DNA Damage News and Research

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Discovery reveals a new approach to target cancer

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the School of Medicine have discovered that inhibiting a key molecule in a DNA repair pathway could provide the means to make cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy while protecting healthy cells.

3 Jun 2010

Researchers describe chain of molecular events that increase one's risk of skin cancer

As people head to the beach this summer, very few if any, really know how likely they are to develop skin cancer from their outdoor fun. That's about to change, thanks to a new discovery by an international team of scientists that makes it possible for doctors to access people's personal risk for skin cancer.

3 Jun 2010

European researchers define research priorities in biogerontology

The quality of the medical care for geriatric patients is a major investment for society and must imperatively be a research priority in Europe. This is why 50 European researchers, met on May 17 - 19 in Brussels, to define the research priorities in the field of biogerontology for the next 10 to 15 years.

21 May 2010

Mutation in BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene helps develop breast, ovarian cancer: Study

Studies have well established that women who harbor a mutation in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene are at greater risk for developing breast and ovarian cancers. Less known is information on other molecular events that may impact cancer formation in cells having a BRCA1 mutation. Investigators from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and a number of major cancer centers in Europe have identified the role a key protein plays in helping cells with mutant BRCA1 genes to survive.

20 May 2010

UAMS and partners receive $14.7M NIH grant for extension of biomedical research

Biomedical research in Arkansas has received a $14.7 million boost over five years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue expanding and improving biomedical research in the state.

20 May 2010

Tobacco-free cigarettes may be more carcinogenic than tobacco products: Study

Using the same technique they developed to document the harmful effects of tobacco products, a team of researchers found that cigarettes made without tobacco or nicotine may be more carcinogenic because they actually induce more extensive DNA damage than tobacco products.

13 May 2010

NWO awards 31 grants in Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 31 grants in the Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme for the acquisition of equipment, the setting up of data collections and the production of software and bibliographies. The total investment amounts to 10 million euro.

30 Apr 2010

Dietary MSC can help reset cell's biological clock to prevent development of breast cancer: Study

Usually when all else fails with a technical device, a "reset" button can be pressed, preventing a glitch from going any further. What if that could be done with threats to a person's health? Investigators from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute which is jointly administered by UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered that a form of a dietary trace element known as selenium can help reset a cell's "biological clock" when it is disrupted by a chemical cancer-causing agent (carcinogen).

28 Apr 2010

Melanin-covered nanoparticles may protect bone marrow from harmful radiation therapy effects: Research

Tiny, melanin-covered nanoparticles may protect bone marrow from the harmful effects of radiation therapy, according to scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University who successfully tested the strategy in mouse models.

27 Apr 2010

NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award for Zhihao Zhuang

Zhihao Zhuang, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware, has won the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award.

17 Apr 2010

Gene defect promotes aggressive forms of ovarian cancer

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered how mistakes in a key gene drive the early stages of aggressive ovarian cancers. This could improve diagnosis of aggressive forms of the disease and lead to new treatments, according to a study published in the Journal of Pathology this month.

15 Apr 2010

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, AACR awarded four Innovative Grants for pancreatic cancer research

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research awarded four Innovative Grants; three Career Development Awards; one Pathway to Leadership Grant; and one Fellowship Award to outstanding researchers for their innovative research proposals which have the potential to lead to medical breakthroughs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

15 Apr 2010

Research finding suggests HCV interference with hepcidin synthesis

Iron overload, a common feature of chronic liver disorders, has been linked with oxidative DNA damage, insulin resistance and liver steatosis, and with triggering of hepatic stellate cells thus inducing liver fibrosis.

13 Apr 2010

Ku protein employs unique mechanism for DNA repair: Researchers

Scientists have shown in multiple contexts that DNA damage over our lifetimes is a key mechanism behind the development of cancer and other age-related diseases. Not everyone gets these diseases, because the body has multiple mechanisms for repairing the damage caused to DNA by aging, the environment and other human behaviors - but the mechanisms behind certain kinds of DNA repair have not been well-understood.

12 Apr 2010

Recql5 identified as a tumor suppressor in GI tract

Recql5 is a member of the mammalian RecQ helicase family. Genetic mutations that result in loss of RecQ helicase activity give rise to disorders that are associated with cancer predisposition and premature aging, such as Bloom, Werner, and Rothmund-Thomson syndromes. This class of enzymes is best known for their role in maintaining the integrity of the genome to prevent oncogenic mutations.

9 Apr 2010

Blocking POLQ gene activity can increase ability of radiotherapy to destroy tumours

Cancer Research UK scientists have identified a gene that once blocked could increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy on tumours, according to research published in Cancer Research today (Thursday).

7 Apr 2010

New production method yields hundredsfold more ubiquitylated proteins critical for cancer research

Scientists at the University of Delaware have developed a new method for producing proteins critical to research on cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases.

3 Apr 2010

New insights on events that lead to immortalized cells

Researchers at Umeå University can now show that cells that grow forever get this capacity through gradual changes in the expression of genes that govern the repair of DNA damage and regulate growth and cell death. The research also shows that activation of the enzyme complex telomerase, which is necessary for unlimited growth, occurs late in this process.

29 Mar 2010

Genetic instability in people with Fanconi anemia: New proteins in FA DNA repair pathway may help explain

Identification of two new proteins in the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway may help explain genetic instability in people with Fanconi anemia and how otherwise healthy people are susceptible to cancer from environmentally triggered DNA damage.

26 Mar 2010

Novel ways of killing TB causing bacteria discovered

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found two novel ways of killing the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), a disease responsible for an estimated two million deaths each year. The findings, published in the March 21 online issue of Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to a potent TB therapy that would also prevent resistant TB strains from developing.

22 Mar 2010