by University of Pennsylvania For most people who die of cancer, the spread of the initial tumor is to blame. “Metastasis is what kills most cancer patients,” says Serge Fuchs, a professor in Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine. “Yet there are not many, if any, drugs that specifically target metastatic processes.” In a paper in...
Tag: <span>Genetics</span>
Research into new treatments for rare genetic diseases
The University Carlos III Madrid (UC3M), Almirall, S.A. (ALM) and the MEDINA Foundation have launched a project to find new treatments for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and other genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations. The project is partially-funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation’s Center for Industrial and Technological Development (CDTI). The TRIDs4DEB’s...
Caveolin binding motif in Na/K-ATPase required for stem cell differentiation in animals
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – New findings reveal the importance of the Na/K-ATPase protein in stem cell differentiation and organogenesis, in a study led by scientists at Marshall University that involves the scaffolding function of the Na/K-ATPase. The research, published today in Science Advances, indicates that a sequence in the Na/K-ATPase, also known as the sodium pump,...
Additional genetic cause for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease discovered
In Germany about 18 million people suffer from non-alcoholic fatty liver. The causes of this disease are manifold and include environmental as well as genetic factors. DZD researchers have now discovered new genes that play a role in the development of fatty liver. In humans and mice, respectively, the genes IRGM, Ifgga2 and Ifgga4 are...
Scientists identify gene linked to thinness that may help resist weight gain
by Cell Press While others may be dieting and hitting the gym hard to stay in shape, some people stay slim effortlessly no matter what they eat. In a study publishing May 21 in the journal Cell, researchers use a genetic database of more than 47,000 people in Estonia to identify a gene linked to...
Surplus antioxidants are pathogenic for hearts and skeletal muscle
by Jeff Hansen, University of Alabama at Birmingham Many heart diseases are linked to oxidative stress, an overabundance of reactive oxygen species. The body reacts to reduce oxidative stress—where the redox teeter-totter has gone too far up—through production of endogenous antioxidants that reduce the reactive oxygen species. This balancing act is called redox homeostasis. But...
Reusable Textiles to Repel Viruses
Prostate cancer therapies have shown significant advances during the past decade, with multiple new therapies being introduced for patients with advanced disease. Now, the early results of a clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reveals for the first time that therapies based on tumor genetics – specifically DNA repair defects...
New research into stem cell mutations could improve regenerative medicine
New research from the University of Sheffield into stem cells could help make regenerative medicine safer Regenerative medicine involves using pluripotent stem cells to repair damaged or diseased tissues in the body The new research has suggested ways to reduce the likelihood of mutations occurring in these cells when cultured. Research from the University of...
Researchers identify most powerful gene variant for height known to date
by Jake Miller, Harvard Medical School A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Socios En Salud, and the Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT report they have identified the single largest genetic contributor to height known to date. The findings, published May 13 in Nature, are based on an analysis...
Fluoridation is not associated with increase in osteosarcoma
by International & American Associations for Dental Research The Journal of Dental Research published today the results of a study that demonstrated that community water fluoridation is not associated with increased risk of osteosarcoma. More than sixty percent of the U.S. population have access to community water fluoridation, considered to be one of the most...