Tag Archives: cloudflare

Natural selection is furthering mutations that are making skin paler

The first hominids that appeared in Africa probably had pale skin covered with hair, like other primates. They are thought to have lost their hair when they became bipedal, and that natural selection subsequently furthered darker skins in Africa as they protect against ultraviolet (UV)light. However, when humans left Africa (about 100,000 years ago) and headed for Asia or Europe, where UV intensity was lower, they once again acquired a less pigmented skin colour. What caused the depigmentation of these populations is not clear, and two hypotheses have in fact been put forward: firstly, it could be due to a relaxing in natural selection that keeps the skin dark in Africa, since when leaving Africa, UV levels are lower; secondly, it could be due to the fact that natural selection furthers certain mutations so that individuals can have paler skin, since at these latitudes having a skin with a dark pigmentation prevents the synthesis of adequate levels of vitamin D, essential for our survival. …

Targeting microRNA may benefit some ovarian and breast cancer patients

Researchers behind a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center believe they may have found a molecule-based approach to halting 3q26.2’s destructive nature. By manipulating a non-coding microRNA (miRNA) known as miR569 that is part of the amplicon, scientists were able to increase cell death in vitro and in vivo…

Young Puerto Rican women and their mothers know little about HPV, cervical cancer

According to the study published in Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV vaccination rates are low among Puerto Rican women. Fifty one percent of Puerto Rican girls aged 11 to 18 have started the 3-step vaccination process and only 21 percent have completed the series. “Our study is the first to provide insight into common psychosocial barriers affecting HPV vaccination in Puerto Rico,” said Mar�a E…

Immunotherapy achieves breakthrough result in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma

The results provide some of the most dramatic evidence to date of the potential of therapies that increase the ability of the immune system to kill cancer cells. While clinical trials of such immunotherapies in other cancers have shown them to be highly effective in a subgroup of patients, the new study stands out because nearly all patients benefited from the treatment…

Scientists pinpoint a new line of defense used by cancer cells

The team identified a critical pathway of molecular signals which throw a lifeline to cancer cells, enabling them to survive even though they contain vast DNA errors which would usually trigger cell death. The PKCƐ signal pathway, which is used by cancer cells but rarely by normal cells, could be important in targeting some cancer cells as they rely on this pathway to survive…

An unholy alliance: Colon cancer cells in situ co-opt fibroblasts in surrounding tissue to break out

The question becomes who is invading whom — do cancer cells invade the basement membrane or do some fibroblasts help invading cancers? Researchers at the Institut Curie in Paris now say that they have evidence of a coordinated attack on the basement membrane by cancer cells in situ and CAF cells in the extracellular matrix that begins long before the actual translocation of cancer cells. …

Circulating RNA may provide prognostic tool for multiple myeloma

The findings — to be presented in poster form on December 6, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, in the West Building, Level 1 — may ultimately guide doctors in deciding which therapies are best for individual patients with myeloma, the study authors say. The study focused on exosomes, tiny sacs that cells release into the bloodstream as a way of communicating with other cells. The exosomes contain microRNA molecules, fragments of RNA that help control the activity of genes…

Older cancer patients missing out on surgery

The new report by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Intelligence Network reveals the difference in rates of surgery across 21 different cancer types. While many factors might be at play — frailty, suffering more than one illness, being diagnosed at a late stage, patients choosing not to undergo surgery — these statistics paint a worrying picture. Younger cancer patients were more likely to have surgery for 19 cancer types, with the largest differences between age groups seen in kidney and ovarian cancers. …