A single leukemia cell, unknowingly engineered with the leukemia-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) lentivirus and infused back into a patient, was able to reproduce and cause a deadly recurrence of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Newresearch from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that in one patient, the CAR lentivirus that would usually enter a T cell to teach...
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New technology could help people with paralysis to speak again
Scientists are close to devising technology that uses the brain’s encoding and muscle control commands to allow people who have lost the power of speech due to paralysis to talk again. Image: People who cannot speak due to paralysis may soon be able to relearn the skill. Recent research led by Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, finds that the brain generates speech sounds in a similar...
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Drug resistance: ‘Trojan horse’ compound kills bacteria from within
Gallium — an iron-like compound — looks similar to food and can trick bacteria into eating it. Once inside, it destroys the microbes. In a new study, researchers successfully used the compound to treat lung infections in mice and humans. By distrupting their nutrition, we could kill bacteria from within. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have deemed antibiotic resistance “one of...
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First experiments at new X-ray laser reveal unknown structure of antibiotics killer
An international collaboration led by DESY and consisting of over 120 researchers has announced the results of the first scientific experiments at Europe’s new X-ray laser European XFEL. The pioneering work not only demonstrates that the new research facility can speed up experiments by more than an order of magnitude, it also reveals a previously unknown structure of an enzyme responsible for antibiotics resistance. “The groundbreaking work of the first team to use...
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Immune system’s balancing act keeps bowel disease in check
Australian researchers have uncovered clues in the immune system that reveal how the balance of ‘good’ gut bacteria is maintained. This information could help in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE IMAGE: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SETH MASTERS AND DR ALAN YU. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that the increased presence of...
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Abdominal aortic calcification may signal future heart attack
Computed tomography (CT)-based measures of calcification in the abdominal aorta are strong predictors of heart attacks and other adverse cardiovascular events—stronger even than the widely used Framingham risk score, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. Images from CT colonography show segmented abdominal aortic calcification measured with semiautomated CT tool on (a) coronal and (b) sagittal...
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The immune system of the alpaca reveals a potential treatment for cancer
The natural world often provides the answer to unsolved medical problems. On this occasion, the solution to a challenge posed by cancer has come about from the immune system of camelids. A study headed by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), in Belgium, describes a number of therapeutic tools that have...
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Thermal imaging improves diabetes-related foot ulcer assessment
Thermal imaging can better predict diabetes related foot ulcer‘s size and the healing trajectory than conventional methods, Melbourne-led research has found. It could also possibly save money through better-targeted treatment. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The study, which was the first of its kind, was a collaboration between RMIT University, the University of Melbourne and Austin Health. It used thermal imaging...
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Testing new cancer treatment which could banish chemotherapy
Current treatment for head and neck cancer can have debilitating side-effects, but new research combining robotics, nanoparticles, ultrasound, and lasers could treat it without chemo- or radiotherapy. Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. Credit: NIH Dr. James McLaughlan, a University Academic Fellow in the faculties of Engineering and Medicine and Health, is leading the research programme. He said a successful outcome to the...
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Promising new therapy spares muscle loss in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
A promising therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) developed by University at Buffalo researchers is moving closer to use in humans. The peptide the new drug is based on was originally found in the venom produced by the type of tarantula that Sachs is holding here. Credit: University at Buffalo Published in July in Neuromuscular Disorders, the new UB research demonstrates that the novel...