Body

WORCESTER, MA - A study in The Journal of Cell Biology by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School reveals important new details about the inner workings of the CRISPR-Cas9 machinery in live cells that may have implications for the development of therapeutics that use the powerful gene editing tool.

Kansas City, MO. -- Researchers at the Stowers Institute have established a definitive link between the makeup of the microbiome, the host immune response, and an organism's ability to heal itself.

They showed that a dramatic shift in the microbial community of planaria robs the freshwater flatworm of its superior regenerative abilities. This same shift has been observed in human inflammatory disorders, though previous attempts to mimic it in lower organisms like fruit flies or zebrafish have proved unsuccessful.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Researchers have created a new drug delivery system that could improve the effectiveness of an emerging concept in cancer treatment - to dramatically slow and control tumors on a long-term, sustained basis, not necessarily aiming for their complete elimination.

US teens are more likely to vape for the flavourings found in e-cigarettes rather than nicotine, suggests research published online in the journal Tobacco Control.

The findings call into question the designation of e-cigarettes as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and suggest that the recent spike in the popularity of e-cigarettes among this age group doesn't signal a 'nicotine epidemic' as feared, conclude the researchers.

Summary: Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) is a common malignancy in early adulthood with a complex etiology. In a cohort of 2.3 million Jewish adolescent males and females followed for up to 45 years, being born in Israel was associated with a much elevated risk for nodular sclerosis HL. Higher risks were found among Israeli-born subjects compared to European, Asian and North African immigrants; higher risks were also found for women, those born more recently, those with higher BMI and taller stature.

A team including the National Cancer Center (NCC) (Tokyo, Japan), the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies (CLST) (Yokohama, Japan), and Carna Biosciences Inc. (Kobe, Japan) has jointly announced the development of a novel small-molecule Wnt inhibitor named NCB-0846. Wnt signaling is a key pathway of cancer stem cell (CSC) development. The inhibitor may provide a new therapy option for patients with drug-refractory colorectal cancer.

Distributing health products through a simple voucher system is effective for screening out people who would otherwise accept but not use the free product, a study conducted in Kenya reports. The results inform an ongoing debate about how to get health products to those who need them most without incurring wastage, ultimately suggesting that introducing "small hassles" of time and energy may be more effective than charging money.

In this Policy Forum, Randall Hansen and Shalini Randeria discuss the different ideological viewpoints of liberals and conservatives in Europe with respect to accepting refugees, highlighting why - even though the continent is not bearing the "brunt" of the refugee crisis - it remains "in the center of a political and social storm" related to refugees asylum. Globally, there are at least 65 million displaced people, 21 million of whom seek refuge across international borders.

Lake Nona, Fla., August 25, 2016 -- Scientists at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified a previously unknown way that stress hormones (glucocorticoids) shut off genes in the liver to help the body adapt to the fasting state. The study, published today in Cell Metabolism, describes an obscure protein, SETDB2, that's increased during times of fasting and alters the genome to help turn on genes needed to adjust to the absence of food.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have successfully trialed a new technique that could aid the process of choosing the "best" embryo for implantation, helping to boost the chances of pregnancy success from the very first IVF cycle.

A group of proteins best known for helping to activate all mammalian genes has been found to play a particularly commanding role in the natural development of specialized stem cells into healthy blood cells, a process known as hematopoiesis.

Researchers have identified a mechanism in mice by which anticancer immune responses are inhibited within the lungs, a common site of metastasis for many cancers. This mechanism involves oxygen inhibition of the anticancer activity of T cells. Inhibiting the oxygen-sensing capability of immune cells, either genetically or pharmacologically, prevented lung metastasis.

A new study published online by JAMA Oncology quantifies industry financial conflicts of interest (FCOIs) among authors of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, work that influences practice and defines drugs reimbursable by Medicare.

Aaron P. Mitchell, M.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and coauthors examined FCOIs during 2014 among 125 authors of the guidelines for the treatment of breast, colon, prostate and lung cancer because those are the cancers with the highest incidence in the U.S.

Does how much hair a man has matter in how he is perceived? The answer is yes, according to a new article published online by JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

A survey by Lisa E. Ishii, M.D., M.H.S., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and coauthors suggests men with androgenetic alopecia (pattern baldness) who underwent hair transplant were rated by observers as more youthful, attractive, successful and approachable. All those factors can play a role in workplace and social success.

New Haven, Conn.-- The Zika virus reproduces in the vaginal tissue of pregnant mice several days after infection, according to a study by Yale researchers. From the genitals, the virus spreads and infects the fetal brain, impairing fetal development. The findings suggest that the Zika virus may replicate more robustly in the female reproductive tract than at other sites of infection, with potentially dire consequences for reproduction, said the researchers.

The study was published online Aug. 25 in Cell.