General

Why does immunotherapy achieve dramatic results in some cancer patients but doesn’t help others? It is an urgent and vexing question for many cancer specialists. Now, two research groups from Harvard Medical School based at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have independently discovered a genetic mechanism in cancer cells that influences whether […]

University of Alberta researchers have discovered a mechanism that may make cancer cells more susceptible to treatment. Post-doctoral fellow Mohammad Ali and his research team found that the protein RYBP prevents DNA repair in cancer cells, including breast cancer, which in turn could make chemo or radiation therapy more effective. […]

While refining ways to grow arterial endothelial cells in the lab, a regenerative biology team at the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison unexpectedly unearthed a powerful new model for studying a hallmark of vascular disease. The team, led by Morgridge Institute Fellow Dave Vereide, describes in the Jan. 9, […]

Research at Virginia Tech and Penn State that has revealed how a parasitic plant utilizes cross-species gene manipulation to attack its victims could lead to a method to engineer parasite-resistant plants. Dodder, a parasitic plant that damages millions of dollars' worth of crops each year, is a stealthy invader that […]

One of the most puzzling questions in breast cancer research is why some tumors stay put, while rogue cells from others break free and spread to surrounding tissues, the first step toward creating a more lethal disease. Although researchers have found some signs in mutated genes or telltale proteins on […]

Cancer cells can be destroyed more effectively and selectively with a unique new reusable treatment, activated with a substance found in stinging nettles and ants – thanks to new research by the University of Warwick.  Cancer cells killed more effectively and selectively with a new approach, using a substance found […]

One of the most widely used drugs to fight cancer could become more effective and safer, based on findings emerging from the lab of UO chemist Vickie DeRose. In two recently published papers, separate projects using different approaches and led by two of DeRose’s doctoral students have made new predictions for […]

A type of soil-dwelling bacterium produces molecules that induce death in melanoma cells, research at Oregon State University shows. The molecule is a secondary metabolite, also known as a natural product, of Streptomyces bottropensis, and its properties are important because there are not many therapies that effectively manage melanoma, the […]

An old drug supercharged by University of Queensland researchers has emerged as a new antibiotic that could destroy some of the world’s most dangerous superbugs. The supercharge technique , led by Dr Mark Blaskovich and Professor Matt Cooper from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), potentially could revitalise other antibiotics. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria […]

New clinical trial findings show that a therapeutic regimen involving transplantation of a person’s own blood-forming stem cells can improve survival and quality of life for people with severe scleroderma, a life-threatening autoimmune disease. The regimen, known as myeloablative autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), includes chemotherapy and total body […]

By tagging bone marrow cells of mice with a genetic label, or barcode, researchers were able to track and describe the family tree of individual blood cells as they form in their natural environment. The scientists discovered that these cells regenerate differently than their counterparts do after a blood cell […]

When a cancer patient receives a bone marrow transplant, time is of the essence. Healthy stem cells, which can restart the production of blood cells and immune system components after a patient’s own are compromised, need to make their way from the circulatory system into the bones as quickly as […]

All living cells, from simple yeasts to human brain cells, regulate their rate of growth and their ultimate size and shape. How they do this, however, is one of the fundamental mysteries of biology. A new study, published in Current Biology, reveals a complex network of signals and feedback loops that control […]

Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, report that tiny tube-like protrusions called primary cilia on cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) — a layer of cells in the back of the eye  — are essential for the survival of the retina’s […]

A new Tel Aviv University study pinpoints the inverse correlation between a known oncogene — a gene that promotes the development of cancer — and the expression of an oncosuppressor microRNA as the reason for extended pancreatic cancer survival. The study may serve as a basis for the development of an effective […]

Growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital city, Carla V. Rothlin, Ph.D., associate professor of immunobiology and of pharmacology, and her three sisters listened to dinnertime conversations steeped in science. Their mother, a physician, regularly shared dermatological case studies from her practice. Their father, a pharmacology researcher, gave incremental progress […]

Some secrets to repair our skeletons might be found in the silky webs of spiders, according to recent experiments guided by supercomputers. Scientists involved say their results will help understand the details of osteoregeneration, or how bones regenerate. A study found that genes could be activated in human stem cells […]

Some 50,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) every year. The American Institute of Neurology estimates there are one million people affected with this neurodegenerative disorder, with 60 years as average age of onset. Falls and fall-related injuries are a major issue for people with Parkinson’s—up […]

It was a day Christian Njatcha will never forget. A graduate student in pharmacology, Njatcha was examining mice with lung cancer with one question in mind: Could the proto-drug he had given them defeat the disease? Answer: It could. The tumors had shrunk, and the mice were doing well. “That […]

For some animals, such as salamanders, regrowing a missing limb is a common healing process. But what if people could do the same? Could the future of treating amputations include warfighters regrowing their own muscle, bone, and nerve tissues? “We’re not quite there yet,” said Army Lt. Col. David Saunders, […]

Individual tumors respond differently to cancer drugs, if at all. Until now, it remained a mystery why tumors have different reactions to the exact same therapy. But a new study at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering finds that tumor growth properties can influence response to cancer drugs. “Identifying a […]

The air we breathe contains particulate matter from a range of natural and human-related sources. Particulate matter is responsible for thousands of premature deaths in the United States each year, but legislation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is credited with significantly decreasing this number, as well as the […]

In the journey from egg to embryo to mature organism, our bodies stretch and wrinkle and fold like a fabulously intricate piece of origami. Now UC San Francisco bioengineers have shown that many of the complex folded shapes that form mammalian body plans and internal tissue structures can be re-created […]

Have you resolved to take better care of yourself in the new year? Here’s a relatively painless way to do it: Catch a few more zzz’s every night. A third of American adults don’t get enough sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic poor sleep has […]

This is the first time that an entire newt genome has been sequenced, an achievement that can give rise to new discoveries on the amphibian’s ability to recreate brain neurons as well as entire body parts. Amongst the first findings are a multitude of copies of a certain microRNA group, […]

Delivering drugs specifically to cancer cells is one approach researchers are taking to minimize treatment side effects. Stem cells, bacteria and other carriers have been tested as tiny delivery vehicles. Now a new potential drug carrier to treat gynecological conditions has joined the fleet: sperm. Scientists report in the journal ACS […]

Dementia affects millions of people worldwide, robbing them of their ability to think, remember and live as they once did. In the search for new ways to fight cognitive decline, scientists report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that blueberry vinegar might offer some help. They found that the fermented […]

Ongoing monitoring for genetic changes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) during targeted treatment may allow clinicians to adjust patients’ treatments as the cancer evolves, according to a study published in Nature Communications led by Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Genome Center scientists. Physicians usually genetically profile a patient’s cancer […]

The nervous system is arguably the most complex organ of the vertebrate body. The eye, ear and olfactory epithelium are part of the peripheral nervous system and provide visual, sound and smell information to the brain. As part of the central nervous system the brain integrates this information to build […]

At first glance, a pair of award-winning images created by University of Southampton postgraduate researcher Catarina Moura seem to have a seasonal theme. But look more closely and you’ll see that the component parts of the pictures (or micrographs) of a Christmas tree and seasonal wreath are actually comprised of […]