by Curtin University New Curtin University-led research has discovered that using drugs to target a pathway in the body that causes cancerous cells to spread aggressively may help to reduce the severity of bladder cancer. The research, published in Nature Communications, aimed to understand the function of two naturally occurring proteins called hepatocyte growth factor...
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Researchers develop a stress test to separate the tough bacteria from the tender
By scooping the guts out of bacteria and refilling them with an expansive fluid, scientists can discover whether a microbe is structurally strong or weak, gaining insights that could help fight infectious diseases or aid studies of the beneficial bacterial communities known as microbiomes. Bacteria. Sometimes we can’t live with ’em, but there’s a growing...
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Research Identifies Proteins Responsible for Cancer Spreading
Posted Yesterday Advances in the sciences have made it easier than ever to live with and survive various kinds of cancer. One of the lingering challenges that remains is metastasis, or the ability of cancer cells to migrate to new pathological sites within the host’s body. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Too many...
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New therapeutic strategy may help reverse autism behavioral abnormalities
by Baylor College of Medicine Autism is a developmental disorder that affects 1 in 59 children in the U.S. Mutations in specific genes, such as PTEN, can explain many autism cases. While children with mutations in PTEN exhibit autism, macrocephaly (an abnormally large skull), intellectual disability and epilepsy, there are currently no effective treatment options...
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Repurposing heart drugs to target cancer cells
by MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences Senescence is a cellular stress response that results in the stable growth arrest of old and damaged cells. The past decade has revealed that senescent cells play important roles in a growing list of diseases from cancer, to arthritis, atherosclerosis and many more. Previous studies have shown that...
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Missing’ virus detected in dozens of children paralyzed by polio-like illness
by University of California, San Francisco A UC San Francisco-led research team has detected the immunological remnants of a common seasonal virus in spinal fluid from dozens of patients diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM)—a polio-like illness that causes permanent, sometimes life-threatening paralysis in young children. The findings provide the clearest evidence to date that...
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The role of Klumpfuss in intestinal cell differentiation
by Leibniz Institute on Aging Stem cells are essential for homeostasis and cell renewal in organs like skin, lung or intestine. During the course of life, their function decreases steadily, making this decline a main factor for the development of age-associated diseases. Researchers of the Leibniz Institute on Aging in Jena, Germany, and their colleagues of the...
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Silencing RNA nanotherapy shows promise against pancreatic cancer
by University of South Florida Despite advances in cancer survival, more than 90 percent of people with pancreatic cancer die within five years. Most patients with pancreatic tumors (and half of those with colorectal cancers) carry a mutation in the KRAS gene, which normally controls cell growth and death. The KRAS oncogene was discovered more...
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Exploring the effect of fasting on age-related diseases
by European Molecular Biology Organization There are many indications that fasting promotes longevity. In recent years, much attention has been devoted to so-called caloric restriction mimetics (CMRs), substances that simulate the health-promoting effects of fasting without the need of life-style change. In a study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, a research team led by Oliver...
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The night gardeners: Immune cells rewire, repair brain while we sleep
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER Science tells us that a lot of good things happen in our brains while we sleep – learning and memories are consolidated and waste is removed, among other things. New research shows for the first time that important immune cells called microglia – which play an important role in reorganizing...