Lifeboat Foundation

T cells are immune cells that fight off disease. The most common type of T cell, known as conventional T cells, maintains different functions, including activation of other T cells and killing pathogens. However, there is a less common type of T cell known as unconventional T cells. These cells regulate conventional T cells and often suppress conventional T cell function. How these cells develop and protect the body from infection and disease is unclear. Dr. Dan Pellicci and colleagues from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Federation University Australia reported on unconventional T cell development and their role in the immune system in a recent Science Immunology paper.

The researchers found that these unconventional T cells elicit an immune response. The discovery of an anti-pathogen role in these T cells has been unknown previously. Scientists can target these cells to prevent cancer and highly infectious diseases by understanding their role in immunity.

Dr. Pellicci and colleagues gathered samples from the Melbourne Children’s Heart Tissue Bank, where samples from children sixteen years old or younger who had heart surgery were kept. The researchers looked at the T cells from the thymus, a gland that further develops or matures T cells. After the T cells exit the thymus, they are ready to activate and target or kill infecting pathogens. Through T cell isolation, Dr. Pellicci and colleagues were able to determine the role of Unconventional T cells.

To understand the main determinants behind worldwide antibiotic resistance dynamics, scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Inserm, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Université Paris-Saclay developed a statistical model based on a large-scale spatial-temporal analysis. Using the ATLAS antimicrobial resistance surveillance database, the model revealed significant differences in trends and associated factors depending on bacterial species and resistance to certain antibiotics.

For example, countries with high quality health systems were associated with low levels of antibiotic resistance among all the gram-negative bacteria investigated, while high temperatures were associated with high levels of antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. Surprisingly, national antibiotic consumption levels were not correlated with resistance for the majority of the bacteria tested. The results suggest that antibiotic resistance control measures need to be adapted to the local context and to targeted bacteria-antibiotic combinations.

The results of the study were published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health.

Ovarian cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer mortality among women and is characterized by late detection, extensive metastasis and poor prognosis.

One reason that treating this disease has been so challenging is that tumors often become resistant to chemotherapies, and generally respond poorly to immunotherapies.

While much of the research on overcoming resistance and efforts to develop new therapies have focused on the cancer cells, it has often ignored the many other cell types within the tumor. Indeed, cancer cells have the ability to reprogram the cells around them to nurture the tumor and help evade the patient’s immune system.

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“The transplant was a success: The operation went smoothly, the new liver started working right away, and the patient recovered without any surgical complications.”

Doctors in the United States have successfully performed a robotic liver transplant procedure, marking a significant advancement in the field of medical surgery.

In May 2023, the inaugural transplantation of this kind was carried out by a surgical team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The significant procedure occurred at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

The story of a young science-writer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who risked everything by blowing the whistle on a massive cover-up involving a promising cancer therapy.

Cover-Up Of Promising Cancer Treatment (2014)
Director: Eric Merola.
Writers: Eric Merola.
Stars: Robert Good, Ben Moss, Martha Moss.
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Drama.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Also Known As: Second Opinion — The Lie of America’s War on Cancer.
Release Date: March 1, 2014 (United States)

Continue reading “Cover-Up Of Promising Cancer Treatment | Cancer Research | Documentary” »

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against aging and age-related diseases. The study, conducted by a team of scientists at Harvard Medical School, has published the first chemical approach to reprogram cells to a younger state. Previously, this was only achievable using a powerful gene therapy.

The team’s findings build upon the discovery that the expression of specific genes, called Yamanaka factors, could convert adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This Nobel Prize-winning discovery raised the question of whether it might be possible to reverse cellular aging without causing cells to become too young and turn cancerous.

Continue reading “US scientists discover chemical to reverse aging” »

Following the success of its first experiment.com campaign, which was raising money to identify therapeutics that reduce senescent cell accumulation and extend healthspan, the SENS Research Foundation has announced the next funding project.

Last month, we covered the fundraiser for Dr Abdelhadi Rebbaa’s research into the discovery and testing of novel senolytic molecules, which would back into his discovery of potential anti-senescence therapeutics. SRF has confirmed that this campaign is now fully funded.

Now SENS Research Foundation has launched its second experiment.com campaign for Dr Amutha Boominathan’s project Finding a cure for mitochondrial DNA diseases through COX2 variations to restore cell function, hoping to raise $8,000 over 45 days, with the campaign coming to an end next month, on 30th August. Dr Boominathan is head of the MitoSENS program at SENS Research Foundation.

Scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified potential new biomarkers that could indicate how someone diagnosed with metastatic melanoma will respond to immunotherapy treatment.

The researchers found when T cells are activated, they release a protein called CXCL13, which helps attract more B cells and T cells to the tumor site. The B cells then show the T cells specific parts of the tumor, which leads to increased activation of the T cells and their ability to fight the cancer. This cooperation between T cells and B cells was associated with improved survival in patients diagnosed with metastatic melanoma who were treated with immunotherapy, but not for those who received targeted therapy (e.g., MEK inhibitors).

These findings could help guide new strategies to improve the effectiveness of melanoma cancer treatments. The research is published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.