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Study provides insight into development of autism in the human brain

In a study published in Stem Cell Reports, a McGill team of scientists led by Dr. Carl Ernst, researcher at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, revealed a molecular mechanism that may play a role in the development of autism.

27 Jun 2018

Polio virus could help brain cancer patients

According to researchers genetically altered poliovirus strains could help some patients of brain cancer. A team of researchers from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, used modified polio virus strains in small groups of patients who had glioblastoma – a particularly deadly form of brain cancer. In these patients standard treatments have failed say the researchers and this novel therapy could help.

27 Jun 2018

AI could improve clinical diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer

Researchers in Sweden have shown how data-driven AI could contribute to a better understanding of how prostate cancer develops, and even improve clinical diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

26 Jun 2018

Error in most widely used method in epigenetics can cause misleading results

An error in one of the most widely used methods in epigenetics, DIP-seq, can cause misleading results, researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have shown. This may have major significance in the research field, where "big data" and advanced methods of DNA analysis are used to study vast amounts of epigenetic data.

26 Jun 2018

Special collection of papers highlights research on craniofacial genetics

Our faces can reveal a lot about us, and now scientists are revealing a lot about faces. PLOS Genetics announces a special collection of papers to highlight recent advances in our understanding of how faces form, curated by Seth Weinberg of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues.

26 Jun 2018

Unbiased approach reveals how to restore breast cancer drugs’ tumor-killing potential

More than 60 percent of breast cancer cases involve defects in the same biochemical chain of events within cancer cells-- known as the PI3 kinase (PI3K) pathway--but efforts to develop therapies targeting this pathway have met with little success after hundreds of mostly failed clinical trials. And researchers still don't understand why.

26 Jun 2018

Microbiologists and plant scientists pinpoint genetic weakness in cholera pandemic's armor

While cholera rages across many regions of the world, a team of microbiologists and plant scientists has pinpointed a genetic weakness in the pandemic's armor, which could lead to future treatments.

26 Jun 2018

Scientists discover new kind of small-cell lung cancer

Researchers have discovered a new kind of small-cell lung cancer. The discovery paves the way for developing personalized medicine approaches to target this previously unnoticed form of the disease.

26 Jun 2018

Scientists discover and characterize new toxin in cholera bacteria

The bacterium Vibrio cholerae was discovered more than 150 years ago but remains as one of the main causes of bacterial infectious disease globally, especially in low-income nations where it occurs endemic, and outbreaks of cholera disease can lead to major epidemics.

26 Jun 2018

CRISPR technique reduces repetitive behavior in fragile X syndrome mouse models

Scientists have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to lessen some autism symptoms in mice with a form of fragile X syndrome, the most common known single-gene cause of autism spectrum disorder.

25 Jun 2018

Chemical compounds produced by gut bacteria could help spot early stages of liver disease

Chemical compounds produced by the bacteria in our gut could be used to spot the early stages of liver disease, according to new research.

25 Jun 2018

New discovery suggests potential target for treating cancers and other diseases

When cells grow and divide to ensure a biological function - such as a properly working organ - DNA must be unwound from its typical tightly packed form and copied into RNA to create proteins.

25 Jun 2018

Genetic subset of prostate cancer may benefit from combination checkpoint immunotherapy

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy released a study investigating the use of combination checkpoint immunotherapy in the treatment of a lethal form of advanced prostate cancer.

25 Jun 2018

Study links molecular changes in the brain to key behaviors in addiction

Changes in a brain signaling system contribute to the development of alcohol addiction-like behaviors in rats, according to a new study led by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden.

25 Jun 2018

Researchers use gene editing to reduce autism symptoms in mice

Researchers have used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to treat symptoms of autism in mice. It is hoped that the tool could one day be used to help humans.

25 Jun 2018

Blocking viral-host interaction slows down flu virus replication, study shows

Influenza A (flu A) hijacks host proteins for viral RNA splicing and blocking these interactions caused replication of the virus to slow, according to new research published in Nature Communications by Kristin W. Lynch, PhD, chair of the department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and doctoral student Matthew Thompson.

25 Jun 2018