder cancer represents a serious public health problem in many countries, especially in Spain, where 11,200 new cases are recorded every year, one of the highest rates in the world. The majority of these tumours have a good prognosis -- 70-80% five-year survival after diagnosis -- and they do not infiltrate the bladder muscle at the time of diagnosis -- in around 80% of cases.

14 Oct 2013

Constellation Pharmaceuticals awarded grant to facilitate study of epigenetic control of inflammation

Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in the field of epigenetics, today announced that it has been awarded a research grant in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to explore the potential use of BET bromodomain inhibitors for the control of inflammation in cystic fibrosis.

10 Oct 2013

Researchers identify new prospects for developing cancer therapies

By detailing a process required for repairing DNA breakage, scientists at the Duke Cancer Institute have gained a better understanding of how cells deal with the barrage of damage that can contribute to cancer and other diseases.

1 Oct 2013

Pan-Cancer Initiative: Patterns Emerge Across Diverse Tumor Types

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27 Sep 2013

Sister stem cells display considerable differences despite having identical DNA

Scientists have used a brand new technique for examining individual stem cells to uncover dramatic differences in the gene expression levels - which genes are turned 'up' or 'down'- between apparently identical 'sister' pairs.

27 Sep 2013

FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy designation to Syndax's entinostat for ER+ breast cancer

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated entinostat as a Breakthrough Therapy for the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer when added to exemestane in postmenopausal women whose disease has progressed following non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor therapy.

12 Sep 2013

Research offers focused explanation for cardiac arrest predilection for morning hours

Evidence from people with heart disease strongly supports the existence of the molecular link first discovered in laboratory mice between the body's natural circadian rhythms and cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death (SCD) - the No. 1 cause of death in heart attacks, a scientist said here today.

10 Sep 2013

Study: Changes in expression of various isoforms might play role in cancer development

Spool-like proteins called histones play a crucial role in packaging the nearly seven feet of DNA found in most human cells. A new study shows that a group of histones that are thought to behave the same way actually are functionally distinct proteins.

4 Sep 2013

Researchers discover role played by epigenetic factors in senescence and age-related diseases

One way cells promote tumor suppression is through a process called senescence, an irreversible arrest of proliferation. Senescence is thought to be associated with normal aging, but is also a protective measure by the body against run-away cell replication.

31 Aug 2013

Trinity researchers reveal CHD5 protein acts as tumor suppressor in nervous system development

CHD5 has previously been proposed as a tumour suppressor, acting as a brake that prevents healthy cells from developing into cancer cells. But the part played by the protein in healthy tissue, and whether this role is important for its ability to counter tumour growth, has remained largely uncharted.

14 Aug 2013

Scientists present novel method to visualize how nuclear protein mobility changes following DNA damage

Understanding the cellular response to DNA strand breaks is crucial to decipher the mechanisms maintaining the integrity of our genome. In eukaryotic cells, the molecular events triggered by DNA damage are strongly influenced by the local chromatin environment surrounding the lesion. The ensuing DNA repair process, in turn, impacts on chromatin structure. In order to understand how these two fundamental processes are mutually connected, both chromatin rearrangements induced by DNA damage as well as DNA repair activity have to be visualized in living cells.

12 Aug 2013

High mobility group (HMG) genes and cancer: an interview with Dr. Linda Resar, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

High mobility group A genes are highly expressed in all aggressive cancers studied to date. These genes encode the high mobility group A (HMGA) proteins. In other words, these genes provide the genetic “code” necessary to produce HMGA proteins.

8 Aug 2013

Cancer-linked mitosis: an interview with Professor Scott Kern, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Mitosis is the process by which a cell gives rise to two daughter cells. It’s the basis behind the growth of the human body, the renewal of the human body as it ages, and unfortunately, the growth of cancers.

7 Aug 2013

Statins: A class of cholesterol-lowering drugs may help treat Rett Syndrome

Statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs found in millions of medicine cabinets, may help treat Rett Syndrome, according to a study published today in Nature Genetics. The Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT) funded this work with generous support from the Rett Syndrome Research Trust UK and Rett Syndrome Research & Treatment Foundation.

30 Jul 2013

New application note describes ChIP assay technology for screening multiple epigenetic targets

Porvair Sciences has announced an application note describing the excellent results achievable from a new 96-well format version of its ChromaTrap chromatin immunoprecipitation assay technology.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 16 Jul 2013

Scientists focus on the role of mutated adult neural stem cells play in human diseases

CHARGE syndrome* is a severe developmental disorder affecting multiple organs. It affects 1 in 8500 newborns worldwide. The majority of patients carry a mutation in a gene called CHD7. How this single mutation leads to the broad spectrum of characteristic CHARGE symptoms has been a mystery.

6 Jul 2013

Discovery sheds new light on aggressiveness of certain breast cancers

In a discovery that sheds new light on the aggressiveness of certain breast cancers, Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a transcription factor, known as ZEB1, that is capable of converting non-aggressive basal-type cancer cells into highly malignant, tumor-forming cancer stem cells (CSCs). Intriguingly, luminal breast cancer cells, which are associated with a much better clinical prognosis, carry this gene in a state in which it seems to be permanently shut down.

4 Jul 2013

RORA: A novel candidate gene for autism regulates large number of other genes

A new study by Valerie Hu, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), reports that RORA, a novel candidate gene for autism discovered by her group in a 2010 study, regulates a large number of other genes associated with autism.

2 Jul 2013