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New method could help scientists better predict disease-causing mutations in people's genes

Two researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have developed a method that could help clinicians and scientists better predict which mutations in people's genes could cause a disease and which would remain dormant.

18 Feb 2016

Mtss1 'tumour suppressor' for CML

The metastasis suppressor 1 protein acts a tumour suppressor in chronic myeloid leukaemia stem cells, reveals research published in Leukemia.

17 Feb 2016

CTI BioPharma announces Q4 and FY 2015 earnings

CTI BioPharma Corp. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.

17 Feb 2016

UI researchers remind US doctors to watch for two diseases that could be passed from mother to child

While world health leaders race to contain the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the Americas, researchers at the University of Iowa are reminding doctors in the United States to be on the lookout for two other vector-borne and potentially life-threatening diseases that can be passed from mother to child through the placenta.

30 Jan 2016

New mechanism of differentiation may offer novel therapeutic approaches to blood malignancies, solid tumors

In humans the differentiation of stem cells into hundreds of specialized cell types is vital. Differentiation drives development from fertilized egg to a newborn, and it underlies the continuous replacement of the 5 billion cells that die every hour in an adult. On the downside, mutations in differentiation pathways of different cell types can be drivers of cancers.

13 Jan 2016

Excess folic acid intake causes lowered immune function in aged mice

Previous studies have shown an association between high folic acid intake and a reduction in the immune system defenses needed to fight viral infections and cancer. In a new study in mice published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University set out to determine if excess folic acid intake caused adverse changes in the immune system.

12 Jan 2016

Personalised approach may help identify patients’ response to certain cancer treatments

Many people in Russia know about the Dima Rogachev Centre - particularly those who have faced the challenge of child cancer.

23 Dec 2015

Report uncovers how Down syndrome hampers nervous system that plays key role in health, longevity

While most Down syndrome research has focused on the brain, a new report by Johns Hopkins University biologists uncovers how the disorder hampers a separate part of the nervous system that plays a key role in health and longevity.

14 Dec 2015

Study reveals how MGCs dispose waste that obstructs normal physiological processes

If rubbish is too big and unwieldy for normal household waste, its removal becomes the job of specialized experts. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered, in cooperation with colleagues from the UK, how large, fused cells help our body to deal with bulky items that may otherwise obstruct normal physiological processes.

7 Dec 2015

UF Health researcher finds simple way to treat immune-related disorder in mice

A University of Florida Health researcher has found a simple, rapid way to treat an immune-related disorder in mice, an approach that could eventually help multiple sclerosis patients after further research.

25 Nov 2015

New nanocarriers may effectively deliver therapeutic drug to GBM tumors

Glioblastoma multiforme, a cancer of the brain also known as "octopus tumors" because of the manner in which the cancer cells extend their tendrils into surrounding tissue, is virtually inoperable, resistant to therapies, and always fatal, usually within 15 months of onset.

20 Nov 2015

Gamma interferon may have potential to prevent Ebola infection

The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed more than 11,300 lives and starkly revealed the lack of effective options for treating or preventing the disease. Progress has been made on developing vaccines, but there is still a need for antiviral therapies to protect health care workers and local populations in the event of future outbreaks.

18 Nov 2015

CRI scientists identify emergency blood-formation system inside the body

Scientists at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern have determined how the body responds during times of emergency when it needs more blood cells. In a study published in Nature, researchers report that when tissue damage occurs, in times of excessive bleeding, or during pregnancy, a secondary, emergency blood-formation system is activated in the spleen.

17 Nov 2015

Negative impact of high-fat diet on red blood cells may promote development of cardiovascular disease

University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered the negative impact a high fat diet has on red blood cells and how these cells, in turn, promote the development of cardiovascular disease.

17 Nov 2015

Study highlights importance of sex-specific differences in complex biological processes

New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that male and female mice respond differently to inflammation at the cellular level. Specifically, in male mice the spleen acts as a source of white blood cells, while in females this is not the case. This discovery suggests that human studies are necessary to determine if current medical practices, which treat men and women generally the same, should be altered to reflect sex-specific differences.

3 Nov 2015

Study could lead to better understanding of metabolic processes behind type 2 diabetes

Scientists in Sweden have discovered that human intestinal flora regulates the levels of the body's main antioxidant, glutathione, which fights a host of diseases. The findings could lead to new probiotic-delivering foods, and a better understanding of the metabolic processes behind diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

19 Oct 2015

Researchers come up with new design for a better liposome

Using computational modeling, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the Colorado School of Mines and the University of California, Davis have come up with a design for a better liposome. Their findings, while theoretical, could provide the basis for efficiently constructing new vehicles for nanodrug delivery.

14 Oct 2015

Study looks at survival benefits of surgical resection for melanoma patients with abdominal metastases

Patients with metastatic melanoma who undergo surgery to remove lesions that have spread into the abdomen live more than twice as long as those treated with drug therapy alone, according to novel new research by a North Shore-LIJ Health System cancer surgeon.

12 Oct 2015

FDA approves Promacta to treat pediatric patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Promacta (eltrombopag) to treat low blood platelet count in pediatric patients – ages one year and older – with a rare blood disorder called chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Promacta can be used in these children when they have not achieved an appropriate response using other ITP medicines or surgery to remove the spleen.

9 Oct 2015

Light-chain amyloidosis patients treated with high-dose chemo and stem cell transplantation have long-term survival

Patients with Light-chain (AL) amyloidosis who are treated with high-dose chemotherapy (melphalan) and autologous (one's own) stem cell transplantation (HDM/SCT) have the greatest success for long-term survival.