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Overlooked DNA shuffling drives deadly paediatric brain tumour

One of the deadliest forms of paediatric brain tumour, Group 3 medulloblastoma, is linked to a variety of large-scale DNA rearrangements which all have the same overall effect on specific genes located on different chromosomes.

23 Jun 2014

Bisexual men are vulnerable to STIs and other health problems

Bisexual men have many unmet public health needs, which leave them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other health problems. This new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) illuminates the behavioral, interpersonal, and social realities of men who have sex with men and women (MSMW), and it explores possible interventions to better serve their needs.

23 Jun 2014

Six-gene signature predicts survival after targeted therapy for NSCLC

The presence of a six-gene profile in the microRNA of patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer predicts reduced survival likelihood after first-line treatment with targeted therapy followed by chemotherapy for disease progression, indicate research results.

20 Jun 2014

FGFR1 amplification predicts poor outcome in early-stage NSCLC

Amplification of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 is associated with poor clinical outcome in patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer, Swiss researchers report.

20 Jun 2014

SCLC tumours replicated in mice from patients' CTCs

Scientists have used circulating tumour cells taken from patients with small-cell lung cancer to grow explant tumours in mice that retain the original’s morphological and genetic characteristics.

20 Jun 2014

Greenlander study identifies single mutation with large diabetes risk

Researchers have used a Greenlandic cohort to identify a genetic mutation whose effect on the risk of diabetes is “several times larger” than any previously discovered.

20 Jun 2014

Telephone-based weight loss intervention is effective in breast cancer treatments

A series of simple telephone calls can make a profound difference in helping women to meet their treatment goals for breast cancer, according to a randomized trial of women who are also obese, published online today in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute.

20 Jun 2014

EU-funded projects in Romania retain young research talent

EU-funded research projects in Romania are helping the country retain talent. Young researchers, who might be tempted to look for a career abroad, find they can contribute at an even higher level by staying at home and participating in exciting projects.

20 Jun 2014

Alternative disposal process in optic nerve cells has implications for neurodegenerative diseases

Biologists have long considered cells to function like self-cleaning ovens, chewing up and recycling their own worn out parts as needed.

20 Jun 2014

Researchers explore genetic and cellular mechanisms of retinal development

The circuitry of the central nervous system is immensely complex and, as a result, sometimes confounding. When scientists conduct research to unravel the inner workings at a cellular level, they are sometimes surprised by what they find.

20 Jun 2014

Researchers review effectiveness of RDTs in diagnosing visceral leishmaniasis

Researchers from the Cochrane Infectious Disease Group, co-ordinated through the editorial base in LSTM, conducted an independent review into the effectiveness of rapid diagnostic tests in diagnosing patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL), published in The Cochrane Library today.

20 Jun 2014

UCLA study sheds light on the development of lung cancer

UCLA researchers led by Dr. Brigitte Gomperts have discovered the inner workings of the process thought to be the first stage in the development of lung cancer. Their study explains how factors that regulate the growth of adult stem cells that repair tissue in the lungs can lead to the formation of precancerous lesions.

20 Jun 2014

HIV infection emerges among PWID in the Middle East and North Africa

HIV epidemics are emerging among people who inject drugs in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Though HIV infection levels were historically very low in the Middle East and North Africa, substantial levels of HIV transmission and emerging HIV epidemics have been documented among people who inject drugs in at least one-third of the countries of this region, according to findings published today in PLOS Medicine.

20 Jun 2014

Research reveals key aspect of protein regulation in cells

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered how an important "on" switch is attached to the machinery that cells rely on to adapt thousands of proteins to meet changing conditions.

20 Jun 2014

Researchers discover analgesic mechanism that prevents pain in Buruli ulcer patients

When the body receives an injury to the skin, a signal is sent to the brain, which generates a sensation of pain.

20 Jun 2014

FAK inhibitors prevent ovarian cancer progression

A team of scientists, led by principal investigator David D. Schlaepfer, PhD, professor in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that small molecule inhibitors to a protein called focal adhesion kinase (FAK) selectively prevent the growth of ovarian cancer cells as tumor spheroids.

20 Jun 2014