How Chromosomes Keep Their Loose Ends Loose Has Implications For Cancer And The Aging Process
2/08/2013
We take it for granted that our chromosomes won't stick together, yet this kind of cellular disaster would happen constantly were it not for a protein called TRF2. Now, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered key details of how TRF2 performs this crucial chromosome-protecting function...
Researchers Discover Enzyme Behind Breast Cancer Mutations
2/08/2013
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have uncovered a human enzyme responsible for causing DNA mutations found in the majority of breast cancers. The discovery of this enzyme - called APOBEC3B - may change the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. The findings from a team of researchers led by Reuben Harris, Ph.D...
In Lung Cancer, RNA Promotes Metastasis
2/08/2013
The vast majority - approximately 80 percent - of our DNA does not code for proteins, yet it gets transcribed into RNA. These RNA molecules are called non-coding and fulfill multiple tasks in the cell. Alongside a well-studied group of small RNAs, there is also a class of so-called long non-coding RNAs consisting of more than 200 nucleotides...
New Molecular Inhibitors Successfully Hit Difficult Cancer Target
2/08/2013
Early laboratory tests are the first to successfully use an experimental molecular therapy to block a hard-to-target part of a protein complex linked to several types of invasive cancer. Scientists report online in PNAS Early Edition the rational design of a small-molecule inhibitor they call Y16...
Mapping The Landscape Of Kinases Could Aid In New World Of Personalized Cancer Treatment
2/08/2013
When it comes to gene sequencing and personalized medicine for cancer, spotting an aberrant kinase is a home run. The proteins are relatively easy to target with drugs and plenty of kinase inhibitors already exist...
Popular Drug-Carrying Nanoparticles Get Trapped In Bloodstream
2/08/2013
Many medically minded researchers are in hot pursuit of designs that will allow drug-carrying nanoparticles to navigate tissues and the interiors of cells, but University of Michigan engineers have discovered that these particles have another hurdle to overcome: escaping the bloodstream...
Humans survive by constantly recycling iron, a metal that is an essential component of red blood cells, but which is toxic outside of those cells. More than 90 percent of the iron in an adult human's 25 trillion life-sustaining red blood cells is recycled from worn-out cells...
New Molecular Inhibitors Successfully Hit Difficult Cancer Target
2/08/2013
Early laboratory tests are the first to successfully use an experimental molecular therapy to block a hard-to-target part of a protein complex linked to several types of invasive cancer. Scientists report online in PNAS Early Edition the rational design of a small-molecule inhibitor they call Y16...
A Mammogram Every Two Years Is Best For Older Women
2/07/2013
Receiving a mammogram every two years is just as advantageous for older women as getting a mammogram every year. However, screening for breast cancer every two years results in significantly fewer false positives, researchers of a new study found...
Researchers Gather To Discuss Therapy Alternative For Breast Cancer
2/07/2013
Proton therapy evaluated as a treatment option Radiation oncologists from some of the country's leading cancer centers will meet in Phoenix later this week to discuss the appropriate use of proton beam therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. Proton therapy is a highly precise form of radiation currently being used to treat a number of cancers and non-cancerous tumors...