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New software found to be four times better at predicting the prognosis of ovarian cancer

A new tool has proved to be four times more reliable at predicting prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer and the most effective course of treatment.

18 Feb 2019

Activating gene that helps excite neurons reverses depression in male mice

Directly activating a gene important to exciting our excitatory neurons and associated with major depression may help turn around classic symptoms like social isolation and loss of interest, at least for males, scientists report.

18 Feb 2019

Smoking may blight immune response against melanoma and reduce survival

Melanoma patients with a history of smoking cigarettes are 40 per cent less likely to survive their skin cancer than people who have never smoked, according to a new report funded by Cancer Research UK.

18 Feb 2019

Study finds genetic vulnerability to use of menthol cigarettes

A genetic variant found only in people of African descent significantly increases a smoker's preference for cigarettes containing menthol, a flavor additive.

15 Feb 2019

Vapers develop cancer-related gene deregulation as cigarette smokers

If you think vaping is benign, think again. A small USC study shows that e-cig users develop some of the same cancer-related molecular changes in oral tissue as cigarette smokers, adding to the growing concern that e-cigs aren't a harmless alternative to smoking.

15 Feb 2019

Conformance of genetic characteristics found to be crucial for longer preservation of kidney graft

The conformance of genetic characteristics is essential for the long-term function after kidney transplantation. This is the central result of a recent study in the top journal “The Lancet” with more than 500 patients after kidney transplantation, conducted by a global consortium led by Rainer Oberbauer and his colleagues Roman Reindl-Schwaighofer and Andreas Heinzel from the Division of Nephrology and Dialysis at MedUni Vienna.

15 Feb 2019

UVA scientists find potential explanation for mysterious cell death in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s

Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a potential explanation for the mysterious death of specific brain cells seen in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

15 Feb 2019

Scientists implicate hidden genes in the severity of autism symptoms

Scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have implicated a largely hidden part of the human genome in the severity of autism symptoms, a discovery that could lead to new insights into the disorder and eventually to clinical therapies for the condition.

15 Feb 2019

Artificial intelligence can accurately predict prognosis of ovarian cancer patients

The artificial intelligence software, created by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Melbourne, has been able to predict the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer more accurately than current methods. It can also predict what treatment would be most effective for patients following diagnosis.

15 Feb 2019

Immune checkpoint molecule protects against future development of cancer

A research team at the University of Louisville has discovered that an immune checkpoint molecule they developed for cancer immunotherapy, also protects against future development of multiple types of cancer when administered by itself.

15 Feb 2019

New study seeks to understand how colibactin causes cancer

For more than a decade, scientists have worked to understand the connection between colibactin, a compound produced by certain strains of E. coli, and colorectal cancer, but have been hampered by their inability to isolate the compound.

15 Feb 2019

Newly developed stem cell technologies show promise for treating PD patients

Cell replacement may play an increasing role in alleviating the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) in future. Writing in a special supplement to the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, experts describe how newly developed stem cell technologies could be used to treat the disease and discuss the great promise, as well as the significant challenges, of stem cell treatment.

15 Feb 2019

HDL proteome behaves like a tiny Velcro ball that is rolling on surfaces

Cholesterol carried in high-density lipoprotein particles, or HDL cholesterol, has been dubbed the good cholesterol, because people whose HDL levels are high have a lower risk of developing heart disease. That link was first established in 1977 and has been confirmed over and over in epidemiological studies.

15 Feb 2019

Moffitt researchers shed light on how CAR T cells function mechanistically

The scientific community has made great strides over the past decade in the development of a new class of cancer therapy called immunotherapy, a treatment that activates a patient's own immune system to target cancer cells.

15 Feb 2019

Genetic variations in a fourth gene associated with higher ALL risk in Hispanic children

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified genetic variations in a fourth gene that are associated with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Hispanic children. The research appears today in the journal Blood.

15 Feb 2019

Study: General anesthesia in early infancy unlikely to have lasting effects on developing brains

A single hour of general anesthesia in early infancy—longer than is necessary to perform the most common types of minor surgeries in childhood—does not result in measurable neurodevelopmental or behavioral problems up to the age of 5 years, according to the first randomized trial of its kind involving 722 infants in seven countries, published in The Lancet.

15 Feb 2019

Cholesterol-lowering drugs could help prevent onset of motor neurone disease

High cholesterol has been found to be a possible risk factor for the development of motor neurone disease, according to a large study of genetic data led in the UK by Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in the USA.

14 Feb 2019

Longer-lived sperm produces offspring with healthier lifespans

Sperm that live for longer before fertilising an egg produce healthier offspring – according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Uppsala University in Sweden.

14 Feb 2019

Whole-genome sequencing and sharing real-time data could limit spread of foodborne bacteria

Employing advanced genetic-tracing techniques and sharing the data produced in real time could limit the spread of bacteria -- Bacillus cereus -- which cause foodborne illness, according to researchers who implemented whole-genome sequencing of a pathogen-outbreak investigation.

14 Feb 2019

Study: Prime real estate is determined by previous owner in the squirrel world

A young squirrel lucky enough to take over territory from an adult male squirrel is like a teenager falling into a big inheritance, according to a new University of Guelph study.

14 Feb 2019