There has been a lot of news this week about the outrageously high cost of Xtandi, a drug for advanced prostate cancer. Although developed with funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Xtandi (enzalutamide) is being sold to Americans at about four times the price at which it is sold in other countries. In January, a...
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CRISPR Gene Editing Can Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations
Structure of the gene editing enzyme Cas9 interacting with guide RNA and DNA (PDB ID: 4OO8). Source: Gabriel Velez (Mahajan Lab) As CRISPR-Cas9 starts to move into clinical trials, a new study published in Nature Methods has found that the gene-editing technology can introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into the genome. “We feel it’s critical that the...
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It is ‘inevitable’ that we will one day REGROW limbs after scientists reveal the hidden code behind worm self-healing
Researchers successfully rewrote cell bioelectric patterns that control healing The technique allowed an injured flatworm to grow a head instead of a tail Move takes experts a step closer toward regrowing human organs and limbs One researcher claims that human regeneration technology is ‘inevitable’ Scientists have unlocked the ‘hidden code’ behind worm body regeneration in a...
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Could parasitic worm spit hold the key to healing wounds? Scientists discover it can supercharge the regrowth of skin cells
Found in Southeast Asia, the deadly parasite produces a molecule in its saliva Experts stumbled across it in their quest to find out why it causes liver cancer Called granulin, it has been found in tests to accelerate the healing of wounds The findings could lead to a potential cream, the Australian researchers claim Parasitic worm...
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Astonishing discovery about sleep stuns scientists
An alarming new report finds that you may be causing significant damage to your brain and not even realize it. Scientists have just made a huge finding about sleep that suggests the way you’re sleeping is potentially causing great damage to your brain. Researchers at Marche Polytechnic University in Italy found that a lack of...
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Found, gene that causes a weak bladder: Discovery leads to hope that existing drugs can be adapted to treat condition that affects millions
Quarter of women experience incontinence bad enough to spoil quality of life In more than half of all cases, the problem appears to be inherited Scientists say the problem could be cured by adapting existing drugs Scientists have made a breakthrough in the treatment of female incontinence by identifying genes that trigger the condition. Their...
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Bioelectricity new weapon to fight dangerous infection
How Vmem signal strengthens innate immune response: Normal tadpoles have polarized cells, with specific native amounts and distributions of melanocytes (pigment cells) and primitive myeloid cells (part of the innate immune system). …more Changing the natural electrical signaling that exists in cells outside the nervous system can improve resistance to life-threatening bacterial infections, according to...
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Mother’s stress affects the baby through amniotic fluid
If the mother is stressed over a longer period of time during pregnancy, the concentration of stress hormones in amniotic fluid rises, as proven by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Zurich. Short-term stress situations, however, do not seem to have an unfavorable effect on the development of the fetus. The...
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Healing wounds with cell therapy
Montreal, May 29, 2017 – Diabetic patients frequently have lesions on their feet that are very difficult to heal due to poor blood circulation. In cases of serious non-healing infections, a decision to amputate could be made. A new therapeutic approach, presented recently in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology by Canadian researchers affiliated with the University of...
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HIV: A therapeutic advance for resource-limited settings
ANRS 12286 MOBIDIP(1), a clinical trial running in parallel in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Senegal), shows that dual therapy with lamivudine and a boosted protease inhibitor is effective as second-line treatment in patients infected by HIV with multiple mutations. Such treatment de-escalation will reduce costs, side effects, and the need...