With a median overall survival of barely more than a year and five-year survival rates just barely in the single digits, glioblastoma multiforme is among the deadliest cancers. Part of the problem is that the cancers can be hard to get out.

As technologies go, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have had a relatively rapid road to the clinic. They were first described in the scientific literature in 2007. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 21, 2007.)

Researchers have developed an innovative approach to integrating genomic data with research on animal models, and used it to identify a potential new target for treating psoriasis. Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition which affects more than a million people in the U.S.

A multinational team of researchers has deciphered the molecular reason behind why mutations in the sortilin-related receptor with A-type repeats (SORLA) raise the risk for Alzheimer’s disease – and have shown that by increasing its levels in the brains of mice, they were able to lower levels of amyloid-beta protein.

Japanese scientists have added to the understanding of how to improve cell reprogramming, through the identification of two proteins that are active in egg cells to promote a totipotent state. When the proteins, TH2A/TH2B, were added to Yamanaka reprogramming factors, they synergized with those factors, making the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells both faster and more efficient.

Recently, reports that levels of vitamin E that are typical for nutritional supplements could hasten the progression of existing tumors provided an unexpected cautionary tale about the health benefits of antioxidants.

Researchers have shown that in two animal models of autism, it was possible to prevent autism symptoms from developing in offspring by treating their mothers with the diuretic drug Bumex (bumetanide, Roche AG) before and during delivery. Conversely, blocking oxytocin signaling in mothers during delivery could lead to autism-like neuronal activity and behavior in their offspring.

In his typical self-effacing manner, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins poked fun at his own “acronym acrobatics” when introducing the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) to reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “We’re amped up,” he joked, “and we want to amplify for you why we are so excited!”

Last week, the news that exposing mature cells to stressful environments such as low pH can induce a stem cell-like state was greeted with much excitement, as stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells (STAP cells) joined embryonic stem cells (ES cells) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) as a cell type that might ultimately provide materials for autologous cell transplants.

Scientists reported recently that a therapeutic vaccine for precancerous cervical lesions induced strong immune responses. But those immune responses were only apparent when the team analyzed the cervical tissue itself, not when they used the standard approach of looking for activated immune cells in the blood.