Body

PHILADELPHIA - The mistaken activation of certain cell-surface receptors contributes to a variety of human cancers. Knowing more about the activation process has led researchers to be able to induce greater vulnerability by cancer cells to an existing first-line treatment for cancers (mainly lung) driven by a receptor called EGFR. The team, led by Eric Witze, PhD, an assistant professor of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published their findings this month in Molecular Cell.

Along the West Coast, lingcod fish are top predators -- voracious eaters that aren't picky about where their next meal comes from.

But lingcod in the Pacific Ocean used to be overfished, to the point where managers created protected areas for these fish and other depleted groundfish species, such as yelloweye and canary rockfish.

The bacteria in and on our bodies have been shown to be vital for human health, influencing nutrition, obesity and protection from diseases.

But science has only recently delved into the importance of the microbiome of plants. Since plants can't move, they are especially reliant on partnerships with microbes to help them get nutrients.

A new step in cancer immunotherapy: researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute and University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital show that even if one's own immune cells cannot recognize and fight their tumors, someone else's immune cells might. Their proof of principle study is published in the journal Science on May 19th.

LOS ANGELES - A study published today by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) Roski Eye Institute in JAMA Ophthalmology found that the U.S. prevalence in visual impairment (VI) and blindness is expected to double over the next 35 years. By 2050, the number of Americans with a variety of eye disease and impairment issues, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR) and cataracts, will dramatically increase impacting both individuals and society.

Patients who are critically ill, be they dog, cat or human, have a tendency toward blood clotting disorders. When the formation of a clot takes too long, it puts them at risk of uncontrolled bleeding. But the other extreme is also dangerous; if blood clots too readily, it can lead to organ failure or even death if a clot goes to the lungs, brain or heart.

BALTIMORE - May 19, 2016. Adolescent girls whose diet is higher in saturated fats and lower in healthier unsaturated fats have higher breast density in early adulthood, which may potentially increase their risk for breast cancer later in life, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The research was published online today in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Joint injury can lead to post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). In fact, about half of all people who rupture the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knee will develop PTOA within 10-20 years of the injury.

But the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to cartilage degeneration or PTOA due to trauma are not well understood.

Tempe, Ariz. -- Evolution can be an emotionally charged topic in education, given a wide range of perspectives on it. Two researchers from Arizona State University are taking an in-depth look at how college professors handle it.

In a first-of-its kind study, scientists from ASU School of Life Sciences have found that a majority of professors teaching biology in Arizona universities do not believe that helping students accept the theory of evolution is an instructional goal. In fact, a majority of study participants say their only goal is to help students understand evolution.

MAYWOOD, IL - Combining radiation treatments with a new generation of immunotherapies is showing promise as a one-two-punch against melanoma, Loyola Medicine researchers report in the Journal of Radiation Oncology.

Radiation kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Immunotherapies work by harnessing a patient's immune system to attack and kill cancer cells. When combined, the two therapies appear to have synergistic effects, according to the article by James S. Welsh, MD and colleagues.

WASHINGTON - To make the world safer against future infectious disease threats, national health systems should be strengthened, the World Health Organization's emergency and outbreak response activities should be consolidated and bolstered, and research and development should be enhanced, says a new Policy Forum article that appears in the May 19 edition of PLOS Medicine.

Immunology - and the idea that many diseases can best be addressed by boosting the body's own immune response - is one of the hottest areas in medical research and clinical treatment. University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Chiba University School of Medicine in Japan have announced a new collaborative research center to investigate the most promising aspects of immunology, especially the area of mucosal immunology, and to speed development of clinical applications.

The group of Russian and French researchers, with the participation of scientists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, has succeeded to synthesize nanoparticles of ultrapure silicon, which exhibited the property of efficient photoluminescence, i.e., secondary light emission after photoexcitation. These particles were able to easily penetrate into cancer cells and it allowed to use them as luminescent markers in the early diagnosis of cancer and in treatments of this disease.

Many breast cancers are marked by a lack of HOXA5 protein, a gene product known to control cell differentiation and death, and lower levels of the protein correspond to poorer outcomes for patients. Now, results of a new study by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists suggests a powerful role for the protein in normal breast cells, acting as a tumor suppressor that halts abnormal cell growth.

In a new study using mice and lab-grown human cells, a scientific team led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers show how a triple-drug cocktail can shrink triple-negative breast cancers by killing off cancer cells and halting new tumor growth.