Scientists studying a common childhood cancer have made a major breakthrough which could lead to a cure for some youngsters who would not have survived the condition. An international study, involving Newcastle University, UK, has for the first time found a genetic marker in tumours from patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Research, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has identified that alterations in the neuroblastoma's ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) gene are associated with a significantly poorer prognosis for children with high-risk disease. Experts ...

Drugs routinely used during fertility treatments to release eggs do not increase the risk of developing breast cancer, new research has shown. Researchers from King's College London, in partnership with King's Fertility, analysed studies involving 1.8 million women undergoing fertility treatments. These women were followed up in studies for an average period of 27 years and had no increase in the risk of developing breast cancer. The research, published today in Fertility and Sterility journal, is the largest study to date assessing whether commonly used fertility drugs are for a cancer risk for women. Fertility treatments can range from using medications to boost the release of an egg in a women's natural cycle to more complex ...

A study by the University of Liverpool has shown that while asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in Liverpool was popular, significant inequalities were evident between those who got tested and those who didn't. Published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, the study found that 43% of residents aged over 5 years (n = 214 525) took up the offer of free testing for people without symptoms of COVID-19 between 6th November 2020 and 31st January 2021. A total of 1.3% of tests were positive, meaning that 5192 individuals who did not know they had the virus were notified ...

The avian influenza, an acute viral infectious disease that occurs in poultry such as chickens, ducks, and migratory birds, has been reported to be transmittable to humans. It is difficult to control because it spreads among migratory birds that travel to China, Europe, and elsewhere. Once it is transmitted, it spreads rapidly. Disposing infected livestock is not only costly, but also a cause of serious environmental pollution. This is why vaccines against infectious diseases are imperative. To this, a research team in Korea has recently developed a plant-based, adjuvant-free, recombinant protein vaccine that exhibits a strong immune response. Professor ...

Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Bonn have examined the way in which SARS-CoV-2 reprograms the metabolism of the host cell in order to gain an overall advantage. According to their report in Nature Communications*, the researchers were able to identify four substances which inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in the host cell: spermine and spermidine, substances naturally found in the body; MK-2206, an experimental cancer drug; and niclosamide, a tapeworm drug. Charité is currently conducting a trial to determine whether niclosamide is also effective against COVID-19 in humans. Viral replication depends on host cell machinery and ...

A blood test that can detect tiny amounts of circulating cancer DNA may be able to identify risk of cancer recurrence and guide precision treatment in bladder cancer following surgery, according to a clinical study led by Professor Tom Powles from Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust. The findings from the study, published in Nature, may change our understanding of cancer care following surgery. The study found that patients with urothelial cancer who had a particular cancer DNA marker in their blood following surgery to remove their tumour had a higher likelihood of cancer relapse. These patients could benefit from subsequent treatment with an immunotherapy called atezolizumab. Globally, ...

In humans, adenoviruses can infect the cells of the respiratory tract, while herpes viruses can infect those of the skin and nervous system. In most cases, this does not lead to the production of new virus particles, as the viruses are suppressed by the immune system. However, adenoviruses and herpes viruses can cause persistent infections that the immune system is unable to completely suppress and that produce viral particles for years. These same viruses can also cause sudden, violent infections where affected cells release large amounts of viruses, such that the infection spreads rapidly. This can lead to serious acute diseases of the lungs or nervous system. Automatic detection of virus-infected cells The research group of Urs ...

The authors of new research say supporting children and young people's mental health is as important as supporting their academic progress, and that particular attention should be paid to the fact that some young people have struggled more than others. Findings from their study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, focused on the connections between loneliness, social contact, parental relationships, and the mental health of adolescents aged 11-16 during the first full UK lockdown from March to May 2020. Their analysis drew on self-reported data from 894 young people who each completed a survey throughout to gauge their experiences of lockdown and its effects on their emotions, relationships, and feelings. The team from the universities of Bath, Bristol, ...

Hypoxia, or the inadequate oxygenation of a tissue, is a condition occurring frequently in all solid tumours such as melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma cells are not only able to survive oxygen deprivation, but also to use it to their own advantage by hijacking the anti-tumour immune response and developing resistance mechanisms to conventional anti-cancer therapies. A key gene responsible for cancer cell adaptation to hypoxia is HIF-1α (Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 alpha). Led by Dr Bassam Janji, head of the Tumor Immunotherapy and Microenvironment (TIME) research group at the Luxembourg Institute ...

A research group led by Professor Sachie Hiratsuka, Institute for Biomedical Research, Shinshu University, has found that a specific sequence of messenger RNA (mRNA), which exists outside cells, binds to receptors on the surface of natural killer (NK) cells and is taken up into the nucleus. The group found that NK cells with mRNA uptake are able to enhance their migration activity and interferon gamma production. Furthermore, NK cells incorporating the mRNA showed an inhibitory effect on cancer metastasis in animal experiments. In recent years, the results of cancer treatment have been improving with the increase of medical ...

Helsinki University research group used live tissue imaging for the first time to visualise the emergence of the mammary gland. Despite long-standing interest, the cellular mechanisms driving the initiation of mammary gland development have remained elusive for decades, mostly due to technical limitations in studying dynamic cell behaviors in live tissues. Recent advances in microscopic methods and availability of various mouse models allowed the research group of Marja Mikkola from HiLIFE Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki to address this question. This is the first time when live tissue imaging has been used to visualise the emergence of the mammary gland. Mammary gland is the class-defining organ of mammals, yet we know surprisingly little how its ...

Acrylamide is a toxic chemical compound that affects the nervous system. Not only is it widely used in industries such as paper production, plastics, and wastewater management, but it is also a byproduct of commonly used food processing methods, which makes human exposure to acrylamide inevitable. Therefore, many studies have focused on understanding the toxic effects of acrylamide and our body's response to them. Generally, in response to toxicity, the body's cells release protective factors and antioxidants to remedy the damage. This response is activated by various cellular machinery. One such activator is a protein called "nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2" (Nrf2), ...

Special diets, exercise programs, supplements and vitamins, there is everywhere something supposed to help us live longer. Whether it actually works has not always been shown, but the average life expectancy of people has increased over the last 150 years. A study by an international team of researchers, including Claudia Fichtel and Peter Kappeler, scientists in the Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit at the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen, indicates that we probably cannot slow down aging. The comparative studies with humans and non-human primates, indicates that it is not the rate at which humans age that slows ...

Washington, DC, June 21, 2021 - Depression in youth, between the ages of 10 and 24 years, is both a leading cause of stress and a possible risk factor for future diseases and impairment. Now, a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), published by Elsevier, confirms that depression in childhood or adolescence is associated with higher levels of adult anxiety and substance use disorders, worse health and social functioning, less financial and educational achievement, and increased criminality. The findings are based on the Great Smoky Mountains Study, an ongoing longitudinal ...

TEL AVIV, Israel and RALEIGH, NC, June 21, 2021, RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDHL) ("RedHill" or the "Company"), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced presentation of the positive Phase 2 safety and efficacy data for oral opaganib (Yeliva®, ABC294640) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia at the World Microbe Forum (WMF) 2021 (poster #: 5574). Results and post hoc analyses of data from the 40-patient U.S. Phase 2 study were presented in a poster entitled, "Opaganib, an Oral Sphingosine Kinase-2 (SK2) Inhibitor in COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Phase 2A Study, in ...

In 2013, François ENGLERT and Peter HIGGS won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, which was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle by the A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) and the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments at The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)'s Large Hadron Collider in 2012. The Higgs mode or the Anderson-Higgs mechanism (named after another Nobel Laureate Philip W ANDERSON), has widespread influence ...

A Curtin University-led study of ancient bones on South Australia's Kangaroo Island has provided new information about the Island's past fauna and an insight into how species may live there in the future. Published in Quaternary Science Reviews, the researchers analysed around 2,000 bone fragments with the aim of eventually being able to establish a more complete picture of past biodiversity on the Island. Lead researcher Dr Frederik Seersholm from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences said DNA studies on such a large scale have never been done on the Island before. "We identified 33 species, 10 of which are extinct on the island today. We also found DNA traces from both the ...

A research team led by Professor Hongzhe SUN, Norman & Cecilia Yip Professor in Bioinorganic Chemistry and Chair Professor from Research Divison for Chemistry and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, in collaboration with Dr Richard Yi-Ysun KAO, Associate Professor from the Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, and Dr Aixin YAN, Associate Professor from School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), discovers that silver (Ag)-based antimicrobials can effectively combat antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus by targeting multiple biological pathways via functional disruption of key proteins and can be further exploited to enhance the efficacy of conventional antibiotics ...

Microalgae are "simple" organisms of single cells, yet they pack a mighty potential punch when it comes to helping humanity achieve carbon neutrality, according to researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Their metabolic activities play fundamental roles in global carbon cycling and convert carbon dioxide into a wide variety of high-value macromolecules. Now, the QIBEBT researchers have developed a way to rapidly determine exactly which microalgae -- out of the millions of variations -- can most readily convert carbon dioxide into valuable compounds that can be used for fuels, food and drugs. They published ...

Fragrances are functional molecules with a pleasant scent that are widely used in aqueous products (cosmetics and detergents) and on surfaces such as textiles, leather and wallpaper. However, maintaining gentle and continuous scent on these items is an ongoing challenge in the field of flavours and fragrances. Profragrances are delivery systems used to control the release of the volatile compounds in fragrances. They have fragile chemical bonds that can be stimulated by ambient conditions such as light, temperature, pH value and even oxygen. Drawing on these molecular profragrances, ...

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activities have risen drastically over the last century and a half and are seen as the primary cause of global warming and abnormal weather patterns. So, there has been considerable research focus, in a number of fields, on lowering our CO2 emissions and its atmospheric levels. One promising strategy is to chemically break down, or 'reduce,' CO2 using photocatalysts--compounds that absorb light energy and provide it to reactions, speeding them up. With this strategy, the solar powered reduction of CO2, where no other artificial source of energy is used, becomes ...

Scientists have used a compound made from a starch derivative and baking soda to help convert mechanical to electrical energy. The approach, developed by scientists at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Technology (DGIST), with colleagues in Korea and India, is cost-effective and biocompatible, and can help charge low-energy electronics like calculators and watches. The details were published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. "Triboelectric nanogenerators harvest mechanical energy and convert it into an electric current," explains DGIST robotics engineer Hoe Joon Kim. "But many of the materials used in these devices are considered a biohazard and are not suitable for wearable ...

Meningiomas, which originate in the meninges surrounding the brain, are the most common type of benign brain tumours. The primary treatment for meningiomas is neurosurgery. Since the risks associated with surgical treatment increase as people get older and develop other diseases, over 80-year-old patients with brain tumours are not operated on almost anywhere in the world. In Finland, the life expectancy and functional capacity of the elderly population have improved in recent decades, while the number of elderly brain tumour patients who are in good condition is continuously growing. This is why surgeries have increased in prevalence at the Neurosurgery Clinic of the Helsinki University Hospital in the treatment of elderly patients who have lost their ...

Tropical cyclones (TCs) can bring strong wind, heavy rain, and storm surge. Meteorologists are concerned that the effects of global warming may change how these storms impact humans. Scientists use global climate models (GCMs) in climate change studies to simulate future changes in temperature, precipitation, etc. However, due to their coarse resolutions, many models cannot properly simulate small-scale weather and climate systems like TCs, which means that they cannot capture all the dynamic processes within a TC. A study led by Prof. Gao Xuejie from the Institute ...

Dissatisfaction with married life raises the risk of dying from a cerebrovascular accident: A new Tel Aviv University study reveals that perceiving marriage as unsuccessful is a significant predictor of death from a CVA and premature death among men, no less that well-known risk factors such as smoking and lack of physical activity. The study was based on extensive health data from more than 30 years of research that tracked the deaths of 10,000 Israeli men. The study was led by researchers from the School of Public Health at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University: Prof. Uri Goldbort from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, who initiated and managed the long-term study; Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari, the head ...