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Not all doctors offer cancer gene testing to patients, study finds

Many cancer researchers believe that cutting-edge advances in genomics will pave the way for personalized or "precision" cancer medicine for all patients in the near future. A new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, however, suggest that not all doctors are ready to embrace tests that look for hundreds of DNA changes in patients' tumor samples, while others plan to offer this type of cancer gene testing to most of their patients.

25 Mar 2014

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

This alternative approach to creating artificial organic molecules, called bioretrosynthesis, was first proposed four years ago by Brian Bachmann, associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Now Bachmann and a team of collaborators report that they have succeeded in using the method to produce the HIV drug didanosine.

25 Mar 2014

Patrys provides update on development programme for anti-cancer product, PAT-LM1

Patrys Limited, a clinical stage biotechnology company, is pleased to provide an update on the development programme for anti-cancer product, PAT-LM1.

24 Mar 2014

Study examines events that lead to sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae

An international team of academics, including Professor Marco Oggioni from the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics, has studied how localised infections can turn into the dangerous systematic disease sepsis - and has identified for the first time through genetic evidence that a single bacteria could be the cause.

24 Mar 2014

Cumulative amount of specific gene products affects changes in cell fate, say researchers

Johns Hopkins biologists have discovered that when biological signals hit cells in rhythmic waves, the magnitude of the cells' response can depend on the number of signaling cycles — not their strength or duration. Because such so-called “oscillating signaling cycles” are common in many biological systems, the scientists expect their findings in single-celled organisms to help explain the molecular workings of phenomena such as tissue and organ formation and fundamental forms of learning.

24 Mar 2014

Research findings may be beneficial for creation of purer HSC lines for clinical treatments

Hematopoietic stem cells are now routinely used to treat patients with cancers and other disorders of the blood and immune systems, but researchers knew little about the progenitor cells that give rise to them during embryonic development.

24 Mar 2014

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

The same gene family that may have helped the human brain become larger and more complex than in any other animal also is linked to the severity of autism, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

24 Mar 2014

Drugs fail to "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells

Scientists at Johns Hopkins report that compounds they hoped would "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells - a strategy designed to reverse latency and make the cells vulnerable to destruction - have failed to do so in laboratory tests of such white blood cells taken directly from patients infected with HIV.

24 Mar 2014

New way to make large concentrations of skeletal muscle cells from human stem cells

As stem cells continue their gradual transition from the lab to the clinic, a research group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered a new way to make large concentrations of skeletal muscle cells and muscle progenitors from human stem cells.

24 Mar 2014

New insight into germline EGFR T790M mutation in familial non-small cell lung cancer

Two studies are providing new insight into germline epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation in familial non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The findings suggest the need for tailored approaches for early detection and treatment, as well as for genetic testing to identify carriers.

24 Mar 2014

CUMC researchers devise new system for classifying periodontal disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have devised a new system for classifying periodontal disease based on the genetic signature of affected tissue, rather than on clinical signs and symptoms. The new classification system, the first of its kind, may allow for earlier detection and more individualized treatment of severe periodontitis, before loss of teeth and supportive bone occurs.

24 Mar 2014

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although both genders have an equal risk of inheriting the mutation, those who develop lung cancer are mostly women and have never smoked, the researchers found.

24 Mar 2014

Women taking folic acid supplement may be at risk of reducing folate benefit through sun exposure

Women who are pregnant or trying to fall pregnant and taking a folic acid supplement may be at risk of reducing their folate benefit through sun exposure, a new QUT study has warned.

24 Mar 2014

Measuring circulating tumor cells may help better predict prostate cancer survival

New research by USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists demonstrates that measuring circulating tumor cells (CTCs) - the cells that spread cancer through the body - may be a better predictor of patient survival than the prostate specific antigen (PSA).

24 Mar 2014

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in coaxing laboratory cultures of human stem cells to develop into the specialized, unique cells needed to repair a patient's defective or diseased bladder.

24 Mar 2014

Rare abnormality in chromosomes increases risk of rare childhood leukaemia

Researchers have found that people born with a rare abnormality of their chromosomes have a 2,700-fold increased risk of a rare childhood leukaemia. In this abnormality, two specific chromosomes are fused together but become prone to catastrophic shattering.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

The cause of a rare type of ovarian cancer that most often strikes girls and young women has been uncovered by an international research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, according to a study published online today by the renowned scientific journal, Nature Genetics.

23 Mar 2014

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Although genome-wide association studies have linked DNA variants in the gene SCN10A with increased risk for cardiac arrhythmia, efforts to determine the gene's direct influence on the heart's electrical activity have been unproductive. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered that these SCN10A variants regulate the function of a different gene, SCN5A, which appears to be the primary gene responsible for cardiac arrhythmia risk.

21 Mar 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

The shortage of oxygen, or hypoxia, created when rapidly multiplying kidney cancer cells outgrow their local blood supply can accelerate tumor growth by causing a nuclear protein called SPOP-which normally suppresses tumor growth-to move out of the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it has the opposite effect, promoting rapid proliferation.

21 Mar 2014

Medical Science News

Not all doctors offer cancer gene testing to patients, study finds

Researchers use retro approach to produce new drugs

Patrys provides update on development programme for anti-cancer product, PAT-LM1

Study examines events that lead to sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae

Cumulative amount of specific gene products affects changes in cell fate, say researchers

Research findings may be beneficial for creation of purer HSC lines for clinical treatments

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

Drugs fail to "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells

New way to make large concentrations of skeletal muscle cells from human stem cells

New insight into germline EGFR T790M mutation in familial non-small cell lung cancer

CUMC researchers devise new system for classifying periodontal disease

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

Women taking folic acid supplement may be at risk of reducing folate benefit through sun exposure

Measuring circulating tumor cells may help better predict prostate cancer survival

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

Rare abnormality in chromosomes increases risk of rare childhood leukaemia

Researchers uncover cause of rare type of ovarian cancer that strikes girls and young women

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Misplaced protein provides promising drug target for kidney cancer

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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