by Tom Ulrich, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, killing more per year than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined. Over the years, studies of the lung cancer genome have fueled the development of drug therapies that target mutations...
Lung cancer in non-smokers likely to respond differently to treatment
by Institute of Cancer Research Lung cancer in non-smokers is a diverse and distinct disease from that in smokers, and is likely to respond differently to targeted treatments, a major new study shows. Scientists studied a population in Taiwan with high rates of lung cancer among non-smokers—and found a range of genetic changes which varied...
Mapping the immune landscape of hematological cancers may help to enhance therapies
by University of Helsinki Activating the immune system is a promising form of cancer treatment. Researchers at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital as well as the University of Eastern Finland mapped out the immune landscape of hematological malignancies in a dataset covering more than 10,000 patients to identify drug targets and patient...
Gene yields insights into the causes of neurodegeneration
by Cornell University Across the globe, approximately 50 million people are living with dementia. The two most common forms are Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which develop when neurons in specific parts of the brain stop functioning—triggering memory loss and other behavioral or personality changes. Without a cure, the World Health Organization predicts...
How fear transforms into anxiety
by University of New Mexico A deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic instability and civil unrest menace the mental well-being of millions. Understanding how, in vulnerable people, fear from such frightening events evolves into lifelong anxiety, is critical for healing. A University of New Mexico research team led by Elaine L. Bearer, MD, Ph.D., the Harvey Family...
Reactive arthritis is fueled by amyloid protein during salmonella infection
by Temple University Like the infrastructure of an apartment building, a fibrous protein known as curli amyloid that is produced by bacteria provides the supportive framework for biofilms—thick extracellular substances made by bacteria that enable multiple bacterial cells to assemble, survive, and thrive together. Curli amyloid, however, is also a key factor in diarrheal illness...
Brain benefits of exercise can be gained with a single protein
by University of California, San Francisco A little-studied liver protein may be responsible for the well-known benefits of exercise on the aging brain, according to a new study in mice by scientists in the UC San Francisco Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research. The findings could lead to new...
COVID-19 can cause a rare and potentially lethal brain inflammation
The second wave of COVID-19 is slowly emerging and countries have to be prepared. However, this is still a fairly new disease, which scientists are still trying to figure out. Now researchers at UCL found that COVID-19 can have neurological complications, which include delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage. Scientists looked through the cases...
Ageing research: Low levels of the stress hormone cortisol contribute to ageing
Why do we age? What exactly happens in the body? And: Can something be done about it? These are questions that have occupied science since time immemorial. The pharmacists Alexandra K. Kiemer and Jessica Hoppstädter from the Saarland University have not found a philosophical stone. But: they have uncovered processes in the immune system that...
Ex Vivo Mitochondrial Transfer as a Way to Improve Stem Cell Therapy Outcomes
A sizable portion of the variable efficacy of first generation stem cell therapies as presently practiced may be due to a poor quality of cells following expansion in culture. Regardless of quality, near all such cells die shortly after transplantation. Few clinics and few approaches to cell therapy lead to lasting survival and engraftment of...