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Scientists discover how ALL cells mutate to survive chemotherapy

By genomic sequencing of leukemia cells from relapsed patients at different stages, scientists have discovered key details of how acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells mutate to survive chemotherapy. These mutations enable the cells to proliferate, causing relapse and often death.

20 Mar 2015

PARP inhibitors can be effective in broader group of patients

A pioneering class of drugs that target cancers with mutations in the BRCA breast cancer genes could also work against tumours with another type of genetic fault, a new study suggests.

20 Mar 2015

New technology developed to determine resistance to rabies virus

Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife Research have developed a new technology to determine sensitivity or resistance to rabies virus.

20 Mar 2015

Cumulative genetic risk may underlie many Parkinson’s cases

Genetic risk for Parkinson’s disease may be due as much to multiple genes with small individual effects as to single high-risk genes, research suggests.

19 Mar 2015

BCM-95 Curcumin improves chemotherapy's effectiveness in killing chemoresistant cancer cells

Cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy is a major cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer. In a first-of-its-kind study, BCM-95 Curcumin was found to improve chemotherapy's effectiveness in killing chemoresistant cells via a mechanism not previously identified.

19 Mar 2015

Researchers study how maternal intake of excessive vitamins impacts offspring's behaviour

A research group at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine has been using a rat model to see how maternal intake of above-requirement vitamins (A, D, E, and K) impact offspring's brain development and behaviour.

19 Mar 2015

Scientists identify mystery behind cell-signaling breakdown that causes heart failure

Working with lab animals and human heart cells, scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions have identified what they describe as "the long-sought culprit" in the mystery behind a cell-signaling breakdown that triggers heart failure. The condition, which affects nearly 6 million Americans and 23 million people worldwide, is marked by progressive weakening and stiffening of the heart muscle and the organ's gradual loss of blood-pumping ability.

19 Mar 2015

IU researchers reveal how Toxoplasma parasites modify brain cells

Rodents infected with a common parasite lose their fear of cats, resulting in easy meals for the felines. Now IU School of Medicine researchers have identified a new way the parasite may modify brain cells, possibly helping explain changes in the behavior of mice -- and humans.

19 Mar 2015

New method of testing deadly pathogen could help combat cystic fibrosis

A new method of testing the most common cause of life-threatening infection in people with cystic fibrosis could improve efforts to study and combat the illness.

18 Mar 2015

Researchers discover new metabolic mechanisms linked to macrophage polarization

A group of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Agios Pharmaceuticals and ITMO University has discovered new metabolic mechanisms that regulate macrophage polarization - the unique ability of these immune cells to change their specialization depending on the required task.

18 Mar 2015

UT Southwestern neuroscientists identify key brain cells that control circadian rhythms

UT Southwestern Medical Center neuroscientists have identified key cells within the brain that are critical for determining circadian rhythms, the 24-hour processes that control sleep and wake cycles, as well as other important body functions such as hormone production, metabolism, and blood pressure.

18 Mar 2015

Virginia Tech researchers use genome-editing method to study lethal disease-carrying animal

Life science researchers at Virginia Tech have accelerated a game-changing technology that's being used to study one of the planet's most lethal disease-carrying animals.

18 Mar 2015

Scientists identify how mRNA deciphers critical information within genetic code

Case Western Reserve scientists have discovered that speed matters when it comes to how messenger RNA (mRNA) deciphers critical information within the genetic code — the complex chain of instructions critical to sustaining life. The investigators' findings, which appear in the March 12 journal Cell, give scientists critical new information in determining how best to engage cells to treat illness — and, ultimately, keep them from emerging in the first place.

18 Mar 2015

Penn researchers find evidence of new culprit in colon cancer

Colon cancer is a heavily studied disease -- and for good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its numbers are on the rise, from 500,00 deaths in 1990 to 700,000 in 2010.

17 Mar 2015

Researchers identify new gene variants that could contribute to sporadic motor neurone disease

Researchers have identified a new host of gene variants that could make people vulnerable to sporadic motor neurone disease, according to a report published today in the journal, Scientific Reports.

17 Mar 2015

Study: Cancer drug may help reduce bleeding in HHT patients

A cancer drug that helps keep tumors from growing blood vessels may help patients with a rare genetic condition in which malformed vessels increase their risk for bleeding and anemia.

17 Mar 2015

Ludwig researchers establish proof of concept for new approach to drug design

Exploring the fundamental mechanism by which a cell-surface receptor transmits its signal, an international team of Ludwig researchers and their colleagues has established proof of concept for an entirely new approach to drug design. They report that a class of synthetic molecules known as diabodies can, from outside the cell, latch onto a target receptor and manipulate it in such a manner as to induce distinct and varying effects within cells and tissues.

17 Mar 2015

Study defines new subtype of 'lethal' prostate cancer

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cancer Research defines a new, distinct subtype of "lethal" prostate cancer marked by the loss of two genes, MAP3K7 and CHD1. Overall about 10 percent of men with prostate cancer will die from the disease.

16 Mar 2015

Fast and focused sequencing from single genes to entire exomes

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) will host a talk on maximizing efficiency of NGS enrichment panels at the qPCR & NGS 2015 Advanced Molecular Diagnostics for Biomarker Discovery Symposium on Monday March 23rd at 3PM. The talk will detail current technical issues faced by researchers when using hybridization enrichment panels and provide practical advice on how to increase successes while reducing time and costs in targeted sequencing.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 16 Mar 2015

York U researchers identify how living beings can keep gene expression in check

York University researchers have learned how living beings can keep gene expression in check -- which might partly explain the uncontrolled gene expression found in many cancers.

16 Mar 2015