Every time a cell divides, the ends of chromosomes – the threads of DNA residing in the nucleus – shorten a bit. Once the chromosome ends, called telomeres, become too short, cells normally stop dividing. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered how cancer cells make use of specific DNA repair enzymes to extend the telomeres. In this way, they escape the…
Use of heroin in the United States has surged dramatically in the past decade, a new study finds. The news follows earlier reports that fatal overdoses from heroin have quadrupled since 2002, suggesting that the country is facing a new epidemic of opiate dependence.
Inexpensive packing material pops up as an alternative to high-cost glass lab equipment for simple diagnostic tests, a potential boon in developing nations.
The view across the Atlantic – it fills Professor Fabian Kiessling, Chair of Experimental Molecular Imaging at the RWTH Aachen (Rhine-Westphalia Institute of Technology Aachen), with optimism. The USA offers more opportunities for molecular imaging. Only recently, new tracers for Alzheimer’s were accepted as reimbursable in some centres, whilst the development of new diagnostics in Europe…
A group of researchers, lead by Vasily M. Studitsky, professor at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, discovered a new mechanism of DNA repair, which opens up new perspectives for the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. The article describing their discovery is published in AAAS' first open access online-only journal Science Advances.
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that clinical trials of omega-3 and antioxidant supplementation should be undertaken for people with Alzheimer's disease with mild clinical impairment.
Danish researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered what controls the enzyme that aids the growth of cancer tumours. These findings could be of great value to cancer treatments and has just been published in the renowned journal, Nature Communications.
Fructose not only results in a lower level of satiety, it also stimulates the reward system in the brain to a lesser degree than glucose. This may cause excessive consumption accompanied by effects that are a risk to health, report researchers from the University of Basel in a study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. Various diseases have been attributed to industrial fructose in…
Tumor suppressor genes protect against cancer. Until now, scientists have had to perform complex experiments to detect whether or not a mutation or loss of this gene type does, in fact, cause cancer. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now used a new gene technology method called CRISPR/Cas9 technology for this detection.
‘Health insurers should keep a tighter rein on the quality of endoscopic interventions because, mostly, they represent a gentler alternative to surgery,’ asserts international expert Horst Neuhaus, during an EH interview. Report: Daniela Zimmermann/Juliane Dannert
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, responsible for some 1.59 million deaths a year. That figure is due, in part, to the fact that the cancer often returns after what, at first, seems to be successful treatment. And the recurring cancer is often resistant to the chemotherapy and other drugs that originally drove it into remission. According to new research by the Weizmann…
Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created a “smart insulin patch” that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, and widespread antibiotic resistance has led to urgent calls for new ways to combat them. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences report that an experimental drug that stabilizes a protein called HIF-1alpha protects human bladder cells and mice against a major UTI…
It may come as a bit of a surprise to learn that bacteria have an immune system – in their case to fight off invasive viruses called phages. And like any immune system – from single-celled to human – the first challenge of the bacterial immune system is to detect the difference between “foreign” and “self.” This is far from simple, as viruses, bacteria and all other living things…
Hyperactivity and social abnormalities are defining characteristics of ADHD and autism, two developmental disorders that parents and scientists around the world are struggling to understand. At the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan, researchers have identified the protein IRBIT as a key player in preventing these behaviors from developing.
The focus of the 2015 Diabetes Congress held in Berlin this May was ‘Personalised diabetes treatment: innovative – individual – sustained’. EH reports on points aired during the supporting press briefing. Report: Bettina Döbereiner
Clinical trials are under way at two NHS hospitals in England to assess breathalyser technology to detect lung cancer. Phase I clinical trials of a diagnostic breathalyser developed by Cambridge-based Owlstone Ltd have shown accurate identification of 12 lung cancer biomarkers in breath specimens. A Phase II trial is now targeting development of a small, handheld device that can be used in GP…
A new study group that aims to establish guidelines on forensic microbiology sampling and encourage increased communications between European and global organisations, has been launched by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).
National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers and their colleagues have developed a "placenta-on-a-chip" to study the inner workings of the human placenta and its role in pregnancy.
New figures for the UK’s key National Health Service (NHS) Trusts have revealed their total deficit of more than €1.1 billion for the year 2014-15. This rise on the previous year’s deficit of €160m comes against a backdrop of health authorities being required to find ‘efficiency savings’ of almost €1.4bn over the last five years. The NHS was also a major issue in the recent UK…
Since 2009, as part of diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship strategies, Hampshire Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust has used serum procalcitonin (PCT) – an innovative and highly specific marker to diagnose clinically relevant bacterial infections and sepsis. Report: Mark Nicholls
Researchers in Canada and the U.K. have for the first time sequenced and assembled de novo the full genome of a living organism, the bacteria Escherichia Coli, using Oxford Nanopore's MinIONTM device, a genome sequencer that can fit in the palm of your hand.
Mutations in ARID1a, which are common in many cancer types, disrupt DNA damage repair in cancer cells, allowing the cancer to progress. This gene may also be an Achilles' heel when treating certain tumors, according to a team of researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have a unique bacterial signature in their colon, when compared with healthy people.
A new imaging technique can identify the specific changes in neural communication that can disrupt functional connectivity across the brain as a result of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).