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Jan 17, 2017
Malaria Drug Successfully Treats 26 Year Old Brain Cancer Patient
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Summary: Researchers report an anti malaria drug has helped improve length and quality of life for a 26 year old brain cancer patient.
Source: University of Colorado.
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Jan 17, 2017
Cancer agency hacked for data won’t pay ransom
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, bitcoin, computing
Pathetic. This is truly a new low for Ransomware hackers.
MUNCIE — An Indiana cancer services agency says it will replace and rebuild its data after a computer hack demanding a ransom.
Cancer Services of East Central Indiana-Little Red Door in Muncie says it was hacked Jan. 11 and the hackers demanded a ransom of 50 bitcoins, or about $43,000, for access to its data.
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Jan 17, 2017
Inactive B2M genes can condition response of lung cancer patients to immunotherapy, study shows
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Nice.
Researchers from the Genes and Cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have identified inactivating mutations in a number of genes that code for HLA-I histocompatibility complex proteins, which are involved in the immune response and can condition the response of lung cancer patients to immunotherapy. The study is a result of the collaboration between several national and international research centers, and has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
“Initially, we performed a genetic screening of lung cancer tumors using xenograft models, that is, human tumors that grow in mice, to obtain tumors with a low load of normal human cells,” explains Dr. Montse Sanchez-Cespedes, the last author of the paper. Sequencing of the tumors made it possible to identify several mutated genes, including some oncogenes and known tumor suppressor genes, and others that not previously described. “Among the latter, we were particularly interested in the B2M gene for its involvement in the functioning of the immune system, a target of new therapies developed for this type of cancer.”
Jan 17, 2017
Superbugs now killing more Americans than breast cancer… the scourge of antibiotics continues
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, health
Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are now killing more people than breast cancer, according to a new data analysis by the UK Sepsis Trust.
According to the British Department of Health, about 5,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections. But the UK Sepsis Trust and others have criticized these figures for being based on studies conducted in other countries, many of them with flawed methodology.
For the new analysis, the UK Sepsis Trust looked at the Department of Health’s own data to come up with an estimate of 12,000 killed per year by superbugs — more than twice as high as the current estimate.
Jan 17, 2017
Inactive B2M gene is recurrent in lung cancer and may condition response to immunotherapy
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Big deal.
Researchers from the Genes and Cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have identified inactivating mutations in a number of genes that code for HLA-I histocompatibility complex proteins, which are involved in the immune response and can condition the tesponse of lung cancer patients to immunotherapy. The study is a result of the collaboration between several national and international research centers, and has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
“Initially, we performed a genetic screening of lung cancer tumors using xenograft models, that is, human tumors that grow in mice, to obtain tumors with a low load of normal human cells,” explains Dr. Montse Sanchez-Cespedes, the last author of the paper. Sequencing of the tumors made it possible to identify several mutated genes, including some oncogenes and known tumor suppressor genes, and others that not previously described. “Among the latter, we were particularly interested in the B2M gene for its involvement in the functioning of the immune system, a target of new therapies developed for this type of cancer.”
Jan 17, 2017
Protein Associated With Parkinson’s Travels From Brain To Gut
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Pretty wild.
Researchers of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) have found that “alpha-synuclein,” a protein involved in a series of neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease, is capable of travelling from brain to stomach and that it does so following a specific pathway. Donato Di Monte and co-workers report on this in the journal Acta Neuropathologica. Their study, carried out in rats, sheds new light on pathological processes that could underlie disease progression in humans.
Alpha-synuclein occurs naturally in the nervous system, where it plays an important role in synaptic function. However, in Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and other neurodegenerative diseases termed “synucleinopathies,” this protein is accumulated within neurons, forming pathological aggregates. Distinct areas of the brain become progressively affected by this condition. The specific mechanisms and pathways involved in this widespread distribution of alpha-synuclein pathology remain to be fully elucidated. Clinical and experimental evidence suggests however that alpha-synuclein — or abnormal forms of it — could “jump” from one neuron to another and thus spread between anatomically interconnected regions.
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Jan 17, 2017
The Pit In Your Stomach is Actually Your Second Brain
Posted by Karen Hurst in category: neuroscience
Hmmm; you have a 2nd brain inside your stomach. At least this new research is pointing to that.
Gut feelings influence your mood and well-being.
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Jan 17, 2017
3 Weird Ways we Can Remotely Control Animals And Bacteria
Posted by Karen Hurst in category: futurism
Jan 17, 2017
Soon, Your Smartwatch Will Know When You’re Getting Sick (Before You Do)
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biotech/medical, health
Pretty soon, your smart watch may know you’re sick before you do, according to US scientists. The researchers made an app which tracked health data — such as heart rate and skin temperature — collected by 60 people’s smart watches for up to two years, and found that people’s stats changed when they were getting sick.
The authors say smart watches could also help detect the risk of type 2 diabetes and low oxygen on planes, and that they even helped detect Lyme disease in one of the scientists behind the study.
Smart watches and similar portable devices are commonly used for measuring steps and physiological parameters, but have not generally been used to detect illness.
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