Tag Archives: berlin

Chlamydia knock out body’s own cancer defense

Hundreds of mutations occur every day in almost every cell in our body. The protein p53 is then activated in order to limit these changes in the genome: either the cell repairs the damaged DNA or, if that is not possible, it triggers the cellular suicide program. In this way, cells are normally protected against the development of cancer. As the Berlin-based team at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology reported last year, chlamydial infections lead to a drastic increase in the mutation rate. …

Cell division discovery could offer fresh insight into cancer

Scientists have explained a key part of the process of cell division, by which cells are able to keep our organs functioning properly. They discovered a set of proteins that stabilise the sequence of events in which cells duplicate their DNA and then separate into two new cells, each identical to the original. Flaws in this delicate, complex operation can lead to cancer. The findings help explain a fundamental process in all living things, in which cells must continually divide to keep the organism alive and well…

Patients report not being told of risk of overdiagnosis in cancer screenings

Cancer screenings can find treatable disease at an earlier stage but they can also detect cancers that will never progress to cause symptoms. Detection of these early, slow-growing cancers can lead to unnecessary surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, the authors write in the study background. Researchers conducted an online survey of 317 U.S. …

Chemotherapy drug improves survival following surgery for pancreatic cancer

"Pancreatic cancer is a disease with a poor prognosis, mainly because of the inability to detect the tumor at an early stage, its high potential for early dissemination, and its relatively poor sensitivity to chemotherapy or radiation therapy," according to background information in the article. Even after complete removal of the tumor, the vast majority of patients relapse within 2 years, leading to a 5-year survival rate of less than 25 percent. No consensus has been reached on a standard treatment approach for additional therapy…

Battling defiant leukemia cells

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is an aggressive cancer of the blood that is often treated with a drug called Imatinib (a.k.a. Gleevec). Although Gleevec is highly effective, some cancer cells can develop resistance to the drug. The mechanism that drives this resistance is not completely understood, but there is evidence that cancerous stem-like cells are particularly resistant and help to perpetuate disease. …

Using computer models to predict more effective therapies for colon tumors

In most tumors, the communication between the individual cells is disturbed and the cells permanently receive growth and survival signals. For this reason, drugs are increasingly used in modern tumor therapy that targets those molecules to shut down these faulty signals. Hitherto, however, it has been difficult to predict the success of such a therapy, since the signal molecules are integrated into an extremely complex cellular network, which, moreover, reacts differently for each patient, depending on the mutations the tumor bears. The research group headed by Nils Blüthgen, Charité Institute of Pathology, has now examined how the interconnection of such a cellular network affects the effectiveness of a therapy…

Man spent 15 years with pencil in head after childhood accident

BERLIN – & German doctors say a man spent 15 years with a pencil in his head following a childhood accident. Aachen University Hospital says the 24-year-old man from Afghanistan sought help in 2011 after suffering for years from headaches, constant colds and worsening vision in one eye. A scan showed that a 10-centimeter (4-inch) pencil was lodged from his sinus to his pharynx and had injured his right eye socket. The unnamed man said he didn't know how the pencil got there but recalled that he once fell badly as a child. The German doctors removed the pencil and say the man has recovered. Hospital spokesman Mathias Brandstaedter said Wednesday the case was presented for the first time at a medical conference this week.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/29/german-hospital-man-spent-15-years-with-pencil-in-head-after-childhood-accident/

Software company to recruit people with autism as programmers

German software company SAP is looking to recruit people with autism as programmers and product testers, drawing on skills that can include a close attention to detail and an ability to solve complex problems. SAP has asked start-up Danish recruitment company Specialisterne to help it find, train and manage employees diagnosed with the disability. “They bring a special set of skills to the table, which fits with SAP,” said a spokesman for the company, which has already hired people with autism in India and Ireland. Specialisterne Chief Executive Steen Thygesen said the partnership was his first with a multinational company to help with its worldwide recruitment. The Danish company says it has already helped several hundred autistic people to find a job. Sufferers often find it harder to communicate and some have lifelong learning disabilities. Those with a form of autism known as Asperger syndrome can sometimes have above-average intelligence. As children, they may prefer mathematics and other subjects rooted in logic and systems, according to Britain's National Autistic Society. “People with autism have some unique abilities to really focus on their task and stay focused for long periods of time. They are also good at spotting discrepancies in data,” said Thygesen, a former manager with Microsoft and Nokia whose 14-year-old son has Asperger syndrome. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in every 88 children in the United States and almost 1 in 54 boys are diagnosed with autism. The SAP spokesman said the company aimed to reflect the proportion of people diagnosed as autistic in society within its 65,000-strong workforce - or about 1 percent. A Berlin-based company, Auticon, already exclusively employs autistic people as software testers. It has a team analyzing data for Vodafone Germany, an Auticon spokesman said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/software-company-to-recruit-people-with-autism-as-programmers/