WASHINGTON --- Clinicians at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center reported promising preliminary findings based on outcomes in the first six patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer enrolled in a phase 2 clinical trial of the experimental drug BXCL701 in combination with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda).  Immunotherapy drugs alone have not shown to be responsive to pancreatic cancer.    The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2024 annual meeting in Chicago on June 1, 2024 (LBA4132). BXCL701, made by BioXcel Therapeutics, is ...

Boston – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers are leading 3 separate studies with encouraging results in treating patients with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, breast cancer, and glioblastoma. The studies support future research in these potential breakthroughs where treatment options may be limited. The research teams will present their findings at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, May 31-June 4, 2024. ASCO is the world’s largest clinical cancer research meeting, attracting more than 30,000 global oncology professionals. These findings are among more than 80 studies presented at ASCO that ...

An Oregon-based program that monitors social media use may have helped deter more than 150 youth suicide attempts in the five years it’s operated, reports a new study published online today in the journal Psychiatric Services. Staff with Lines for Life, a nonprofit that operates mental health crisis support services, and researchers at Oregon Health & Science University collaborated to closely document interventions by the Safe Social Spaces program, launched in 2019 by Lines for Life. The study’s senior author said it’s an example of meeting people where they are. “Community engagement is critical,” said Alan Teo, M.D., M.S., associate professor of ...

One of Earth’s most consequential bursts of biodiversity—a 30-million-year period of explosive evolutionary changes spawning innumerable new species—may have the most modest of creatures to thank for the vital stage in life’s history: worms.  The digging and burrowing of prehistoric worms and other invertebrates along ocean bottoms sparked a chain of events that released oxygen into the ocean and atmosphere and helped kick-start what is known as the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, roughly 480 million years ago, according ...

The recent surge in popularity of AI tools such as ChatGPT is forcing the science community to reckon with its place in scientific literature. Prestigious journals such as Science and Nature have attempted to restrict or prohibit AI use in submissions, but are finding it difficult to enforce because of how challenging it is becoming to detect machine-generated language. Because AI is getting more advanced at mimicking human language, researchers at the University of Chicago were interested in learning ...

In the dynamic realm of optical physics, researchers are continually pushing the boundaries of how light can be manipulated and harnessed for practical applications. As reported in Advanced Photonics Nexus, a groundbreaking study from the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) introduces a method for sorting and distinguishing various types of vector structured beams (VSBs), promising significant advancements in optical communication and quantum computing. Unlike conventional light beams that propagate in simple, straight trajectories, VSBs are engineered to form complex, intricate patterns. These beams transmit ...

Mainly older and middle-aged women, working class, with a very high prevalence of lower back pain and consequently possible psycho-affective problems and a poorer quality of life... This is the general profile of carers of the elderly. Who cares for the carer? This question or demand is not new in our society. Members of the Ageing On research group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) asked themselves the following question: “How can we care for the carers?” The Ageing On group develops, ...

Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are estimates of an individual’s susceptibility to a specific complex trait obtained by aggregating the effects of dozens, thousands, and potentially millions of genetic variants associated with that specific trait into a single figure. Some private companies now market PRS embryo screening to prospective parents through the use of in vitro fertilisation and pre-implantation genetic testing. While PRS has great potential for prediction in live-born (mostly adult) individuals, its accuracy ...

Berlin, Germany:  Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children in most developed countries, and at least a quarter of these patients are diagnosed with aggressive high-risk or relapsed cancers, with an expected five-year survival rate of less than 30%. Accurate diagnosis can be difficult, and survivors often suffer life-long side effects because of the toxic treatments needed to cure them. Now, researchers from Australia have shown that, by using precision medicine*, it is possible not only to obtain more accurate diagnoses, but also that using precision-guided, targeted treatments earlier improves the two year progression-free ...

In May 2022, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU), launched its precision measurement program. Staff from FRIB’s Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility take high-energy, rare-isotope beams generated at FRIB and cool them to a lower energy state. Afterward, the researchers measure specific particles’ masses at high precision. The LEBIT team, led by Ryan Ringle, adjunct professor of physics at FRIB and in the MSU Department of Physics and Astronomy and senior ...

UC Riverside scientists have discovered a highly effective, nontoxic, and less expensive way to lure hungry termites to their doom. The method, detailed in the Journal of Economic Entomology, uses a pleasant-smelling chemical released by forest trees called pinene that reminds western drywood termites of their food. They follow the scent to a spot of insecticide injected into wood.   “We saw significant differences in the death rates using insecticide alone versus the insecticide plus pinene,” said UCR entomologist Dong-Hwan Choe, who led the discovery. “Without pinene, we got about 70% mortality. When we added it in, it was over 95%. Native ...

The pharmaceutical drug development and approval process is a multi-step undertaking that requires a plethora of testing before reaching the market. Even then, humans respond differently to drugs depending on their individual bodies and medical needs. Dr. Abhishek Jain, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and his lab received a grant from Texas A&M Innovation to continue developing an advanced vessel-chip deployment platform for large-scale pharmaceutical testing services that holds promise for ...

TAMPA, Fla., and PLEASANTON, Calif. — Moffitt Cancer Center, a world-renowned cancer treatment and research center, and Virogen Biotechnology Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership today. This collaboration aims to propel the development of Virogen's cutting-edge fusion protein, VG712 (Resimmune), addressing significant unmet needs in oncology and immunotherapy. Under this strategic alliance, Moffitt will offer Virogen priority access to ...

About The Study: Ivonescimab plus chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival with tolerable safety profile in patients with non–small cell lung cancer who previously underwent EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) treatment and may offer a new treatment option for patients with TKI resistance.  Quote from corresponding author Li Zhang, M.D.: “For patients with non-small cell lung cancer whose illness has progressed while receiving EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) therapy, especially the ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Burrowed into streambeds and rarely moving for their decades-long lifespans, freshwater mussels are biomonitors, meaning they indicate how clean their environment is, according to Penn State researchers. As the bivalves feed on organic matter and filter the water around them, their inner tissues and hard shells begin to reflect whatever is in their environment — including radioactive particles.  A pair of researchers from Penn State’s Department of Civil and Environment ...

MRI scans are commonly used to diagnose a variety of conditions, anything from liver disease to brain tumors. But, as anyone who has been through one knows, patients must remain completely still to avoid blurring the images and requiring a new scan. A prototype device described in ACS Sensors could change that. The self-powered sensor detects movement and shuts down an MRI scan in real time, improving the process for patients and technicians. During an MRI scan, a patient must stay entirely still for several minutes at a time, otherwise “motion artifacts” could appear and blur the final image. To ensure a clear picture, patient movement needs to be identified as ...

(May 31, 2024) — In the years prior to an Alzheimer’s disease or other memory disorder diagnosis, credit scores begin to weaken and payment delinquency begins to increase, concludes new research led by Georgetown University. The findings show consistent deterioration in these financial outcomes over the quarters leading up to diagnosis. The findings also show that credit card and mortgage delinquencies, specifically, both increase substantially prior to diagnosis.  The research was released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY). (“The Financial Consequences of Undiagnosed Memory Disorders”). “Most memory disorders ...

INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly 3% of all children in the United States are diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But a collaborative team of researchers at Indiana University and Purdue University are finding ways to make the right diagnosis sooner. “The number of children needing autism evaluations exceeds the capacity of specialists trained to provide this service,” said Rebecca McNally Keehn, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. “Children and their families are currently waiting a year or more to access evaluations. ...

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have isolated human monoclonal antibodies against influenza B, a significant public health threat that disproportionately affects children, the elderly and other immunocompromised individuals. Seasonal flu vaccines cover influenza B and the more common influenza A but do not stimulate the broadest possible range of immune responses against both viruses. In addition, people whose immune systems have been weakened by age or illness may not respond effectively to the flu shot. Small-molecule drugs that block neuraminidase, a major surface glycoprotein of the ...

Novel CAR T cell therapy obe-cel yields strong remission rates in adults with relapsed or refractory B-ALL (Abstract 6504) The novel anti-CD19 autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) achieved durable remissions in 40% of patients with relapsed or refractory B-ALL without a subsequent stem cell transplant (SCT), according to results from the Phase Ib/II FELIX clinical trial presented today by Elias Jabbour, M.D., professor of Leukemia. At a median follow-up of 21.5 months, these patients were in ongoing remission ...

Osteochondral defects (OCDs) can cause damage to cartilage and underlying bone, leading to chronic pain and loss of joint function. Depending on the extent of damage, individuals must undergo surgical treatment, the most extensive being total knee replacement, which over 800,000 Americans undergo each year. Dr. Melissa Grunlan, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, received a grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease, a suborganization of the National Institutes ...

Recently published research led by the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus examined the prevalence — and impact — of physicians’ ethical or religious barriers to their involvement in medical aid in dying (MAiD), a multi-step process where a physician provides a terminally ill adult with decision-making capacity with a lethal dose of medication to end their life.   The research article, “Conscience-Based Barriers to Medical Aid in Dying: A Survey of Colorado Physicians,” was published this May in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. It shows that 26% of physician ...

The latest book of prolific author David Julian McClements is a family affair. The Distinguished Professor of Food Science, along with his daughter Isobelle Farrell McClements and nephew Jake McClements, have written “How to be a Successful Scientist: A Guide for Graduate Students, Postdocs, and Professors” (Springer, 2024). The three authors offer different perspectives as scientists at different stages in their careers. Julian McClements, who has published more than 1,300 scientific articles and numerous books, is the most highly ...

    Converting home heating systems from natural gas furnaces to electric heat pumps is seen as a way to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.   But a new University of Michigan study of 51 Southeast Michigan households shows that switching to efficient, cold-climate heat pumps would increase annual utility bills by an average of about $1,100.   Home weatherization upgrades, such as adding attic insulation and sealing around doors and windows, could help reduce utility bills and make ...

A new, nano-scale look at how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates in cells may offer greater precision in drug development, a Stanford University team reports in Nature Communications. Using advanced microscopy techniques, the researchers produced what might be some of the most crisp images available of the virus’s RNA and replication structures, which they witnessed form spherical shapes around the nucleus of the infected cell. “We have not seen COVID infecting cells at this high resolution and known what we are looking at before,” said Stanley Qi, ...