Two hundred and fifty million years ago, life on earth was in a tail-spin--climate change, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels contributed to a mass extinction that makes the death of the dinosaurs look like child's play. Marine life got hit hardest--96% of all marine species went extinct. For a long time, scientists believed that the early marine reptiles that came about after the mass extinction evolved slowly, but the recent discovery of a strange new fossil brings that view into question.
Body
Nanosized Trojan horses created from a patient's own immune cells have successfully treated inflammation by overcoming the body's complex defense mechanisms, perhaps leading to broader applications for treating diseases characterized by inflammation, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
An international team, led by researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute, described the creation of nanoparticles called leukosomes and evaluated their ability to treat localized inflammation in the May 23 issue of Nature Materials (early online).
Our bodies are constantly and successfully fighting off the development of cells that lead to tumours - but when there is disruption to this process cancer is free to develop.
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers, led by Dr Sandra Nicholson and Dr Nicholas Huntington, together with colleagues from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, are investigating ways to 'switch on' our Natural Killer (NK) cells.
Whether it's paying the electric bill or taking the clothes out of the dryer, there are many daily tasks that we fully intend to complete and then promptly forget about. New research suggests that linking these tasks to distinctive cues that we'll encounter at the right place and the right time may help us remember to follow through. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will include more than 70 research presentations by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators and will attract as many as 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world. Held June 3 to 7 in Chicago at McCormick Place, presentations will cover the latest findings across oncology.
Here is a brief look at select studies Dana-Farber and Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center researchers are presenting at the meeting:
SAN DIEGO - An endoscopist's knowledge of a positive Cologuard test improves colonoscopy performance, according to a poster presentation at last week's Digestive Disease Week conference.
Cologuard is an at-home, stool-DNA colorectal cancer screening test that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This test, available by prescription only, is reimbursed by Medicare and covered by an increasing number of commercial health care plans.
(Boston) -- The CRISPR-Cas9 system has come to be known as the quintessential tool that allows researchers to edit the DNA sequences of many organisms and cell types. However, scientists are also increasingly recognizing that it can be used to activate the expression of genes. To that end, they have built a number of synthetic gene activating Cas9 proteins to study gene functions or to compensate for insufficient gene expression in potential therapeutic approaches.
Therapeutic hypnosis is an effective and safe complementary technique in surgery and the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. This is the conclusion of a systematic review by Winfried Häuser and his co-authors in the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2016; 113: 289-96).
Picture a chromosome as a string of beads. The beads are in fact called nucleosomes and are formed by the DNA strand that makes up the chromosome itself, tightly wrapped around proteins, called histones, which act a bit like spools. Nucleosomes are joined to one other by a segment, of varying length, of the same strand of DNA. The "beads" can be moved along the strand, grouped close together or moved apart, by the action of special proteins called "remodelling motors". One type of these motors arranges the nucleosomes equidistantly on the "string of beads".
Berlin, 20 May 2016 - New evidence for the clinical efficacy of cannabis therapy is presented in the latest issue of the Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology (JBCPP), a De Gruyter publication. The authors have studied cannabis therapy for many years at international research centers, examining its effects, potential applications, and risks.
Scientists from ITMO University and Trinity College have designed an optically active nanosized supercrystal whose novel architecture can help separate organic molecules, thus considerably facilitating the technology of drug synthesis. The study was published in Scientific Reports.
A drug for breast cancer that is more effective than existing medicines may be a step closer thanks to new research.
Scientists have identified a chemical compound that is highly effective at blocking the growth of breast cancer cells in the laboratory.
The compound - called eCF506 - targets a molecule called Src tyrosine kinase that is required for breast cancer cells to grow and spread.
According to new international research, just less than one per cent of the population is naturally protected against developing chronic coronary artery diseases. .
The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world's most highly renowned health journals, has just published the results of international genetic research collaborations.
The lab of Rice University synthetic organic chemist K.C. Nicolaou has reported the streamlined total synthesis of delta12-prostaglandin J3, a molecule previously claimed to kill leukemic cancer cells.
The researchers said their work sets the stage for large-scale synthesis of the cytotoxic agent, a lipid found in nearly all animal tissues, and related compounds that can be produced as potential agents to treat certain types of cancer.
The report by Nicolaou and his colleagues on the streamlined total synthesis appeared in Chemistry - A European Journal.
Scientists of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) have shown in a mouse model that the epigenetic* modification of the Igfbp2** gene observed in the young animal precedes a fatty liver in the adult animal later in life. In addition, young animals with this modification exhibit impaired glucose metabolism and are significantly more prone to morbid obesity. Annette Schürmann of DIfE said: "Also in morbidly obese people with incipient diabetes, we were able to demonstrate this modification in the corresponding gene.