LONDON – The discovery of a new mechanism by which cancer cells evade stresses, which may mimic the stresses that some anticancer therapies put them under, could lead to the development of new combination treatments for some types of cancer.
LONDON – Erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone that stimulates the formation of new red blood cells, is released in response to tumors and helps provide them with a more favorable environment for growth and spread, a new study has found.
LONDON – A potent and rapid new method for analyzing the function of any mammalian gene is set to revolutionize the study of genetics. For the first time, scientists have managed to produce and grow mammalian embryonic stem cells containing only half the normal complement of chromosomes – a goal that researchers have striven to achieve for decades.
LONDON – A slew of genes involved in the development of blood cells could become new targets for therapies to treat a whole range of conditions, from inherited blood clotting disorders and anemia to thrombotic events, including myocardial infarction.
LONDON – The mechanism of action of paracetamol has been unveiled, leaving the way clear for the development of new analgesics that are more effective and safer than paracetamol itself.
LONDON – The structure of a toxin produced by a bacterium that causes the tropical disease melioidosis has been solved, raising hopes that it may one day be possible to develop an inhibitor of the toxin, which could slow the progression of the disease.
LONDON – Many more genes seem to be involved in the development of colorectal cancer than previously thought, a mutagenesis study in mice suggested. Around a third of the genes are already known to be mutated in human cancer, providing strong evidence that they help to drive the growth of human tumors.
LONDON – During an infection, some of the bacteria that enter the mammalian bloodstream are immediately coated with platelets and end up in immunity-inducing dendritic cells in the spleen within minutes.The discovery of the details of that pathway, including the underlying molecular interactions, by a team of researchers based in Germany, raises the prospects of being able to develop better immunotherapies to protect against infectious diseases and cancer.
