Summarized in a report to be published on Nov. 21 in the journal Molecular Cell, the team’s results add new evidence that genomes, the sum total of species’ genes, are like supremely intricate machines, in that the removal of a single, tiny part stresses the whole mechanism and might cause another part to warp elsewhere to fill in for the missing part. …
"We all have a unique composition of hereditary variants of genes that affects how both our body and the tumor react to cancer treatment," Ola Myklebost tells us. He is Professor of Molecular Biology in the Department of Biosciences at the University of Oslo, and also holds a post at the Institute for Cancer Research at Oslo University Hospital. Professor Myklebost has now received a grant of NOK 75 million from the Research Council of Norway to develop the idea for next generation cancer treatment — personalized cancer therapy, directed specifically towards the various mutation faults in cancerous tumors…
Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have revealed how a reduction in mitochondrial DNA content leads human breast cancer cells to take on aggressive, metastatic properties. The work, published in the journal Oncogene, breaks new ground in understanding why some cancers progress and spread faster than others and may offer clinicians a biomarker that would distinguish patients with particularly aggressive forms of disease, helping personalize treatment approaches. The study was led by the Penn School of Veterinary Medicine’s Manti Guha, a senior research investigator, and Narayan Avadhani, Harriet Ellison Woodward Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Animal Biology. Additional Penn Vet collaborators included Satish Srinivasan, Gordon Ruthel, Anna K. …
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide in men and the second in women, and it is also the third most common cause of death. In approximately 50 percent of patients, metastases to the liver are present at diagnosis or during follow-up, which account for a large portion of morbidity and mortality in patients…
"We know that humans have a number of different community structures in the gut. When you think about it, maybe different people – independent of their genetics – might be predisposed," says Joseph Zackular of the University of Michigan, an author on the study…
"Nitric oxide has contradictory roles in cancer progression, and we need new tools in order to better understand it," says Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. …
According to the Association of University Technology Managers, academic institutions have been collectively generating more than $2 billion in commercialization income over the last several years. Despite this significant commercialization activity, studies have shown that academic institutions face challenges to commercializing their innovations. Identifying and adjusting for these challenges can further boost academic-based research commercialization, thus having significant benefits for universities and consumers. …
The study, to be published online Nov. …
Complex mechanisms in healthy cells normally protect us from developing cancer. …
Now, a team of researchers led by Philippe Frank, Ph.D., a cancer biologist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Thomas Jefferson University, has shown that an HDL receptor found on breast cancer cells may be responsible for this effect, proposing a new molecular target that could help treat the disease. …