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Researchers find that exercise may slow tumor growth, improve chemotherapy

One way many cancers grow resistant to treatment is by generating a web of blood vessels that are so jumbled they fail to provide adequate oxygen to the tumor. With oxygen starvation, the tumor gains a sort of cloaking device that protects it from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs and radiation, which are designed to seek out well-oxygenated tissue.

17 Mar 2015

Researchers team up to study stomach flu

Rice University bioengineers are teaming with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center to apply the latest techniques in tissue engineering toward the study of one of the most common and deadly human illnesses -- the stomach flu.

17 Mar 2015

CUMC researchers identify mechanism of kidney transplant tolerance

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have pinpointed the immune system mechanism that allows a kidney transplant to be accepted without lifelong immunosuppressive drugs, a significant step toward reducing or eliminating the need for costly and potentially toxic immunosuppressant drugs and improving long-term transplant success.

17 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

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 finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following contrast-enhanced MRI exams

Mayo Clinic research finds direct evidence of gadolinium deposition in neuronal tissues following intravenous administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents used in MRI exams. The findings were recently published online in the journal Radiology.

17 Mar 2015

TSRI scientists confirm ribosome assembly as new target for anti-cancer drugs

Ribosomes, ancient molecular machines that produce proteins in cells, are required for cell growth in all organisms, accomplishing strikingly complex tasks with apparent ease. But defects in the assembly process and its regulation can lead to serious biological problems, including cancer.

17 Mar 2015

Comprehensive review of sex hormones' role in female reproductive tract

Charles R. Wira, PhD, and colleagues at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine have presented a comprehensive review of the role of sex hormones in the geography of the female reproductive tract and evidence supporting a "window of vulnerability" to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

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

People’s health at the centre of new global blueprint to reduce disaster risks

Ten years since adopting the Hyogo Framework for Action shortly after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, government representatives have gathered in Sendai to negotiate a new framework for global action to reduce the risks of disasters. For the first time, protecting people's health is at the centre of such a framework.

16 Mar 2015

World Health Organisation (WHO) joins with ESCMID to fight global infections

The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has been joined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the 7th annual ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ (April 24th, 2015).

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

Experts call for a tobacco-free world by 2040

Leading public health researchers have called for the sale of tobacco to be phased out by 2040, showing that with sufficient political support and stronger evidence-based action against the tobacco industry, a tobacco-free world – where less than 5% of adults use tobacco – could be possible in less than three decades.

16 Mar 2015

Two American scientists receive Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

Two American scientists, James P. Allison and Carl H. June, will today receive the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. Both give the patient's own immune system the lasting ability to fight cancer, Allison against late stage melanoma, June against leukemia.

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

Study sheds light on cell migration mechanisms involved in wound-healing process

Researchers at the University of Arizona have discovered what causes and regulates collective cell migration, one of the most universal but least understood biological processes in all living organisms.

16 Mar 2015

Max Planck Florida Institute receives NIH grant to study cerebral cortex function and development

Dr. David Fitzpatrick, Scientific Director and CEO at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, has been awarded a $2.4 million five-year grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the functional organization and development of neural circuits in the cerebral cortex, specifically, in the area of brain responsible for processing visual information.

13 Mar 2015

Combination of anti-Nodal and DTIC therapy can produce anti-cancer effects

Metastatic melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer deaths in the United States; once melanoma has spread (metastasized), life expectancy for patients can be dramatically shortened.

13 Mar 2015

Study: Listening to classical music improves activity of genes involved in brain functions

Although listening to music is common in all societies, the biological determinants of listening to music are largely unknown. According to a latest study, listening to classical music enhanced the activity of genes involved in dopamine secretion and transport, synaptic neurotransmission, learning and memory, and down-regulated the genes mediating neurodegeneration.

13 Mar 2015