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New combination therapy could be effective in treating aggressive cancers with common mutations

Scientists have long known that therapies that target the cancer-driving MAPK pathway are only effective in a handful of cancers with specific mutations in a cancer gene called BRAF, and these cancers that initially respond to the therapy often end up developing resistance to the treatment, resulting in relapse for many patients.

15 Dec 2020

New genetic associations predict susceptibility to Takayasu arteritis

A team of international collaborators, headed by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, have detected novel genetic associations that can estimate the susceptibility of individuals to Takayasu arteritis—a rare inflammatory disease.

14 Dec 2020

New antibiotic can help treat drug-resistant pathogens

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Medicine have designed a potential new antibiotic for a pathogen that is highly resistant to drugs and is often lethal to individuals suffering from lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis.

11 Dec 2020

Researchers discover protein crucial for growing life-saving blood stem cells

A group of scientists from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona and Columbia University in New York City has discovered a protein that is crucial for expanding the usually scarce, life-saving blood stem cells.

11 Dec 2020

Scientists aim to treat and prevent disease by understanding exercise benefits

A top exercise researcher and colleagues at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have launched an ambitious effort to understand the whole-body benefits of exercise so that doctors can use that information to prevent and treat disease.

11 Dec 2020

A genetic shortcut to help visualize proteins at work

A group at Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco (UCSF) has demonstrated that a large-scale and systematic genetic approach can indeed yield reliable and detailed information on the structure of protein complexes.

11 Dec 2020

New portable optical sensor can monitor plant stress

The portable device allows rapid detection of nitrogen deficiency - a critical nutrient for plant health. When tested on popular vegetables such as Spinach and Kai-Lan, the device was also able to detect levels of other metabolites; allowing measurement of a wider range of plant stress phenotypes such as drought, heat/cold, saline, and light stress.

11 Dec 2020

Research shows how microbubbles can be used to administer potent cancer drugs

New research has shown how microbubbles carrying powerful cancer drugs can be guided to the site of a tumour using antibodies.

11 Dec 2020

Study shed light on how genes affect the risk for coronary artery disease

Researchers at the University of Virginia have shed light on how our genes affect our risk for coronary artery disease, the most common form of heart disease.

11 Dec 2020

Toxic pollutants may be influencing wildlife disease spread, finds study

Exposure to toxic pollutants associated with human activities may be influencing the spread of infectious diseases in wildlife, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

From University of Georgia 11 Dec 2020

Researchers identify new therapeutic target to treat type 1 diabetes

Scientists from the University of Utah School of Medicine have discovered a novel therapeutic target to treat type 1 diabetic patients.

10 Dec 2020

Study links air pollution and diabetes to interstitial lung disease

People with pre-diabetes or diabetes who live in ozone-polluted areas may have an increased risk for an irreversible disease with a high mortality rate.

10 Dec 2020

Researchers develop a diagnostic tool for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Infrared analyses of neuronal proteins provide information on molecular changes in patients with ALS. This helps to verify their diagnosis.

10 Dec 2020

Appendiceal cancer among young patients harbors a distinct biology, shows study

The first study to compare molecular landscapes of early-onset and late-onset appendiceal cancer has revealed distinct non-silent mutations in the tumors of younger patients, setting the stage for the development of potential therapeutic advances for this rare disease.

From Vanderbilt University 10 Dec 2020

CTC dynamics related to overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Early circulating tumor cell dynamics were associated with overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to a meta-analysis presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-11.

10 Dec 2020

Study shows human-specific connection between advanced cancers and a gene

Humans are more prone to develop carcinomas compared with our closest evolutionary cousins, the great apes. These cancers begin in the epithelial cells of the skin or the tissue that covers the surface of internal organs and glands, and they include prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal cancers.

10 Dec 2020

Researchers identify key molecular processes used by coronaviruses to survive

When a coronavirus--including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19--infects someone, it hijacks the person's cells, co-opting their molecular machinery for its own survival and spread.

9 Dec 2020

Study provides new insight on how lung bacteria protect against invading pathogens

New insight on how bacteria in the lungs protect against invading pathogens has been published today in the open-access eLife journal.

9 Dec 2020

Researchers discover genetic factors underlying diabetic retinopathy

In a quest to find the genetic factors that are fundamental to diabetic retinopathy, scientists from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have also discovered a new method that can be employed as a template to investigate other types of diseases.

8 Dec 2020

Mice infused with CD5-deleted CAR T cells showed significant reduction in tumor size

Knocking out a protein known to stifle T cell activation on CAR T cells using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology enhanced the engineered T cells' ability to eliminate blood cancers, according to new preclinical data from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn's Abramson Cancer Center.

8 Dec 2020