Lifeboat Foundation

BOSTON: In an intriguing approach to the fight against cancer, researchers for the first time have used light to prevent and reverse tumors using a technique called optogenetics to manipulate electrical signaling in cells.

Scientists at Tufts University performed optogenetics experiments on frogs, often used in basic research into cancer because of the biological similarities in their tumors to those in mammals, to test whether this method already used in brain and nervous system research could be applied to cancer.

“We call this whole research program cracking the bioelectric code,” said biologist Michael Levin, who heads the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.

Continue reading “Researchers use light to battle cancer” »

Hmmm; I do know for many there is a set of genetic mutations that seem to sit dormat and eventually triggered by environment conditions.

(Reuters Health) — The risk of some childhood cancers might vary depending on where a child’s mother was born, a new study suggests.

For example, some brain and kidney cancers occurred less often in children whose Hispanic mothers were born outside the U.S. than in youngsters whose Hispanic or white mothers were born in the U.S., researchers found.

Continue reading “Kids’ cancer risk might be tied to where mom was born” »

University of Leicester. (2016, April 25). Researchers shed light on the role of inositol phosphate molecules in gene regulatory complexes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 26, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160425112511.htm

Fighting cancer with Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut.

A dessert recipe for Hazelnut Chocolate Blini that contains healthful ingredients that are also scrumptious!

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Very promising.

The explosion of sequencing technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) means it is now possible to tailor individual cancer therapies based on patients’ genetic make-up and tumour molecular profiling. The challenge lies in determining which genetic alterations are important in driving disease, so called ‘actionable mutations’.

Sequencing the entire genome or even a limited region reveals large numbers of alterations. Most are harmless, normal changes that do not promote the transformation of a normal cell to a cancer cell. Being able to sort out which changes are drivers in a cancer is a significant, but critical challenge in being able to guide therapy in clinical trials.

Our scientists at AstraZeneca are taking a leading position, defining a genetic classification strategy for how patients can be characterised at the molecular level, integrating knowledge from the drug’s mechanism of action combined with disease biology to help guide cancer therapy in early stage exploratory clinical trials. The article published in the May 2016 issue of Nature Reviews Cancer describes approaches taken by external groups alongside our own efforts to tackle this problem.

Continue reading “New genomic classification approach strengthens early cancer trial design” »

Very eye opening: North America has the largest market for silent cancer therapeutic, followed by Europe.

Silent cancer refers to those types of cancer which are undiagnosed in early stages. This is due to asymptomatic nature of the disease which makes it difficult to identify the disease till it progresses to advanced stages. Major silent types of cancer include brain, cervix, esophagus, mouth and larynx, ovarian, pancreatic, kidney, and liver cancer. Some silent types of cancer such as ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer show symptoms in their early stages. Ovarian cancer occurs in epithelium or lining cells of the ovary. Major signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer include pain or cramps in the belly, nausea, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and bloating. Pancreatic cancer is one of the fastest growing types of cancer worldwide. Esophagus cancer is more common among the older population, compared to adults. This cancer is mainly treated by chemotherapy, surgery, and radiosurgery. Moreover, physicians also use combination therapy for the treatment of silent cancer. For instance, the combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy is very effective in the treatment of silent cancer.

Continue reading “Silent Cancer Therapeutic Market — Historical, Current and Projected industry size and Recent Industry Trends by 2015 — 2021” »

A feel good story for this Tuesday at work to brighten up your day. Hope it brings a smile to everyone.

Combined, they took 77 years to make and cover an area 28 acres in size, slightly larger than Parliament Hill. They’re beautiful, comforting and hopeful, but at times tinged with sorrow.

This week, Betty Giffin will knock on the front door of a home in Ottawa. She’ll have with her a handmade quilt to give to the woman who lives there. The woman has cancer, as does everyone who receives one of the quilts from Giffin’s organization.

Continue reading “‘Nobody wants our quilts until they need one’: Quilters provide comfort to 50,000 people with cancer” »

Using Google Glass, Augmedix has developed a platform for doctors to collect, update and recall patient and other medical data in real time, technology website TechCrunch reported on Tuesday.

Google Glass is no longer available for consumers but its enterprise business continues to rise especially in the health care sector.

“When you are with doctors without Glass, they are charting and clicking on computers for a lot of the time and not focusing on their patients,” Ian Shakil, CEO of Augmedix was quoted as saying.

Continue reading “Google Glass to ‘rehumanise’ doctor-patient relationship” »

I am not surprised by this; I do expect this given the existing cyber threat risks around AI especially around the existing under pinning technology/ platforms and net infrastructures.

The finance world is cautiously optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence and how it can be used, but, there is more work needed on regulating the technology when it comes to world markets.

“Financial institutions have been fined billions of dollars because of illegality and compliance breaches by traders. A logical response by banks is to automate as much decision-making as possible, hence the number of banks enthusiastically embracing AI and automation,” said Baker and McKenzie head of financial services regulation Arun Srivastava.

Continue reading “Finance actually wants more regulation because of the rise of artificial intelligence fintech in the world’s markets” »