News by Subject Biology

In an unprecedented pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes, researchers at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) have discovered new regions of non-coding DNA that, when altered, may lead to cancer growth and progression.

University of Colorado Cancer Center study shows that cancer-causing MLL gene may also push pluripotent stem cells to make hematopoietic stem cells, a strong step in the decades-long effort to make personalizable, durable blood stem cells.

For the first time, research shows that the contacts between cells, known as cell adhesion, are essential for cells to survive stress. The findings also suggest that impaired cell adhesion may sensitize cancer cells to drugs that damage cell proteins and cause stress.

Whether a sick cell dies, divides, or travels through the body is regulated by a sophisticat-ed interplay of signal molecules and receptors on the cell membrane. One of the most im-portant molecular cues in the immune system is Tumour Necrosis Factor α (TNFα). Now, for the first time, researchers from Goethe University have visualised the molecular organ-isation of individual TNFα receptor molecules and the binding of TNFα to the cell mem-brane in cells using optical microscopy.

AI Therapeutics has made significant recent progress with its four clinical assets and proprietary Guardian Angel™ algorithm.

MDC researchers established a new model to study neuromuscular development and disorders. For the first time two distinct human tissues co-developed in the lab from one progenitor cell type and self-organized into a complex, functional neuromuscular organoid.

A new study by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by 'la Caixa,' has identified a key biological mechanism that puts men at higher risk of cancer: loss of function in certain genes of the sex-determining Y chromosome, which is present only in men.

Two different UC San Diego research teams identified the same molecule -- αvβ5 integrin -- as Zika virus' key to brain cell entry. They found ways to take advantage of the integrin to both block Zika virus from infecting cells and turn it into something good: a way to shrink brain cancer stem cells.

Rickettsiae are bacteria that cause severe, potentially lethal human infections, including Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Delays in diagnosing and treating MSF can cause significant morbidity and mortality, due in part to the lack of a test for early detection. A new study in The American Journal of Pathology reports the discovery of a sensitive and specific marker that may enable early diagnosis, treatment, and accurate public health notification of spotted fever rickettsial infections including MSF.