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Researchers study zebrafish embryo skin to find link between low calcium and colon cancer

A tiny, transparent fish embryo and a string of surprises led scientists to a deeper understanding of the perplexing link between low calcium and colon cancer.

14 Dec 2013

Researchers discover completely new targets for treatment of blood cancers

A particularly aggressive form of leukemia is the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is especially common among children and very difficult to treat. Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have now discovered completely new targets for the treatment of blood cancers.

13 Dec 2013

New family of drugs may help combat childhood tumor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project study identifies drugs that enhance oxidative stress as possible weapon against most common pediatric soft tissue tumor

11 Dec 2013

Antibody-toxin compound shows compelling antitumor activity in non-Hodgkin lymphomas patients

A toxin linked to a targeted monoclonal antibody has shown "compelling" antitumor activity in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas who were no longer responding to treatment, according to a report from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

11 Dec 2013

Scientists unveil novel piece of puzzle of cancer cell DNA repair mechanisms

Research with a Finnish background facilitates the development of more effective cancer medication. Cancer cells have an exceptional ability to repair damage to their DNA caused during uncontrolled cell division.

10 Dec 2013

Drugs that enhance oxidative stress kill rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells

Drugs that enhance a process called oxidative stress were found to kill rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells growing in the laboratory and possibly bolstered the effectiveness of chemotherapy against this aggressive tumor of muscle and other soft tissue. The findings are the latest from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project and appear in the December 9 edition of the scientific journal Cancer Cell.

10 Dec 2013

PKM2 protein controls mitosis, saving cancer cells from death and promoting brain tumor growth

Researchers have caught a protein they previously implicated in a variety of cancer-promoting roles performing a vital function in cell division, survival and development of brain tumors.

8 Dec 2013

"Virtual T cell" predicts how human immune system reacts to foreign substances

A platform that simulates how the body defends itself: The T cells of the immune system decide whether to trigger an immune response against foreign substances.

5 Dec 2013

Blocking Cdh1 protein could accelerate development of new therapies targeting cancer

The laboratory of Marcos Malumbres, who is head of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre's (CNIO) Cell Division & Cancer Group, working alongside Isabel Fari-as' team from the University of Valencia, shows, in a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, how in mice the elimination of the Cdh1 protein -a sub-unit of the APC/C complex, involved in the control of cell division-prevents cellular proliferation of rapidly dividing cells.

5 Dec 2013

Tel Aviv University researchers discover a protein that kills bacteria

In the arms race between bacteria and modern medicine, bacteria have gained an edge. In recent decades, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has developed faster than the production of new antibiotics, making bacterial infections increasingly difficult to treat. Scientists worry that a particularly virulent and deadly "superbug" could one day join the ranks of existing untreatable bacteria, causing a public health catastrophe comparable with the Black Death.

3 Dec 2013

Scientists explain new family of proteins that appear to play key role in cancer

Scientists have described a new family of proteins that appear to play a key role in cancer and might be targets for future cancer drugs.

3 Dec 2013

Newly identified protein could prove promising new drug target for AIDS

Researchers have identified a protein that causes loss of function in immune cells combatting HIV. The scientists report in a paper appearing online Dec. 2 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the protein, Sprouty-2, is a promising target for future HIV drug development, since disabling it could help restore the cells' ability to combat the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Dec 2013

Researchers examine how spindle apparatus self-organizes

Researchers at Waseda University in Japan have identified key information to help explain the formation of the "spindle apparatus", a structure required for cell division. Their findings shed light on the mechanisms behind "self-organization" - an essential characteristic of biological structures.

30 Nov 2013

Study uncovers mechanisms that allow stem cells to keep dividing in perpetuity

The blood stem cells that live in bone marrow are at the top of a complex family tree. Such stem cells split and divide down various pathways that ultimately produce red cells, white cells and platelets. These "daughter" cells must be produced at a rate of about one million per second to constantly replenish the body's blood supply.

27 Nov 2013

Freiburg scientists discover substance that suppresses unchecked cell division in leukemia cells

Scientists of the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg University Medical Center from the collaborative research center Medical Epigenetics (SFB 992) have discovered a new active substance that inhibits cell division in leukemia cells and could play an important role in the fight against cancer.

27 Nov 2013

ARMI reveals new insights into how cells organize and form an early mammalian embryo

In research published today in Nature Cell Biology, scientists from the EMBL Australia research team based at Monash University's Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) have revealed new insights into how cells organise and form an early mammalian embryo.

26 Nov 2013

Waseda University researchers observe molecular motors that play critical role in chromosome transport

Researchers at Waseda University in Japan have for the first time directly observed the “molecular motor”, called Xkid, that plays a critical role in facilitating the proper alignment of chromosomes during cell division. Their findings are expected to contribute greatly to elucidating the molecular mechanisms of chromosome segregation, a key aspect of the development of certain medical disorders including cancer and birth defects.

25 Nov 2013

DNA-damaging drug and MK2 inhibitor combination could be effective against cancer

About half of all cancer patients have a mutation in a gene called p53, which allows tumors to survive and continue growing even after chemotherapy severely damages their DNA.

20 Nov 2013

Study confirms therapeutic potential of inhibiting Aurora-A in cancer treatment

Aurora-A is a protein involved in the cell division process that is highly expressed or synthesised in a large number of human cancers, especially in those associated with a bad prognosis. Several pharmaceutical companies have recently developed these protein inhibitors, although the therapeutic and physiological effects that blocking Aurora-A might have on adult tissues are still unknown.

19 Nov 2013

Mutations affecting immune system play important role in breast cancer

Mutations in the genes that defend the body against cancer-related viruses and other infections may play a larger role in breast cancer than previously thought, according to a study at the University of Illinois at Chicago.