Cardiac and visual degeneration arrested by a food supplement
Our genome consists of 20,000 genes, all of which may be capable of triggering disease. It is estimated that there are 7,000 unknown genes that cause recessive genetic diseases resulting from mutations in two copies of a gene that have been inherited from each parent. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have recently identified 45 new genes that cause blindness or cognitive problems.
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Dozens of non-oncology drugs can kill cancer cells
Drugs for diabetes, inflammation, alcoholism - and even for treating arthritis in dogs - can also kill cancer cells in the lab, according to a study by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The researchers systematically analyzed thousands of already developed drug compounds and found nearly 50 that have previously unrecognized anti-cancer activity.
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B cells linked to effective cancer immunotherapy
Cancer patients responded better to immunotherapy and had a better prognosis if their melanoma tumours contained specific clusters of B cells, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden. The study is published in Nature.
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Edible 'security tag' to protect drugs from counterfeit
Manufacturing prescription drugs with distinct markings, colors, shapes or packaging isn't enough to protect them from counterfeiting, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports have shown. Purdue University researchers are aiming to stump counterfeiters with an edible "security tag" embedded into medicine.
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Women's blood vessels age faster than men's
New research from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai showed for the first time that women's blood vessels - including both large and small arteries - age at a faster rate than men's. The findings, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Cardiology, could help to explain why women tend to develop different types of cardiovascular disease and with different timing than men.
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Vitamin B6, leukemia's deadly addiction
Scientists have discovered that Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) grows by taking advantage of the B6 vitamin to accelerate cell division. The research team from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) suggest they could halt the growth of this cancer by limiting its ability to manipulate the enzyme that pushes B6 to make proteins essential for cell division.
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Nuclear radiologists 'outsmart' prostate cancer with an apparently ineffective drug
When a non-scientist tries to imagine a scientist, the image that often arises is one of a somewhat remote, rather idealistic genius sitting alone in their room or laboratory and somehow discovering the most amazing things without every having contact with the 'normal' world. But science is just as much a part of life as any other activity.
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