Body

ORLANDO, FL - Cavefish that live in dark caves with only sporadic access to food show symptoms similar to diabetes, but don't appear to experience any health problems. New findings presented at The Allied Genetics Conference (TAGC) 2016, a meeting hosted by the Genetics Society of America, reveal the genetic basis of how cavefish have adapted to their extreme environment, information that might one day lead to new kinds of treatments for diabetes and other diseases.

Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan have demonstrated that a molecule, called biglycan, plays an intrinsic role in attracting tumour cells toward the inner wall of tumour blood vessels.

Biglycan is a normal component of the supportive matrix outside cells and appears to modulate the biological activities of a number of growth factors. It is also released by immune cells in inflamed tissues.

The team conducted investigations by grafting low-metastatic (LM) and high-metastatic (HM) melanoma tumour cells under the skin of mice.

A common feature of cancer and aging is cells' reduced ability to respond to stress-induced damage to DNA or cellular structures. Specifically, changes occur in the protective processes of apoptosis and cellular senescence, whose roles in cancer and aging are thoroughly reviewed by Cerella et al. in Current Drug Targets (Bentham Science Publishers). The authors outline the evidence that these processes are regulated by separate but intertwined pathways.

Antibody-drug conjugates take the advantage of antigen specificity of monoclonal antibodies to deliver highly potent cytotoxic drugs selectively to antigen-expressing tumor cells.

High energy sound waves could treat a potentially deadly complication that affects some twin pregnancies, says new research.

The early-stage feasibility study involving sheep suggests High Intensity Focused Ultrasound - a technique already used for treating some cancers - could help a condition called Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). It was conducted by researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge, with technology being developed at The Institute of Cancer Research, London.

Researchers of Kumamoto University in Japan have succeeded in the world's first visualization of a peptidoglycan 'wall' present in the chloroplasts of bryophytes (moss plants). Until now, chloroplasts of green plants were considered to be surrounded only by two envelopes. The results of this research overturns conventional wisdom about the structure of chloroplasts.

The researchers in the laboratory of Dr. Manisha Tiwari have recently reviewed "Polypharamocological Drugs in the Treatment of Epilepsy: The Comprehensive Review of Marketed and New Emerging Molecules". In this article, they have comprehensively discussed the role of polypharmacological drugs for the therapy of epilepsy. A comparable effect of polypharmacological drugs versus single-targeted drugs has also been discussed in detail. As we know epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder having complex pathophysiology involving various enzymes, receptors and ion channels.

Microalgae hold tremendous potential for industrial biotechnology. They are an important resource in the production of food and medications, and in many other applications. In comparison to bacteria and fungi, however, they still play only a minor role. The economic use of these organisms has been difficult in the past primarily because existing production procedures are too costly.

Beijing, China - Chromatin remodeling proteins (chromatin remodelers) are essential and powerful regulators for critical DNA-templated cellular processes, such as DNA replication, recombination, gene transcription/repression, and DNA damage repair. These molecular and genetic processes are important for a wide spectrum of cellular functions, including cell cycle, death, differentiation, pluripotency, and genome integrity. Recently, many scientific reports have shown that chromatin remodeling proteins could be promising new targets for the treatment of human malignancy.

Amsterdam, July 13, 2016 - A new method for extracting, enriching and identifying chemical warfare agents from oils and other organic liquids could help government officials and homeland security protect civilians more effectively from their deadly effects. The method, published in Journal of Chromatography A, uses nanoparticles to capture the chemicals.

Neuherberg/Tübingen, July 13, 2016. It is widely accepted that physical exercise lowers the risk of developing diabetes. Yet in one in five participants in related studies this positive effect fails to materialize. Researchers and clinicians involved in a collaborative translational project launched by the German Center for Diabetic Research between the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Hospital Tübingen have now discovered what occurs in the muscle of these so-called "non-responders". The results of their research were published recently in the Diabetes journal.

TORONTO, July 13, 2016 -- New research led by York University Professor Michael Connor highlights how fat cells could help determine the most effective way to fight breast cancer; including using exercise to combat the disease.

UK scientists may have found a way to destroy HIV's last refuge. A study by Oxford University has confirmed that a treatment developed by a British company can remove the virus in its chosen hiding place, in laboratory conditions, offering hope of a viable treatment.

Professor Lucy Dorrell and her team at the University of Oxford worked with Immunocore Ltd - a UK biotechnology company based in Oxfordshire - to investigate the potency of novel engineered immune-mobilising T cell receptors-based drugs ('ImmTAVs'), designed to clear HIV-infected cells.

A new study led by Assistant Medical Professor Philip Smith of The City College of New York's Sophie Davis Biomedical Education/CUNY School of Medicine, and conducted in collaboration with researchers at Yale University and Yeshiva University, found important differences between women and men in their ability to quit smoking when taking medications commonly prescribed to help smokers quit.

(Boston)--Researchers have developed a diagnostic model that is highly predictive of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Referred to as the Framingham Steatosis Index (FSI), this novel model may become a cheaper and easier alternative to screen for liver fat, the major feature of this condition.