DNA Damage News and Research

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New research identifies promising drug therapy target for breast cancer

The genome of a cell is under constant attack, suffering DNA damage that requires an army of repair mechanisms to keep the cell healthy and alive. Understanding the behavior of the enzymes defending these assaults helps determine how - and where - cancer gets its foothold and flourishes.

18 Mar 2015

Gentronix signs three-year technology access deal with SIMM

UK based Gentronix Limited, the specialist genetic toxicology company, today announced it has signed a three year technology access deal with one of China's most prestigious research intensive institutes, Shanghai Institute Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

18 Mar 2015

Sall4 protein helps fix DNA damage

A protein that helps embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their identity also promotes DNA repair, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The findings raise the possibility that the protein, Sall4, performs a similar role in cancer cells, helping them fix DNA damage to survive chemotherapy.

3 Mar 2015

Researchers find that new targeted drugs can attack weak spots in cancer cells

Scientists have identified weak spots in cancer cells that could be targeted and attacked by new precision drugs.

25 Feb 2015

Duke researchers demonstrate genetic therapeutic technique to treat DMD patients

Duke researchers have demonstrated a genetic therapeutic technique that has the potential to treat more than half of the patients suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

19 Feb 2015

Researchers show importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of innate immune system

For the first time scientists from Umeå University show the importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of our innate immune system and hence the ability to mount the optimal inflammatory response to infections and other biological dangers.

18 Feb 2015

New study finds promising target for future therapies to treat breast and ovarian cancer patients

The Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the drug olaparib for ovarian cancer patients with inherited mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 came as welcome news to the thousands of women now eligible to receive it. A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists indicates that the pool of patients who can benefit from the drug is potentially much wider - and offers a ready means of identifying them.

16 Feb 2015

New NIEHS grants to support independent biomedical research

New grants totaling $3 million will go to six outstanding early-career scientists, bridging a funding gap to independent biomedical research. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, created the award to encourage early stage researchers who want to discover how our environment influences human health.

6 Feb 2015

TSRI researchers awarded grant to develop novel method for detecting DNA damage in stem cells

A team at The Scripps Research Institute has won a $1,784,000 grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The funding will support the development of a new method for detecting DNA damage in stem cells to ensure that only the highest quality cells are used in transplantation or therapy.

31 Jan 2015

MD Anderson and AstraZeneca to conduct multiple studies in ovarian, gynecologic cancers

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and AstraZeneca today announced a multiyear strategic research collaboration to conduct multiple, parallel clinical and clinically related studies in ovarian and other gynecologic cancers with the aim of improving patient outcomes.

31 Jan 2015

Pancreatic cancer cells know a way to sidestep chemotherapy, reveal Fox Chase researchers

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease. The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for 2014 show that over 46,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and more than 39,000 will die from it. Now, research led by Timothy J. Yen, PhD, Professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center, reveals that one reason this deadly form of cancer can be so challenging to treat is because its cells have found a way to sidestep chemotherapy.

30 Jan 2015

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome can be compared to normal aging, say scientists

In a new research study, scientists from Vision Genomics, LLC, Insilico Medicine, Inc., and Howard University showed that Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) is comparable to normal aging with respect to cellular signaling pathways, and that HGPS truly recapitulates the normal aging process.

28 Jan 2015

TAU's Yosef Shiloh receives Olav Thon Foundation's first international research award

Norway's largest charitable organization, the Olav Thon Foundation, which invests heavily in medical research, awarded its first international research award in the medical and natural sciences to Tel Aviv University's Prof. Yosef Shiloh and Prof. Judith Campisi of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, California.

22 Jan 2015

Researchers identify promising new target for developing better therapies for neuroblastoma kids

Researchers at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital have identified a promising new target for developing new therapies for kids with high-risk neuroblastoma, according to a new study published in Molecular Cancer Research.

22 Jan 2015

Radon linked to lung cancer risk in nonsmokers

Each year, radon kills more people than home fires, drowning, falls or drunk driving. It is the number one cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, taking some 21,000 lives annually.

12 Jan 2015

New therapeutic approach shows potential for treating cancer

Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a two-pronged therapeutic approach that shows great potential for weakening and then defeating cancer cells.

31 Dec 2014

Study reveals why older people are at higher risk for developing cancer

Why are older people at higher risk for developing cancer? Prevailing opinion holds that, over time, your body's cells accumulate DNA damage and that eventually this damage catches up with the body in a way that causes cancer.

23 Dec 2014

Study reveals why older people are at increased risk for developing cancer

19 Dec 2014

Broccoli can help reduce HGPS-related defects

Children who suffer from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome age prematurely due to a defective protein in their cells. Scientists at Technische Universität München have now identified another important pathological factor: the system responsible for removing cellular debris and for breaking down defective proteins operates at lower levels in HGPS cells than in normal cells. The researchers have succeeded in reactivating protein breakdown in HGPS cells and thus reducing disease-related defects by using a substance from broccoli.

18 Dec 2014

FL118 agent shows efficacy as personalized, targeted therapy for certain cancer tumors

A team led by Fengzhi Li, PhD, and Xinjiang Wang, PhD, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute has reported new findings regarding therapeutic targets of the novel anticancer agent FL118. Previous studies from these researchers have showed that FL118 induces cancer cell death, or apoptosis, by inhibiting expression of multiple cell-survival proteins (survivin, Mcl-1, XIAP or cIAP2).

15 Dec 2014