Medical News Observer

Researcher’s study Zika virus course and transmission in primates

Though first documented 70 years ago, the Zika virus was poorly understood when it burst onto the scene in the Americas in 2015. In one of the first and largest studies of its kind, a research team lead by virologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has characterized the progression of two strains of…
Nuclear protein EYA1 causes neuroblastoma to become more aggressive

Aggressive forms of neuroblastoma contain a specific protein in their cells’ nuclei that is not found in the nuclei of more benign forms of the cancer, and the discovery, made through research from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), could lead to new forms of targeted therapy. EYA1, a protein that contributes to ear…
Research show sleep pattern disruptions can lead to increased risk of suicides

Adapted from press release by University of Manchester The link between sleep problems and suicidal thoughts and behaviours is made starkly clear in new research from The University of Manchester, published in the BMJ Open. In this study, conducted by researchers from the University’s School of Health Sciences alongside the University of Oxford, 18 participants…
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy using nivolumab prior to early lung cancer surgery is safe and feasible

Adapted from Press release by European Society for Medical OncologyNeoadjuvant immunotherapy with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab is safe and feasible prior to surgery for early lung cancer, researchers reported at the ESMO 2016 Congress in Copenhagen. Background “Until now nivolumab and the other anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 drug studies have only been reported in metastatic or…
Data analysis using Integrated Microbial Next Generation Sequensing (IMNGS) enables worldwide bacterial analysis

Press release by Technical University of Munich Sequencing data from biological samples such as the skin, intestinal tissues, or soil and water are usually archived in public databases. This allows researchers from all over the globe to access them. However, this has led to the creation of extremely large quantities of data. To be able…
Research shows how tumor cells evade T-cell immunotherapy

Adapted from press release by Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and the Berlin Institute of Health. Immunotherapy is a new and highly promising form of treatment for cancer. In many patients, however, tumors recur after immunotherapy. In the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the members of a…
Understaning Pathogenesis of Pancreatic Cancer Metastasis to Liver

Adapted from press release by Technical University of Munich (TUM) Pancreatic cancer is an exceptionally aggressive type of cancer. Frequently, metastases already start to grow in other organs, particularly often in the liver, before the original tumor was even detected. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered a molecular mechanism, which…
Reactome announces annotation and release of 10,000th human protein

Adapted from press release by Ontario Institute for Cancer Research The European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the New York University School of Medicine and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) today announced a major milestone in the Reactome project: the annotation and release of its 10,000th human protein, making it the most comprehensive open access…
Genes that control cellular senescence identified

Adapted from press release by Kobe University A research group including Professor Kamada Shinji, Research Fellow Nagano Taiki (both from the Kobe University Biosignal Research Center), and Unit Chief Enari Masato (National Cancer Research Institute) has succeeded in identifying genes that control cellular senescence – permanently arrested cell growth. The process involved treating liver cancer…
Biosafety studies of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy for Mucopolysaccharidosis I shows promise for human trials

Extensive biosafety studies of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy, intended to replace a protein that patients with the inherited disease mucopolysaccaridosis I (MPS I) cannot produce, support clinical testing of the stem cell-based gene addition approach in MPS I patients. Evidence derived from these studies not only indicates that the HSC gene therapy is…