Many different types of cells in our body can crawl and migrate to distinct locations, sometimes over long distances. Immune system cells, for example, move to a wound site to kill microorganisms during an infection, and connective tissue cells (fibroblasts) move there to repair damaged areas. …
Cancer Nanotechnology Current approaches to chemotherapy leave patients with severe side effects because anti-cancer drugs meant to destroy tumors inadvertently kill healthy cells in the body. But scientists have recently developed nanoparticles that can ferry toxic medications directly to tumors while sparing healthy tissue. Because of their small size, nanoparticles escape from leaky blood vessels that are characteristic of tumors and accumulate in the cancerous tissue. Tumor cells take up the particles which release their toxic contents once inside. …
The discovery, reported in the July 14 issue of Nature Genetics, follows the team’s earlier finding that the enzyme, called APOBEC3B, is responsible for more than half of breast cancer cases. The previous study was published in Nature in February. APOBEC3B is part of a family of antiviral proteins that Harris has studied for more than a decade. …
The Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology recently published their study on its online site. "First, we wanted to know if people with a single primary tumor were more likely to die from melanoma than people with multiple primary tumors," says Dr. Berwick…
In a report published on July 9 in the journal eLife, the Johns Hopkins scientists describe how a cluster of four phosphate groups, first found 13 years ago to bind to PTEN’s tail, controls its activity. …
There are currently no reliable biomarkers to screen patients for bladder cancer in the same way that there are for breast and cervical cancers. Previous research has suggested that a particular odour in the urine could be detected by dogs trained to recognise the scent, indicating that methods of diagnoses could be based on the smell of certain gases. The team have now built a device, called ODOREADER ® that contains a sensor which responds to chemicals in gas emitted from urine…
The technique, named cell type specific labeling using amino acid precursors (CTAP), exploits the inability of vertebrate cells to synthesize essential amino acids normally required for growth and homeostasis. A team headed by Dr. Nicholas Gauthier and Dr. …
source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/07/01/how-3d-printing-can-build-new-bone/
source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/28/face-transplant-patient-celebrates-life-in-public/
To reduce the need for these second surgeries, four Johns Hopkins graduate students have designed a device to allow pathologists to quickly inspect excised breast tissue within 20 minutes, while the patient is still in the operating room. …