General

UC San Francisco physician-scientists have developed a test that can predict how patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) will respond to treatment, and may also be able to identify patients who are likely to recover spontaneously with little to no treatment. The researchers are currently optimizing the test for more […]

Immune cells are normally associated with fighting infection, but in a new study scientists have discovered how they also help the nervous system clear debris, potentially clearing the way for nerve regeneration after injury. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of […]

Treatment for the most deadly form of skin cancer could be more effective if combined with a well-known drug for rheumatoid arthritis, new research has shown. The study, by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA), found that in mice, using the two treatments together almost completely stopped the […]

New findings by scientists at the University of Southampton could help to predict how people with the most common form of leukaemia will respond to chemotherapy. The findings will help doctors decide which type of treatment to give patients. The researchers, who were funded by the blood cancer research charity […]

Rapidly dividing, yet aberrant stem cells are a major source of cancer. But a new study suggests that mature cells also play a key role in initiating cancer — a finding that could upend the way scientists think about the origins of the disease. Researchers at Washington University School of […]

Research at The City College of New York shows that cancer imaging can be simplified by a photonic process utilizing molecules derived from horse chestnuts. The study with potential to better detect the presence of cancer is led by George John, professor in City College’s Division of Science, in collaboration with Jan Grimm, a […]

Researchers at the University of Tokyo and their collaborators have identified recurrent fusion genes—new genes formed from the combination of two or more separate genes that appear in more than one sample of a disease taken from different patients—tied to a form of pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a […]

FLIM, FRET and FLIRR don’t mean anything to most people, but to scientists studying the inner workings of cells, these high-resolution imaging techniques are essential tools for gaining insights to cellular behavior at the molecular level. Cells communicate with each other and multiply, and how they operate from within is […]

he evidence is clear: Cervical cancer is best treated with brachytherapy, a form of radiation therapy. Yet the use of this potentially life-saving treatment has been declining, and a new study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine may explain why. UVA researchers have determined that offering brachytherapy for […]

‘A Nobel Prize for the biological clock has long been overdue,’ says Dorothee Staiger. What is so remarkable is that the prize has been granted to basic research – that is, to studies on fundamental concepts in nature. Whereas the American colleagues have been analysing the biological clock in animals, […]

The efficacy of many FDA-approved cancer drug combinations is not due to synergistic interactions between drugs, but rather to a form of “bet hedging,” according to a new study published by Harvard Medical School researchers in Cell. Reanalyzing data from 15 clinical trials, the researchers show that independent action—in which drugs […]

  Scientists have identified differences in a group of genes they say might help explain why some people need a lot more sleep — and others less — than most.  The study, conducted using fruit fly populations bred to model natural variations in human sleep patterns, provides new clues to […]

Paralyzed rats with severed spinal cords are walking again, after Tel Aviv University and Technion–Israel Institute of Technology scientists restored their nervous function and sensation through tissue engineering and stem cells taken from the oral mucosa membrane of the mouth, Haaretz recently reported. The research was led by Prof. Daniel Offen of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine and […]

Scientists at the School of Dental Science in Trinity have made an important discovery involving bacteria and a pre-cancerous growth called oral leuoplakia which can precede oral cancer. The researchers examined the microbiome of oral leukoplakia in order to determine if certain bacteria were associated with oral leukoplakia and whether […]

New research by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers shows a majority of pediatric cancer providers endorse the potential use of medical marijuana for children with advanced cancer, although providers who are legally eligible to certify its use are more cautious than those who aren’t. The findings also show clinicians would prefer to […]

A new large-scale international study expands the number of genetic markers now known to be associated with exceptional longevity. Researchers at the University of Connecticut, University of Exeter, University of Wisconsin, and University of Iowa undertook a genome-wide search for variants influencing how long participants’ parents lived. DNA samples carry […]

Human skin is a remarkable organ serving as a barrier protecting us from pathogens, toxic substances and others. Our skin needs to constantly renew throughout our lifetime as well as change its size to perfectly fit and cover the body. To fulfill such a complex and dynamic behavior every cell […]

Aging impairs the immune system’s response to the flu virus in multiple ways, weakening resistance in older adults, according to a Yale study. The research reveals why older people are at increased risk of illness and death from flu, the researchers said. “Influenza virus mortality is the highest in older […]

Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have discovered how high glucose levels — whether caused by diabetes or other factors — keep heart cells from maturing normally. Their findings help explain why babies born to women with diabetes are more likely […]

Looking to bolster the body’s immune system in the fight against infection and cancer, researchers at the University of California San Diego and their colleagues have identified a promising new strategy to program the immune system to meet the pathogen or malignancy in the tissues where they first pose a […]

Rare stem-like tumor cells play a critical role in the spread of breast cancer, but a vulnerability in the pathway that powers them offers a strategy to target these cells using existing drugs before metastatic disease occurs, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center […]

A simple, non-invasive procedure that can indicate how long patients with cancer that has spread to the brain might survive and whether they are likely to respond to immunotherapy has been developed by researchers in Liverpool. The technique, which can be done using standard hospital-based Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, […]

To explain his new weapon in the war against the metastatic spread of cancer to bone, Kang uses a movie metaphor: “Independence Day.” In the 1996 blockbuster, the people of Earth fight back against alien attackers, deploying a computer virus to disable the shields guarding the attackers’ spaceships. A new […]

Humans are weird. We have emotions we cannot control or, sometimes, explain. For example, why are we so moody sometimes? Scientists from the Binghamton University have conducted a survey, which showed how various food items affect our mood. Interestingly, this effect changes as we age. Scientists conducted a survey online […]

A large-scale international study led by the University of Exeter Medical School has discovered new genes linked to parents’ lifespan – which could one day be targeted to help prolong human life. How long we live is determined by a range of factors including our lifestyle and how well we treat factors […]

Like millions of Americans, Harvard Medical School postdoctoral fellow Tom Seegar struggled as he watched several family members decline from Alzheimer’s disease. “Seeing them start to lose what we most value—our minds and ability to think—was especially painful,” he said. Seegar’s desire to make a difference for people with Alzheimer’s helped motivate […]

Scientists have wondered whether somatic, or non-inherited, mutations play a role in aging and brain degeneration, but until recently there was no good technology to test this idea. A study published online in Science, led by researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, used whole-genome sequencing of individual neurons […]

Australian researchers have unearthed new evidence in a decade-long mystery concerning stem cell reprogramming, a process believed to hold immense potential for regenerative medicine. In a study, researchers from The University of Western Australia, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, and Monash University describe key drivers of the process […]

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among males in the United States. Approximately, 180,000 men are diagnosed each year, and approximately 95 percent of these men have localized disease that is potentially curable. Previously, studies have consistently demonstrated that conventionally fractionated high dose external beam radiation therapy (CRT), consisting […]

Current treatments for medulloblastoma include a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy which are not specific in how they target the tumour, and often lead to significant side effects, such as mental and physical disabilities. Treatment is further complicated by the fact that medulloblastoma is not a single disease but […]