Tag Archives: science

Finding blood clots before they wreak havoc

There is no fast and easy way to diagnose these clots, which often remain undetected until they break free and cause a stroke or heart attack. However, new technology from MIT may soon change that: A team of engineers has developed a way to detect blood clots using a simple urine test. The noninvasive diagnostic, described in a recent issue of the journal ACS Nano, relies on nanoparticles that detect the presence of thrombin, a key blood-clotting factor…

Cancer genome atlas exposes more secrets of lethal brain tumor

TCGA ganged up on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and lethal of brain tumors, with more than 100 scientists from 14 institutions tracking down the genomic abnormalities that drive GBM. …

Program improves sun protection practices among children of melanoma survivors

A team of researchers led by Ellen R. …

New mutation identified, associated with better survival in lung cancer patients

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in many industrialized countries. Most deaths are due to long-term exposure to cigarette smoke, but non-smokers account for 10 — 15% of cases. …

Forcing cancer to digest itself

Cells are able to degrade damaged molecules as well as entire areas of cells by self-digestion and use the resulting degradation products to gain energy and to produce new molecules or parts of cells. This process of self-digestion is called autophagy and can be considered a renovation of the cell. Energy production through autophagy plays an important role for cells when they are lacking nutrients, oxygen or growth factors. A team of researchers of the University of Bern under the direction of Hans-Uwe Simon of the Institute of Pharmacology has now found out that a reduced self-digestion of tumour cells may contribute to the development of a melanoma…

Molecular structure reveals how HIV infects cells

"These structural details should help us understand more precisely how HIV infects cells, and how we can do better at blocking that process with next-generation drugs," said Beili Wu, PhD, professor at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wu was the senior investigator for the study, which was published in Science Express on September 12, 2013. The study, which focused on the CCR5 receptor, was supported by both US and Chinese research funding agencies. "International collaborations like this one are increasingly needed to solve big problems in science," said study co-author Raymond C…

Microelectronics: Automating cancer detection

Genes that suppress tumors can be deactivated by the attachment of a methyl group to a specific DNA sequence — cytosine next to guanine — in their promoter region. The methyl group prevents the gene from being used as a template for protein synthesis and reduces the capacity of the cell to control its own proliferation…

Sugar helps scientists find and assess prostate tumors

The technology uses a compound called pyruvate, which is created when glucose breaks down in the body and which normally supplies energy to cells. In cancer, however, pyruvate is more frequently converted to a different compound, known as lactate. …

Researchers use nanoparticles to fight cancer

The findings were published recently in the early online edition of ACS Nano. The human body operates under a constant state of martial law. Chief among the enforcers charged with maintaining order is the immune system, a complex network that seeks out and destroys the hordes of invading bacteria and viruses that threaten the organic society as it goes about its work. The immune system is good at its job, but it’s not perfect. …

Cell maturity pathway is deleted or weak in glioblastoma multiforme

Stuck in what amounts to cellular adolescence, these precursor cells accumulate, contributing to the variability among glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells that make it so difficult to treat, said first author Jian Hu, Ph.D., instructor of Genomic Medicine. "This arrested development is driven by the GBM cells’ plasticity — their stem-cell-like ability to produce many types of cells — and the breakdown of the cellular maturation process known as terminal differentiation," said senior author and MD Anderson President Ronald DePinho, M.D…