Cancer News and Research

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Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.

Deleting a key gene to create an immune cell with stronger anti-tumor activity

Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and deleting a key gene, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have created natural killer cells -- a type of immune cell -- with measurably stronger activity against a form of leukemia, both in vivo and in vitro.

From UC San Diego 12 Jun 2020

Baylor researchers uncover a novel mechanism that triggers cellular immune response

Viruses and other disease-causing microbes influence the type of immune response their hosts will develop against them. In some cases, the predominant response involves antibodies, proteins made by the immune system that specifically recognize parts of the invading microbe and mediate its destruction.

12 Jun 2020

A protein that helps to fight viruses can also inhibit lung tissue repair

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that a protein which is initially helpful in the body’s immune response to a virus, can later interfere with the repair of lung tissue.

12 Jun 2020

Lungs' immune cells can be activated more easily than previously thought

A significant site of damage during COVID-19 infection is the lungs. Understanding how the lungs' immune cells are responding to viral infections could help scientists develop a vaccine.

12 Jun 2020

Researchers develop intracellular biopsy to isolate targeted miRNAs from living cells

MicroRNAs, are attracting interest relating to human diseases because variations in the expression of miRNAs are often associated with abnormal functions.

11 Jun 2020

Stress-induced chemoresistance is linked to changes in cellular metabolism

There is a wide range of mechanisms related to chemoresistance, a majority of which are yet to be fully understood.

11 Jun 2020

'Lab-on-a-chip' technology accurately detects early and advanced breast cancer

A scalable "lab-on-a-chip" technology based on inkjet printing methods detected breast cancer in plasma samples from patients with more than 90% accuracy, according to a new study.

11 Jun 2020

Study reveals structure of an activated dopamine receptor

Dopamine, a chemical that sends messages between different parts of the brain and body, plays a key role in a variety of diseases and behaviors by interacting with receptors on cells.

11 Jun 2020

Microneedle depots effectively deliver stem cells into damaged tissues

Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent in that they naturally replenish the cell types that build our bone, cartilage and adipose tissues.

10 Jun 2020

Protein dynamics can help fight bacterial infections

When pathogenic bacteria infect, the body’s immune system attempts to remove these invaders. One method to do this is to trigger an inflammatory response.

10 Jun 2020

Researchers identify genes involved in the development of malignant brain tumor

Researchers have developed a new approach to identify functional mutations and their impact on genes applicable to the development of malignant brain tumors.

10 Jun 2020

Study reveals the role of Cpeb4 protein involved in bone and joint diseases

Osteoclasts are bone-dissolving cells that are extracted from a type of immune cell referred to as macrophages which are required for the maintenance of bones.

10 Jun 2020

Immune system could be 're-trained' to stop attack of healthy cells, study finds

The body's immune system can be re-wired to prevent it from recognizing its own proteins which, when attacked by the body, can cause autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, a significant new study by UK scientists has found.

10 Jun 2020

High sodium intake affects health of gut microbiome

Particularly in females with untreated hypertension, reducing salt intake to what's considered a healthier level appears to be good for both their gut microbiome and their blood pressure, scientists report.

10 Jun 2020

Cellular mechanophenotyping may help better understand tumor cells

Our ability to predict who will get cancer, how a patient will respond to treatment, or if a patient will relapse is still quite limited. Despite advances in the detection of genetic mutations and the establishment of risk factors, such as age and genetic variants, it remains a great scientific and medical challenge.

10 Jun 2020

Researchers identify a new subset of cells involved in immune response against hepatitis B

For the first time, researchers at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research have identified and described a new and unique subset of human cells that are involved in the immune response against hepatitis B (HBV) infection. The discovery could help develop new treatments for HBV and inform future vaccine design.

10 Jun 2020

Study shows how a network of genes directs trachea and esophagus development

A new study reporting how a network of genes directs the development of the trachea and oesophagus in mice has been published today in eLife.

10 Jun 2020

Study identifies new pathway to attack tumor cells

A study led by the Institut de Neurociències describes a new strategy to tackle cancer, based on inducing a potent stress in tumor causing cell destruction by autophagy.

10 Jun 2020

Study investigates how cancer adapts its metabolism to overcome treatment

Knowing what cancer will do next could lessen the likelihood of it becoming resistant to treatment. A new Canadian study investigates how cancer adapts its metabolism to potentially overcome therapies still in development.

From University of Toronto 9 Jun 2020

DNA damage and repair jointly shape mutational signatures

A collaborative project between the Center for Genome Integrity, within the Institute for Basic Science, and the Dundee School of Life Sciences, the EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute, and the Wellcome Sanger Institute have screened almost 163,000 DNA mutations in 2,700 C. elegans roundworms to shed light on DNA damage.

9 Jun 2020