A study found immune cells in breast tissue of healthy women carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations show signs of ‘exhaustion’. This opens new possibilities for cancer prevention.
New approaches to cardiovascular radiology are evolving to help clinicians gain an increasingly better insight into heart conditions. Latest developments in cardiovascular radiology include myocardial strain imaging, 4D flow and photon-counting CT technology. An ECR 2024 session shone the spotlight on these areas of cardiovascular imaging with expert speakers outlining the pros and cons of each.
In diagnostics, there used to be a hard divide between radiology and pathology, where methods were largely considered incompatible with one another. However, to pave the way for next-generation diagnosis, Professor Regina Beets-Tan urged both sides to come out from their trenches and appreciate the synergies the fields have to offer. In her presentation at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR)…
Biochemists and bioinformaticians from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ have extensively characterized the molecular properties of the breast cancer cell lines from the institute's collection.
Multiplex PET imaging technology could provide a ground-breaking new approach for diagnosing and treating bowel cancer patients, according to scientists in Glasgow.
Much like joints or blood vessels, the brain can be affected by calcifications. This can lead to neurodegenerative disease, but is not well studied. Now, researchers from Norway identified a gene that provides new insights.
This February, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health officially launched the ‘Joint Action on cancer and other non-communicable disease prevention project‘ (JA PreventNCD). In the four-year-initiative, 22 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and Ukraine have joined forces to combat the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across national borders.
An international study has revealed that MRI monitoring in women with mutations in the BRCA1 genes significantly reduces breast cancer mortality without the need for preventive mastectomy.
Artificial Intelligence has helped scientists reveal a new form of aggressive prostate cancer which could revolutionise how the disease is diagnosed and treated in the future.
Once a patient’s body has been colonized by resistant bacteria, they can persist for a long time, a new study by the University and University Hospital of Basel shows.
A simple blood test could help diagnose patients with glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, sparing them from undergoing invasive and highly-risky surgery, report UK researchers.
Three disease subtypes, based on causes rather than symptoms: A new classification model for Parkinson's disease aims to pave the way for better diagnostics and therapies.
As a result from better living standards and medical advances, population longevity increases – a development which, paradoxically, current healthcare systems are ill-prepared for, Sir John Bell points out. The UK’s Our Future Health programme, which he chairs, exemplifies the paradigm shift to a prevention-centered healthcare approach.
Scientists have pinpointed likely ‘cells-of-origin’, the source cells that can grow into breast cancer, in women carrying a faulty BRCA2 gene who are at high risk of developing the disease.
Coronavirus vaccines have showcased the possibilities of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Now, a research team aims to put it to use against a rare inherited metabolic disorder.
Certain genetic features are crucial for treatment decisions for AML leukaemia. A team from Münster shows how an AI-based method can predict these features from images of bone marrow smears.
Using a new technology developed at MIT, diagnosing lung cancer could become as easy as inhaling nanoparticle sensors and then taking a urine test that reveals whether a tumor is present.
A research team from Denmark has developed an innovative screening test. With a blood sample from the expectant mother, they can scrutinize all the genes in the fetus.
While genetic information may lead to better treatments, promises of cost savings are unfounded. Instead, a large additional bill is more likely, according to University of Copenhagen researchers.
It's an important milestone for gene editing technology: a novel treatment for sickle cell disease utilizing CRISPR-Cas9, has now received FDA approval – a first for this type of therapy.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected scientific research in numerous ways – for example by highlighting knowledge gaps in gender medicine. In many studies differences in morbidity and mortality between women and men surfaced incidentally. While the extent and causes of these differences remain largely unexplored, the preliminary insights confirm the need for further research.
A newly discovered signaling mechanism implicated in the development of ventricular fibrillation offers promise of future treatment options for this life threatening condition.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a non-profit hospital and medical research institution in Los Angeles, is setting new standards for quality and innovation in patient care by successfully introducing typing of Candida auris species – a procedure that could prove crucial in protecting patients from infection outbreaks caused by these microbes in healthcare settings.
Pancreatic cancer is not just one disease, but that’s the way it is currently treated. New work from Columbia University could help pave the way for a change.
Würzburg resarchers have created a new pseudovirus design that allows tracking of penetration of viruses into cells.
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery – these are the three common forms of cancer therapy. Now, lymphoma specialists in Essen are investigating the possibility of a different approach.
A collaborative study, led by Cima Universidad de Navarra, has identified key epigenetic targets for the treatment of hepatoblastoma, the most frequent liver cancer in childhood.
When a woman becomes pregnant, sometimes her pre-existing rheumatoid arthritis will 'magically' go away. In others, the condition becomes even worse. Now, US researchers may have found an explanation.
A new imaging agent can predict early metabolic response to HER2-targeted treatment in metastatic breast cancer patients, according to new research published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
A new molecular test for bacteria and viruses, including Sars-CoV-2, has been developed at the University of Surrey, as they warn that the world needs to be prepared for the next pandemic.
A genetic test for BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations may drive women to undergo breast cancer surgery, even though their risk might not even be drastically affected by this, a new study finds.
From cancer to AI, from management to new medication: this year's Labmed Forum at MEDICA 2023 in Düsseldorf (November 13-16) once again features an exciting scientific programme.
Cancer has become strikingly more common in people under 50 in the past three decades, an international research team finds. The reseachers explore what this means for future death tolls.
For the first time, researchers show that AI-based predictions can deliver comparable results to clinical tests on biopsies of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).
Using data from more than 400,000 individuals, researchers have created a platform for predicting the risk of developing blood cancers such as acute myeloid leukaemia over a 10-15-year period.
The 2023 AACC meeting saw two exciting AI applications in lab medicine: a predictive algorithm for MS, and machine learning for detecting contaminated lab samples.
Scientists from the University of California San Diego and their colleagues in Australia have engineered bacteria that can detect the presence of tumor DNA in a live organism.
ETH Zurich molecular biologist Mandy Boontanrart is researching gene therapies that could be used to cure two of the most common types of inherited anaemia: beta thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia.
A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital demonstrates the potential for restoring fertility when the ovaries have stopped working.
Combining two types of heart scan techniques could help doctors to detect deadly hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) before symptoms and signs on conventional tests appear.
Scientists have developed a tool to create a digital replica of an individual's heart, which could inform the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Scientists have designed an AI tool that can rapidly decode a brain tumor’s DNA to determine its molecular identity during surgery — critical information that can guide treatment decisions.
By using genetic data on multiple traits from people of non-European ancestry, scientists have improved the accuracy of polygenic scores in predicting disease risk for all.
More than half a billion people are living with diabetes worldwide, and that number is projected to more than double to 1.3 billion people in the next 30 years.
Women suffering from multiple sclerosis temporarily get much better when pregnant. Researchers have now identified the beneficial changes naturally occurring during pregnancy.
New research suggests that combining blood biomarkers with genomic information more accurately, cost-effectively predicts the risk of developing diseases.
AI could find critical biomarkers that predict non-response to conventional treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) more quickly, researchers in Singapore find.
The accuracy of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening can be improved by including genetic factors that cause changes in PSA levels not associated with cancer, according to a multi-center study.
New research from the University of Helsinki increases the understanding of ovarian cancer: the identification of new subtypes could help discover new treatments.
Researchers from the Organoid group (Hubrecht Institute) and UMC Utrecht have developed a biobank with organoids derived from patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).
Most AI techniques for rare disease diagnosis use anthropometric measurements of European origins, ignoring the genetic and morphological diversity of humans, a new study finds.
Dutch scientists have revealed new scientific insights into the features of fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC), a rare type of childhood liver cancer.
New research has identified a potential therapeutic target and developed a unique delivery system to treat osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that primarily affects children and adolescents.
Scientists at the University of Applied Sciences Krems (IMC Krems) show that CRISPR-Cas9 can also be used to inhibit viruses such as adenoviruses in cell cultures.
Women with triple-negative breast cancer who received multiple antibiotic prescriptions within three years after their cancer diagnosis were more likely to experience disease recurrence and to die from their cancer.
Neurodegeneration, or the gradual loss of neuron function, is one of the key features of Alzheimer's disease. However, it doesn't affect all parts of the brain equally.
Johns Hopkins researchers, along with colleagues in Italy, have published a study that looks into the genetic mechanisms behind the development of schizophrenia.
For decades, researchers have marveled at the ability of glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive brain cancer, to turn off a patient's cancer-fighting immune cells, thereby allowing tumors to grow freely.
Genes are full of clues about a person's health and might also show the way for stroke recovery.
A new artificial intelligence model could bring much-needed clarity to doctors delivering prognoses and deciding on treatments for patients with colorectal cancer.
Data on a test that can detect HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C from a single drop of blood is being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.
Around 5,500 people with severe developmental disorders now know the genetic cause of their condition, thanks to a major nationwide study in the U.K..
A research team from DGIST develops an electronic medicine technology that restores abnormal protein behavior, the cause of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT).
A new study led by the University of Edinburgh has identfied areas of the brain susceptible to damage from high blood pressure, affecting memory loss, thinking skills and dementia.
A team of scientists has successfully generated genetically defined mouse models for two subtypes of multiple myeloma. This will contribute to a better understanding of how the disease develops in humans.
Testing for genetic mutations in urine can detect bladder cancer years before the disease shows clinical symptoms, new research has shown - reaching more than a decade for the most common cancer type.
According to Dutch researchers, people with low income are up to 1.5 times more at risk of a heart attack or stroke than their wealthier compatriots. Ethnicity was also identified as a risk factor.
Scientists from Japan demonstrated, for the first time, a successful chemogenetic suppression of widespread epileptic seizures in macaque monkeys. Their findings represent an essential step towards clinical trials, and effective treatment for patients with severe epilepsy.
Researchers at Linköping, Lund, and Gothenburg universities in Sweden have successfully grown electrodes in living tissue using the body’s molecules as triggers.
A new mathematical model developed by Hokkaido University engineers uses wastewater samples to effectively forecast the number of clinical Covid-19 cases in a community five days in advance.
Evidence that radioembolization, a trans-arterial therapy, is safe and stops disease progression in metastatic breast cancer is increasing, a prominent American interventional radiologist showed at the Spectrum conference in Miami.
A new approach on the genetic tool CRISPR-Cas9 could reduce the risk of unwanted mutation, making it safer for use in humans, Dutch researchers have found.
MRI-derived wall shear stress values predict pathological changes in the aortic wall in patients with ascending aortic dilatation. This can help identfy at-risk patients.
Researchers generated human mini bones in the lab which mirror the composition and function of human bone - a step toward the development of future patient-tailored models of bone cancers and tumors.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued its first comprehensive guideline on the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with obesity, marking an end to previous recommendations.
Findings of bacteria with anti-inflammatory effects in the intestines of MS patients with no evidence of active disease indicate that diet, bacteria and disease progression are linked.
Researchers have now found that artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the effectiveness of colonoscopy in the presence of Lynch syndrome.
Swedish researchers have developed a method that should be able to predict whether a patient with breast cancer will benefit from a particular treatment or not.
New advanced therapies can alleviate or cure chronic diseases. But medical progress, such as the gene editing tool CRISPR, raises the question of how rights should be protected and balanced.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have used artificial DNA to target and kill cancer cells in a completely new way. The method showed promising results against various cancers in lab tests on mice.
In a recent study, a US research team developed a revolutionary laser-based approach to perform microbiopsies. Their novel method could make biopsies faster, more cost-effective, and less harmful to the patient.
Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination are important influences on health globally, but have so far been overlooked by health researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, finds new research.
An international study shows that a new method can easily find multiple types of newly formed cancers at the same time – including cancer types that are difficult to detect with comparable methods.
An international team highlights the importance of localising BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
A new Oxford University study provides the first direct evidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria migrating from a patient’s gut microbiome to the lungs, increasing the risk of deadly infections.
At this year's Medica tradefair, laboratory medicine, medical technology and life sciences give new impulses to the entire healthcare market - especially in times of the corona pandemic. An overview.
Researchers in Barcelona discovered the population of residual tumour cells responsible for the recurrence of colorectal cancer in other organs after removal of the primary tumour.
Researchers have created a tool that maps how breast cancer grows in previously unseen detail, and highlights how the cells around the tumour may be the key to controlling the spread of disease.
A collaborative study has defined five new subgroups of the most common type of blood cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), and associated these with clinical outcomes.
White matter hyperintensities (WMH) on the brain seen on MRI represent a biomarker associated with a 50/50 risk of death within five years after a first incident acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA).
With the rise of syndrome-style infections, co-infections and the current antimicrobial resistance challenges, the need for multiplexed diagnostics is now more important than ever.
The coronavirus pandemic is a huge challenge for global public health and welfare. Decentralized, affordable POC MDx platforms would allow more effective control of SARS-CoV-2 and other infections.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers. A team from the University of Geneva has found an alternative for patients who have developed resistance to chemotherapy treatments.
Some leukemias evade treatment by changing their appearance and identity through changing the read-out of their DNA, a new study has found.
Scientists have discovered that cervical cancer can be divided into 2 distinct molecular subgroups – one far more aggressive than the other – as part of the largest ‘omics’ study of its kind.
A simple 'liquid biopsy' blood test could help guide the treatment of children with the cancer rhabdomyosarcoma, a new study reports.
A vaccine design approach that could protect against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 but also potentially protects against other coronaviruses is one step closer to reality as a result of new research.
Treatment of central nervous system diseases and tumors is often hindered by the blood-brain barrier. A new method aims to overcome this obstacle using focused ultrasound intranasal delivery (FUSIN).
Routine sampling of water supplies and genomic sequencing of Legionella bacteria could play a key role in identifying the source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks, research suggests.
Cambridge scientists have discovered that cancer cells ‘hijack’ a process used by healthy cells to spread around the body, completely changing current ways of thinking around cancer metastasis.
The oncogene EVI1 causes an aggressive type of leukemia, but its exact function has been a mystery. A research team now showed that EVI1's cancer causing effect relies on activating a single gene — the stem cell transcription factor ERG.
Women can suffer for years with the debilitating pain and medical complications of endometriosis without a diagnosis. Now, researchers believe they may be able to diagnose the condition using just menstrual blood.
Dutch global DNA/RNA technology solutions provider MolGen B.V., participates in the 24th Annual Conference of the European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV) held in Manchester, UK.
A new study could one day help health workers determine whether bacteria of the species Streptococcus pneumoniae, which cause meningitis, are resistant to antibiotics.
Vaccination projects across the world are at a pivotal post-Covid moment, according to one of the leading experts in the field. Speaking to Healthcare in Europe ahead of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) congress in Qatar – where vaccination will be a central topic – Dr Jerome Kim said there is an urgent need to regain a ‘positive consensus’ around the value of vaccines. He…
Two-dimensional (2D) cultured cell lines and animal models have been the principal research tools for the past decade, but have several shortcomings. Three-dimensional cell cultures, or organoids, show great promise here.
A surprising mechanism explains why high-grade gliomas, the deadliest form of brain cancer, returns: The tumours adapt to treatment by recruiting help from nearby healthy tissue.
A considerable proportion of patients suffering from cancer of unknown primary (CUP) could benefit from comprehensive molecular analysis and molecularly-informed targeted therapies.
Clinical laboratories need to be proactive to attract transgender patients for testing and to ensure that they are comfortable with the services provided. This issue is of great importance to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), which conducted a scientific session on transgender health at its recent annual meeting in Chicago.
Researchers from the UK and Sweden have found that individual prostate tumours contain a previously unknown range of genetic variation.
The prototype device combines eRapid and SHERLOCK technologies into a single, postcard-sized system that can simultaneously detect the presence of both SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies in a patient’s saliva.
Cardiomyopathy is not a uniform disease. Rather, individual genetic defects lead to heart failure in different ways, an international consortium reports.
Avian flu, MERS, Covid-19, monkeypox: outbreaks of infectious diseases are getting more common in Europe. As a result, the EU must adapt its surveillance strategies and introduce more data-driven, interdisciplinary countermeasues.
Researchers have developed adeno-associated virus variants that target heart muscle cells and can thus be used for the precise treatment of heart diseases.
A blood test could predict risk of developing leukaemia in the elderly population years in advance by identifying changes in blood cell production, according to new research.
A new type of vaccine provides protection against a variety of SARS-like betacoronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants, in mice and monkeys, according to a new study.
A new approach makes use of natural DNA repair machinery and provides a foundation for novel gene therapy strategies with the potential to cure a large spectrum of genetic diseases.
Blockchain is a digital technology that allows a secure and decentralized record of transactions. Now, researchers leveraged blockchain to give individuals control of their own genomes.
Reseachers have developed a novel microneedle for injecting therapeutics into the eyes, potentially solving one of the major challenges of treating eye diseases.
A new AI platform can analyze genomic data extremely quickly, picking out key patterns to classify different types of colorectal tumors and improve the drug discovery process.
Around one in 500 men could be carrying an extra X or Y chromosome – most of them unaware – putting them at increased risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and thrombosis.
Scientists have identified a new disease in a ground-breaking discovery that could help patients with unexplained liver and kidney problems.
A new way of differentiating healthy from diseased cells could pave the way for more personalised treatment for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a common and aggressive type of brain tumour.
Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology discover new drug target for severe asthma and fibrosis.
The search for rare mutations in bacterial genome could lead to better diagnostics and treatments – reducing morbidity caused by the deadly disease.
In order to better prevent and restore fertility and reduce the risk of sterility in cancer survivors, researchers investigate the mechanisms behind negative effects of chemotherapy.
Hypothalamic neurons in an animal model directly detect variations in bacterial activity and adapt appetite and body temperature accordingly.
Researchers have established an injectable hybrid inorganic nanoscaffold-templated stem cell assembly and applied it to the regeneration of critically-sized cartilage defects.
A platform for studying how the human immune system responds to hepatitis C infection by combining microfluidic technology with liver organoids could speed the hunt for a vaccine.
In the human intestine, Escherichia coli is mostly harmless, but in certain conditions causes bladder infections and even sepsis - but why? Researchers went to the bottom of this transformation.
The diagnosis is rare, but devastating – children with congenital muscle disorders often never learn to walk. Now, researchers from Basel present a possible therapeutic approach for the first time.
Liquid profiling is offering clear benefits in terms of cancer diagnostics and targeted therapy, but challenges remain in bringing it into the clinic.
An ECRC research team has introduced CRISPR-Cas9 into human muscle stem cells for the first time using mRNA, thus discovering a method suitable for therapeutic applications.
A DNA test has been shown to identify a range of hard-to-diagnose neurological and neuromuscular genetic diseases quicker and more-accurately than existing tests.
A new study has analyzed over 3000 proteins to identify which are causally linked to the development of severe Covid-19. This provides insight into potential new targets for treatment and prevention.
When combined with genetic risk factors, the test was up to 93 percent accurate at identifying people at risk of Alzheimer's dementia.
Pre-transplant chemotherapy facilitates the replacement of the brain's innate immune cells, by other immune cells derived from the transplanted stem cells.
Annual MRI screenings starting at ages 30-35 may reduce breast-cancer mortality by more than 50% among women who carry certain genetic changes in three genes, according to a new modeling analysis.
With micro-organisms and viruses constantly developing, mutating, and evolving, diagnostics must adapt just as rapidly. Advanced laboratory technology and instruments are undeniably a prerequisite for best practice in life sciences and biotechnology.
Researchers in Zurich have developed a fluorescent orexin biosensor to observe on of the brain's signaling molecules "live" to gain insights into constant daytime sleepiness (narcolepsy).
Physicists from Leipzig University have developed gene expression tests to examine whether additional chemotherapy is necessary and really effective after breast cancer surgery.
Researchers pinpoint a sound-sensitive mammalian protein that lets them activate brain, heart or other cells with ultrasound.
RNA has already been making an impact in the context of the vaccine program, but the potential of RNA-based compounds is far from being fully tapped, as RNA allows for entirely new therapeutic approaches.
Faulty versions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are well known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Now, they have been linked to several other cancers, including those that affect men.
Cleveland Clinic has launched a landmark study to better understand why millions of people around the world suffer from brain diseases, with the goal of pinpointing disease biomarkers early, well before clinical symptoms present themselves.
Under the roof of integrated diagnostics, radiology, laboratory medicine and pathology are forming a powerful alliance. Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, explains the potential for cancer patients and details the role of radiologists within the construct.
A mutation in the gene that causes fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) doesn’t just cause extra bone growth but is tied to a problem in generating new muscle tissue after injury.
In both the mice and organoids, cytokines suppressed tumor growth after treatment, and defense cells migrated to the brain region affected by the tumor, alerting the immune system to its existence.
Researchers have developed a diagnostic for SARS-CoV-2 that is capable of differentiating between COVID-19 and the garden-variety bug with fast turnaround.
US surgeons perform historic first successful transplant of porcine heart into adult auman with end-stage heart disease.
New study results show that though men are more likely to have heart conditions, the impact on their memory and thinking skills is lower.
Researchers outline a new minimally invasive and inexpensive blood test that can identify cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms and whether these cancers have metastasised in the body.
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 may be significantly better at evading vaccine-induced antibodies – but preliminary evidence suggests it is less likely to cause severe illness in the lungs.
A worldwide consortium aims to equip researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with cheap and accessible methods for sequencing large collections of bacterial pathogens.
Safety trials are underway for a Cambridge-led vaccine that could be used as a booster targeting Covid-19 virus variants and relatives that threaten future coronavirus pandemics.
Founded in 2018 as a DNA extraction chemistry company, Dutch company MolGen entered the market operating within the agricultural sector. At first, the company’s founders, Maarten de Groot, Wim van Haeringen and Niels Kruize, focused solely on this one industry, mainly developing and marketing advanced bulk chemistry kits for DNA/RNA extraction. These testing products and solutions successfully…
Bitter taste receptors do not only support humans in tasting. They are also found on cancer cells. A team led by Veronika Somoza from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna and the German Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich has investigated the role they play there. For this purpose, the scientists compiled and evaluated extensive…
In multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, relapse almost always occurs after treatment. Initially, most patients respond well to therapy. However, as the disease progresses, resistant cancer cells spread in the bone marrow, with fatal consequences for the patients. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the National Center for…
Genomics England, a government owned company, recently announced a pilot programme of whole genome sequencing to screen for genetic diseases in 200,000 healthy seeming newborns. But should every newborn baby have their whole genome sequenced? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ. Extensive clinical evidence has shown that screening for genetic diseases saves lives, and research has shown that it…
In May 2022 a shortage of several lab tests may come as many manufacturers struggle to comply with EU regulation requirements covering in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDR, Regulation (EU) 2017/746). Even modified tests and laboratory-developed tests will present a problem for hospitals and labs as explained by Dr Thomas Streichert.
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) from a single blood test picks up 31% more cases of rare genetic disorders than standard tests, shortening the ‘diagnostic odyssey’ that affected families experience, and providing huge opportunities for future research.
The first investigational transplantation of a genetically engineered, nonhuman kidney to a human body was recently completed at NYU Langone Health—marking a major step forward in potentially utilizing an alternative supply of organs for people facing life-threatening disease.
Scientists at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have discovered a highly potent monoclonal antibody that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and is effective at neutralizing all variants of concern identified to date, including the delta variant. Their findings are published in the journal Cell Reports.
The Covid-19 crisis that gripped England between September 2020 and June 2021 can be thought of as a series of overlapping epidemics, rather than a single event, say researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the German Cancer Research Center.
Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Pulmobiotics S.L have created the first ‘living medicine’ to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing on the surfaces of medical implants. The researchers created the treatment by removing a common bacteria’s ability to cause disease and repurposing it to attack harmful microbes instead.
Mass spectrometry – a powerful tool for analysing the molecular composition of a tissue sample – is invaluable during cancer surgery. However, mass spectrometers are complex and unwieldy, and certainly a poor fit for an operating room (OR). To create a bridge between the lab and OR, Professor Livia S Eberlin, from Baylor College of Medicine, has developed a very special ‘pen’.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2021 was awarded jointly to two scientists who made important discoveries regarding our receptors for temperature and touch. Our ability to sense heat, cold and touch is essential for survival and underpins our interaction with the world around us. In our daily lives we take these sensations for granted, but how are nerve impulses initiated so that…
Fast, flexible laboratory information management systems (LIMS) that cope with data and workflow complexities of molecular and genetic testing now work in laboratories internationally. Here, in the first in a new Lab Pinnacle Series, experts from the CliniSys Group, Sunquest Information Systems and Data Innovations (all owned by Roper Technologies), discuss the value of a LIMS in molecular and…
A computer program trained to see patterns among thousands of breast ultrasound images can aid physicians in accurately diagnosing breast cancer, a new study shows. When tested separately on 44,755 already completed ultrasound exams, the artificial intelligence (AI) tool improved radiologists’ ability to correctly identify the disease by 37 percent and reduced the number of tissue samples, or…
A study found that women who contract Covid-19 during pregnancy are at significantly higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia. In their study, researchers said their systematic review shows that women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy had 62% higher odds of developing preeclampsia than those without the infection during pregnancy.
Scientists have identified two subtypes of metastatic prostate cancer that respond differently to treatment.
Researchers have found a way to defeat the multi-resistant bacterium Mycobacterium abscessus, a relative of the causes of tuberculosis and leprosy.
The study identified that a probable cause of Alzheimer's disease was the leakage from blood into the brain of fat-carrying particles transporting toxic proteins.
Hospitalized Covid-19 patients are substantially more likely to harbor autoantibodies — antibodies directed at their own tissues or at substances their immune cells secrete into the blood — than people without Covid-19, according to a new study.
A team led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has revealed a new approach for classifying breast cancer subtypes based on their cell profile, which could help personalise treatments for patients. By analysing breast cancer biopsies from patients at Sydney hospitals, the researchers revealed more than 50 distinct cancer, immune and connective cell types and states, which could assign…
Some blood lipid biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease risk are also associated with a lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest the findings of a large epidemiology study. ALS is the commonest form of motor neuron disease - a progressive nervous system disease that destroys nerve cells responsible for voluntary movement such as walking and talking.
A new mechanism that stops the progression of Huntington’s disease in cells has been identified by scientists at the University of Cambridge and University College London (UCL), as part of their research groups at the UK Dementia Research Institute. Researchers say the breakthrough study, published in Cell Reports, could lead to much needed therapies for the rare genetic disease, which is…
Scientists have grown beating heart cells to attempt to identify drugs to prevent Covid-19-related heart damage. Concerns over the extent of cardiac damage among Covid patients emerged during the coronavirus pandemic and there are also suggestions that the impact on cardiomyocytes could contribute to the symptoms of long Covid. To explore these issues, a research team at the University of…
People who work night shifts are at increased risk of developing an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (AF), according to research published in the European Heart Journal. The study is the first to investigate the links between night shift work and AF. Using information from 283,657 people in the UK Biobank database, researchers found that the longer and…
A solid diagnosis has always been the first step on any patient’s journey to health. However, diagnostic categories are necessarily oversimplifications. In the last decades, medical professionals and scientists have begun to uncover the true variability in patients’ physiological and biochemical make-up that is the principal cause for individual variations in the way diseases present…
The risk of colorectal cancer can be predicted more accurately by determining seven blood-based micro-RNAs (miRNAs) than by using traditional methods - and can be done so many years before a diagnosis is made. In a current study, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg show that miRNA profiles provide greater predictive…
Covid-19 disease severity is determined by the individual patient’s immune response. The precise mechanisms taking place inside the lungs and blood during the early phase of the disease, however, remain unclear. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Freie Universität Berlin have now studied the cellular mechanisms…
A research team led by scientists in the labs of Jennifer Doudna, David Savage and Patrick Hsu at the University of California, Berkeley, is aiming to develop a rapid Covid-19 diagnostic test that is much faster and easier to deploy than qRT-PCR. It has now combined two different types of CRISPR enzymes to create an assay that can detect small amounts of viral RNA in less than an hour. Doudna…
A newly targeted therapy could help millions of lung cancer patients worldwide keep their cancers from spreading, says an expert at Cleveland Clinic, on the occasion of World Lung Cancer Day. Dr. Khaled Hassan, of the Hematology and Medical Oncology Department at Cleveland Clinic, explains the concept of KRAS targeted therapy – and why the approach should not be mistaken for a cancer cure.
The Biomedical Genomics laboratory at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) Barcelona has developed a computational tool that identifies cancer driver mutations for each tumour type. This and other developments produced by the same lab seek to accelerate cancer research and provide tools to help oncologists choose the best treatment for each patient. The study has been published in the…
Efforts to understand cardiac disease progression and develop therapeutic tissues that can repair the human heart are just a few areas of focus for the Feinberg research group at Carnegie Mellon University. The group's latest dynamic model, created in partnership with collaborators in the Netherlands, mimics physiologic loads on engineering heart muscle tissues, yielding an unprecedented view of…
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in developed countries affecting seven million in total in Germany, from which 500,000 people are suffering from late stage disease, around half of whom are registered as visually impaired. There are two forms of AMD, ‘wet’ and ‘dry’. There are currently no treatments available for the dry form of the disease…
A novel method of gene therapy is helping children born with a rare genetic disorder called AADC deficiency that causes severe physical and developmental disabilities. The study, led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University College of Medicine, offers new hope to those living with incurable genetic and neurodegenerative diseases.
Research from Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E. has found a decrease in patient survival rates when treatment options – surgery, chemotherapy and radiation – are completed more than 38 weeks from the time of diagnosis. The observational study, which included more than 28,000 breast cancer patients registered in the American National Cancer Database, is…
In-vitro-diagnostics company bioMérieux has launched Episeq SARS-CoV-2, a genomic software solution to support microbiology labs in identification and reporting from raw sequencing data related to SARS-CoV-2 variants. Viral mutation is a naturally occurring phenomenon leading to the emergence of variants that can have different characteristics. Today, a number of SARS-CoV-2 variants are…
Statin use among patients with heart failure is associated with a 16% lower risk of developing cancer compared with non-statin users during an average of four years of follow-up. This is according to new research published in the European Heart Journal. In addition, the study found that statin use was associated with a 26% reduced risk of dying from cancer over the same period.
In the emerging era of personalized medicine, risk-based breast cancer screening protocols may be better than the one-size-fits all approach. It’s time to consider adopting them, Jack Cuzick, Ph.D., said in the President’s Address of the 2021 Society of Breast Imaging/American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Symposium.
Neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy have had some treatment success with deep brain stimulation, but those require surgical device implantation. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new brain stimulation technique using focused ultrasound that is able to turn specific types of neurons in the brain on and off and precisely…
Understanding every step in the life cycle of a virus is crucial for identifying potential targets for treatment. Now, scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria were able to show how a virus from the retrovirus family – the same family as HIV – protects its genetic information and becomes infectious. Furthermore, they show an unexpected flexibility of the virus. This…
Scientists from Hokkaido University have discovered a novel defensive response to SARS-CoV-2 that involves the viral pattern recognition receptor RIG-I. Upregulating expression of this protein could strengthen the immune response in COPD patients.
A new low-cost method targeting genetic mutations often missed by existing diagnostic approaches has been developed. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the United States noted that most rearrangement mutations implicated in cancer and neurological diseases fall between what can be detected by DNA sequence reads and optical microscopy methods. The new technique combines…
Should outdoor face covering be normalised to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2—or should anti-Covid efforts rather focus on indoor protection? Experts argue the case for both sides in this controversial debate.
The Foundation Fighting Blindness has granted 600,000 US$ to help Hendrik Scholl as principal investigator define a novel way of reversing blindness. Hendrik Scholl is Director of the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, and Head of the University Hospital’s Eye Clinic in Basel, Switzerland.
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University collaborate on genetic study of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. Results show how the different COVID-19 clades evolved.
Research has identified critical factors that enable dangerous bacteria to spread disease by surviving on surfaces in hospitals and kitchens. The study into the mechanisms which enable the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to survive on surfaces, could lead to new ways of targeting harmful bacteria. To survive outside their host, pathogenic bacteria must withstand various…
Genetically enhancing a patient's immune cells by adding therapeutic genes to them outside the body is regarded as a promising new treatment approach in oncology. However, the production of these therapeutic cells using viruses is not only expensive but time-consuming. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed an innovative non-viral vector that can efficiently…
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. We know that mutations in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 have occurred and spread, but what effect do those mutations have? Current methods for studying mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome are very complicated and time-consuming because coronaviruses have large genomes, but now a team from Osaka University and Hokkaido University have…
New research has uncovered a surprising role for so-called “jumping” genes that are a source of genetic mutations responsible for a number of human diseases. In the new study from Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI), scientists made the unexpected discovery that these DNA sequences, also known as transposons, can protect against certain blood cancers. These…
Over the past decade, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system has revolutionized genetic engineering, allowing scientists to make targeted changes to organisms’ DNA. While the system could potentially be useful in treating a variety of diseases, CRISPR-Cas9 editing involves cutting DNA strands, leading to permanent changes to the cell’s genetic material. Now, in a paper published online in Cell,…
Recovery duration, co-morbidities, mortality, risk groups: A large UK study reports in detail on 'Long Covid'. We spoke with two of the study's co-investigators about why so many patients are still affected after a coronavirus infection.
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) develops within the liver. With one to two cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany, ICC is one of the rare diseases overall, but it is the second most common liver cancer. The aggressive bile duct tumour remains clinically inconspicuous for a long time, so that it is often only detected late. Because the tumour also only responds to chemotherapy to a limited…
Tumor vaccines can help the body fight cancer. Mutations in the tumor genome often lead to protein changes that are typical of cancer. A vaccine can alert the patients' immune system to these mutated proteins. For the first time, physicians and cancer researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim have now carried out a clinical trial to test a mutation-specific vaccine against malignant brain tumors.…
Researchers are developing a COVID-19 vaccine that could provide protection against both existing and future strains of the COVID-19 virus, and other coronaviruses, and cost about $1 a dose has shown promising results in early animal testing.
Researchers at University of Toronto have developed a new test to accurately detect coronavirus antibodies in a drop of blood in less than an hour.
During a pandemic, the demands for laboratory testing challenge routines in an efficiently run clinical laboratory. Gold standard procedures may need modification, or to be discarded, and the more nimble, resilient and receptive a lab is to change, the better off it could be. Senior managers at ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah, a large clinical reference laboratory that offers over 3,000…
Diphtheria – a relatively easily-preventable infection – is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India. The researchers, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, say that the impact of Covid-19 on diphtheria vaccination schedules, coupled with a rise in…
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are suitable for discovering the genes that underly complex and also rare genetic diseases. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), together with international partners, have studied genotype-phenotype relationships in iPSCs using data from approximately one thousand donors. Tens of…
A potential new treatment to protect immunosuppressed patients from human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been discovered by scientists at the University of Cambridge. Their study shows that certain epigenetic inhibitors expose and help to destroy dormant HCMV infections, which often reactivate to cause serious illness and death in these vulnerable groups. Subject to clinical trials, their proposed…
Scientists have used a technique to grow bile duct organoids – often referred to as ‘mini-organs’ – in the lab and shown that these can be used to repair damaged human livers. This is the first time that the technique has been used on human organs. The research paves the way for cell therapies to treat liver disease – in other words, growing ‘mini-bile ducts’ in the lab as…
Osteoarthritis affects more than 30 million adults and is the fifth-leading cause of disability in the United States. In a new study, scientists have discovered the cellular pathway that leads to the joint disease and have identified a commonly used anti-depressant — paroxetine — that inhibits this pathway.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and their colleagues published a new analysis from genetic sequencing data of more than 53,000 individuals, primarily from minority populations. The early analysis, part of a large-scale program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, examines one of the largest and most diverse data sets of high-quality whole…
Scientific and public health experts have been raising the alarm for decades, imploring public officials to prepare for the inevitability of a viral pandemic. Infectious epidemics seemingly as benign as "the flu" and as deadly as the Ebola virus provided ample warning, yet government officials seemed caught off guard and ill prepared for dealing with Covid-19.
The first evidence from genetic data that high blood pressure is causally associated with the most common heart rhythm disorder is published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Global greenhouse gas emissions over the last century have made southern China a hotspot for bat-borne coronaviruses, by driving growth of forest habitat favoured by bats. A new study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment provides the first evidence of a mechanism by which climate change could have played a direct role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the…
Hybrid PET/CT imaging can fully play to its strengths and steer treatment towards more effective procedures for diagnosing prostate cancer. The examination of the specific antigen PSMA with hybrid PET imaging enables treatment monitoring with significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than conventional imaging and therefore, Professor Clemens Cyran believes, will soon become the standard diagnostic…
A team of neuroscientists has identified a potential means to address the loss of cognitive function due to Alzheimer’s disease by targeting protein synthesis in mice. Their findings, reported in the journal Science Signaling, reveal that synthetic pharmaceuticals could rescue the activity of brain cells needed for memory formation.
In many ways, our brain and our digestive tract are deeply connected. Feeling nervous may lead to physical pain in the stomach, while hunger signals from the gut make us feel irritable. Recent studies have even suggested that the bacteria living in our gut can influence some neurological diseases. Modeling these complex interactions in animals such as mice is difficult to do, because their…
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants that are adding twists in the battle against COVID-19 highlight the need for better genomic monitoring of the virus, says Katia Koelle, associate professor of biology at Emory University.
Researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, the Technical University of Munich and the German Center for Diabetes have discovered a novel and druggable insulin inhibitory receptor, named inceptor. The blocking of inceptor function leads to an increased sensitisation of the insulin signaling pathway in pancreatic beta cells. This might allow protection and regeneration of beta cells for diabetes…
Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles' heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics.
B-cell lymphocytosis, a condition in which individuals have increased levels of particular white blood cells, in some cases leads to blood cancer. As an international team of researchers now shows in samples from patients, both diseases exhibit similar epigenetic signatures that are forming very early during the course of the disease. Chronic leukemias often start insidiously. White blood cells…
For several years, scientists worldwide have been investigating the extent to which microorganisms living in and on the human body influence central life processes and thus health and disease. Today they assume that there is a connection between the totality of the microbial colonization in the human body, called the microbiome, and the development of diseases. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease…
MRI is the most sensitive method to detect breast cancer. However, the current breast cancer guidelines for Europe, Germany and Austria, still only recommend it for certain indications: For early detection in high risk patients, for differentiation between scarring and recurrences after breast-conserving treatment and to detect cancers of unknown primary site. This is the theory. However, in…
Scientists have known for years that mutations in the MLL4 gene can cause Kabuki syndrome, a rare developmental disorder. How exactly this happens remeained a mystery for long. Now, a new study illuminates new details. The research suggests that MLL4 controls the production of neurons that secrete growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Mice without…
Even those who understand the scientific process, trust medical experts and know how important vaccines are for fighting infectious diseases might still have some questions or concerns about the new Covid-19 vaccines. Here, Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, helps set the record straight on 8 common questions, concerns and myths that have emerged about Covid-19 vaccines.
In some cases, immune cells in the lungs can contribute to worsening a virus attack. In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet describe how different kinds of immune cells, called macrophages, develop in the lungs and which of them may be behind severe lung diseases. The study, which was published in Immunity, may contribute to future treatments for Covid-19, among other diseases.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston have developed a novel blood test using an enhanced form of liquid biopsy capable of detecting the most common types of genetic mutations that occur in glioma brain tumors. The test is easy to use, inexpensive, produces results rapidly, and can be performed in most clinical laboratories. The researchers believe that the blood test has…
A microbe found in the colon and commonly associated with the development of colitis and colon cancer also may play a role in the development of some breast cancers, according to new research from investigators with the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Breast tissue cells exposed to this toxin retain a long-term memory, increasing the…
All prediabetes is not the same: in people in the preliminary stages of type 2 diabetes, there are six clearly distinguishable subtypes, which differ in the development of the disease, diabetes risk, and the development of secondary diseases. This is shown in a study by the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Tübingen,…
Colon cancer stem cells have one weak spot: the enzyme Mll1. An MDC team led by Walter Birchmeier has now shown in Nature Communications that blocking this protein prevents the development of new tumors in the body. Since colonoscopies were introduced in Germany for early cancer detection, the number of diagnoses of advanced cancer every year has decreased, as precancerous lesions can now be…
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists have discovered a gene-regulating snippet of RNA that may contribute to the spread of many breast cancers. In animal experiments, the researchers could reduce the growth of metastatic tumors with a molecule designed to target that RNA and trigger its destruction. The same strategy, they say, could be used to develop a new breast cancer treatment for…
Like all viruses, the novel coronavirus is dependent on help from the human host cell. Proteins are the functional units of the cell and enable the virus to enter the host cell or help the virus to replicate. Scientists from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and from the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), along with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, have…
In recent years, targeted therapies have cemented their place as some of the most important tools in cancer treatment. These medicines are designed to block specific signals that tumor cells use to grow and spread, while at the same time leaving normal cells unharmed. Targeted therapies can significantly extend patients’ lives, but the benefits are often only temporary. Over time, many cancers…
Researchers in Finland have developed a machine learning model that can help us treat cancer more effectively.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is very effective in treating metastatic cancers, a significant step on the way to finding a cure for cancer.
For a slow-growing microbe that multiplies infrequently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB) has long puzzled researchers as to how it develops resistance to antibiotics so quickly, in a matter of weeks to months.
Tumours with the same biology have different prognoses based on their method of detection, and this information should be taken into account when deciding which treatments might be needed, a Dutch researcher explained at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference.
New insights into the mechanisms behind how cancer-causing agents in the environment activate genetic recombination in DNA could help to explain some of the effects of exposure as well as predicting which individuals may be more susceptible to developing the disease, a new UK study has suggested.
A UK biotech laboratory has used mass spectrometry in a new approach to coronavirus testing. MAP Sciences developed a gargle test, which collects samples from the back of the throat, and avoids the unpleasant sensation of the current PCR (polymerase chain reaction) swab tests. From there, the sample is tested for coronavirus using mass spectrometry (MS) with high levels of accuracy.
In early 1990, at Analytica, in Munich, a young US-American researcher Kary B Mullis received the award for biochemical analytics for his 1983 invention: the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) – a success topped in 1993 by the Nobel Prize for chemistry. Mullis’ work revolutionised DNA copying, a process which, before PCR, had taken weeks. Whilst initially PCR was used to create digital…
Recent research in Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) has identified two enzymes that can detect Covid-19 RNA as simply as a pregnancy test Jesús Pla, an eminent microbiologist at the Complutense University in Madrid, explained in our exclusive interview. CRISPR technology could help alleviate workloads in packed hospitals and expand testing to primary care and…
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have discovered the fastest way to identify potent, neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Launched in 2011, the Pan-Cancer Project, involved more than 1,300 scientists and clinicians in 37 countries, and analysed more than 2,600 genomes of 38 tumour types. Discovery: The first indications of cancer development can be found in genes at a very early stage, which triggers new opportunities for treatment.
This year, the MEDICA LABMED FORUM will offer a high-profile programme with top speakers which is free for registered online visitors.