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Four unrelated families share identical BAP1 mutation that causes several cancers

University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researchers discovered members of four families, apparently unrelated and living in different states across the US, shared the identical mutation of a gene called BAP1 that causes mesothelioma, melanoma, renal carcinoma and other cancers.

23 Dec 2015

Researchers find mechanism that alters expression of key genes to make windows of stress-related neuroplasticity

Chronic stress can lead to changes in neural circuitry that leave the brain trapped in states of anxiety and depression. But even under repeated stress, brief opportunities for recovery can open up, according to new research at The Rockefeller University.

23 Dec 2015

Study identifies genetic factors that play role in AMD

An international study has identified the number of genetic factors known to play a role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the worldwide leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

23 Dec 2015

Researchers identify transporters responsible for arsenic accumulation in plant seeds

Researchers from FIU's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Barry P. Rosen and Jian Chen, both from the Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, are part of an international team that has identified how arsenic gets into the seeds of plants such as rice. T

23 Dec 2015

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital gets approval for new graduate school of biomedical sciences

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has received a unanimous vote of approval from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for the opening of a new graduate school of biomedical sciences.

23 Dec 2015

New footage shows how AIDS vaccine candidate recruits immune cells to destroy infected cells

Using innovative technology, scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm have filmed in vivo the process by which an AIDS vaccine candidate, developed by the French Vaccine Research Institute and the ANRS, triggers the immune response.

23 Dec 2015

Cholesterol essential for health, but also plays key role in longevity

Animals from tiny worms to human beings have a love-hate relationship with fats and lipids. Cholesterol is a famous example of how they are both essential for health and often have a role in death.

23 Dec 2015

Researchers describe epigenetic mechanisms underlying the development of cerebellum

From before birth through childhood, connections form between neurons in the brain, ultimately making us who we are. So far, scientists have gained a relatively good understanding of how neural circuits become established, but they know less about the genetic control at play during this crucial developmental process.

23 Dec 2015

New study reveals why some vestibular schwannomas cause hearing loss

A new study at Massachusetts Eye and Ear showed that in some cases of vestibular schwannoma, a sometimes-lethal tumor often associated with neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), secretions from the tumor contain toxic molecules that damage the inner ear.

23 Dec 2015

Novel drug shows promise in mouse models of human metastatic breast cancer

A doctor treating a patient with a potentially fatal metastatic breast tumor would be very pleased to find, after administering a round of treatment, that the primary tumor had undergone a change in character - from aggressive to static, and no longer shedding cells that can colonize distant organs of the body. Indeed, most patients with breast and other forms of cancer who succumb to the illness do so because of the cancer's unstoppable spread.

23 Dec 2015

Vitamin D plays substantial role in patient outcomes after weight-loss surgery

Low levels of vitamin D have long been identified as an unwanted hallmark of weight loss surgery, but now findings of a new Johns Hopkins study of more than 930,000 patient records add to evidence that seasonal sun exposure -- a key factor in the body's natural ability to make the "sunshine vitamin" -- plays a substantial role in how well people do after such operations.

23 Dec 2015

Inorganic mercury can damage key cell processes, finds UGA study

University of Georgia research has found that inorganic mercury, which was previously thought to be a less harmful form of the toxic metal, is very damaging to key cell processes.

22 Dec 2015

Study: Brains of compulsive video game players wired differently

Brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently. Chronic video game play is associated with hyperconnectivity between several pairs of brain networks.

22 Dec 2015

Researchers reveal inherited genetic errors across 12 cancer types

Researchers long have known that some portion of the risk of developing cancer is hereditary and that inherited genetic errors are very important in some tumors but much less so in others.

22 Dec 2015

Researchers identify biochemical factors that may predict Alzheimer's disease

Investigators have wondered why the brains of some cognitively-intact elderly individuals have abundant pathology on autopsy or significant amyloid deposition on neuroimaging that are characteristic of Alzheimer disease (AD).

22 Dec 2015

Bern study sheds light on the brain mechanism of arousal

Scientists from Bern have discovered a mechanism which is responsible for the rapid arousal from sleep and anesthesia in the brain. The results of their study suggest new strategies for the medical treatment of sleep disorders and recovery of consciousness in vegetative states.

22 Dec 2015

Large doses of vitamin A reduce severity of gastrointestinal disease in mice

After observing that some gastrointestinal disease in premature human and mouse infants progresses only when certain immune system white blood cells go into inflammatory overdrive, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that giving large doses of vitamin A to mice converts those blood cells into inflammation suppressors and reduces the severity of the disease, compared to untreated mice.

22 Dec 2015

Wnt5a protein acts on tumor-surface proteins to accelerate spread of CLL cells

Building upon previous research, scientists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer report that a protein called Wnt5a acts on a pair of tumor-surface proteins, called ROR1 and ROR2, to accelerate the proliferation and spread of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells, the most common form of blood cancer in adults.

22 Dec 2015

New treatment strategy may take pain away

A brain region controlling whether we feel happy or sad, as well as addiction, is remodeled by chronic pain, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

22 Dec 2015

New study examines single 'transformer' proteins involved in cancer

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital shows how a protein involved in cancer twists and morphs into different structures.

22 Dec 2015