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ALA is used in photodynamic therapy, in combination with a special light source, to treat various types of cancer, including skin and prostate cancer. A team led by Dr Lin Qingsong from the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS Faculty of Science, together with Dr Wang Jigang and Professor Shen Han-Ming from the Department of Physiology at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, recently discovered that a combination of artemisinin and ALA could kill colorectal cancer cells and suppress tumour growth more effectively than administering artemisinin alone. "Artemisinin and ALA are both existing drugs that are well tolerated by the human body. As such, this promising cancer treatment could have fewer side effects," explained Dr Wang. The findings of the study were published in the scientific journal  ACS Central Science  in July 2017. Understanding how artemisinin kills cancer cells Dr Lin said, "Artemisinin has been reported to possess anti-cancer activities in...

Cancerous tumor tissue underneath a microscope: T cells grown underneath low oxygen situations (inexperienced) and common T cells (purple) present related distribution patterns vis-à-vis blood vessels (purple). Proper: The content material of granzyme B, a cell-killing enzyme (purple), is way larger in T cells grown underneath low oxygen situations (prime) than in common T cells (backside). Credit score: Weizmann Institute of Science Mountain climbers and endurance athletes aren't the one ones to profit from altitude coaching -- that's, studying to carry out properly underneath low-oxygen situations. It seems that cancer-fighting cells of the immune system may also enhance their efficiency by a mobile model of such a routine. In a rese...

Micro organism (inexperienced) inside human pancreatic most cancers cells (AsPC-1 cells). The cells' nuclei are stained blue whereas their cytoplasm is stained orange. Credit score: Weizmann Institute of Science To the explanations that chemotherapy generally doesn't work, we are able to now add yet another: micro organism. In a research printed in  Science , researchers describe findings that sure micro organism might be discovered inside human pancreatic tumors. The findings additional confirmed that a few of these micro organism include an enzyme that inactivates a standard drug used to deal with varied cancers, together with pancreatic most cancers. Working with mouse fashions of most cancers, they demonstrated how therapy with antibi...

The lncRNAs (pronounced link-RNAs) until recently received much less attention than the protein-coding genes, but they are now proving to be of increasing interest to science. Not only are there as many as 20,000 lncRNA genes in the human genome -- about the same number as the protein-coding ones -- but the lncRNAs have lately been revealed to serve as master switches in a wide variety of biological processes. They turn genes on and off and affect other regulatory genes, controlling cellular fate during fetal development, as well as cellular division and death in the adult organism. These master regulators may therefore hold the key to elucidating or even treating a variety of diseases. To make sense of lncRNAs, scientists are trying to understand how they appeared in the genome and whether they can be grouped into classes according to their activity. In a recent study published in the journal  Genome Biology , Ulitsky and his team -- research students Hadas Hezroni, Gali Housm...

PlayForward is a severe role-playing online game that engages youth with a wide range of challenges and selections in fictional but reasonable life conditions. Credit score: Lynn Fiellin, M.D., Yale College of Drugs A videogame designed by Yale researchers to advertise well being and scale back dangerous conduct in teenagers improves sexual well being data and attitudes amongst minority youth, in keeping with a brand new research. The findings validate the worth of the videogame as a device to have interaction and educate teenagers in danger for HIV and different sexually transmitted infections (STIs), stated the researchers. "We noticed important and sustained optimistic adjustments when it comes to attitudes about sexual well being and ...

Based on these prior findings, the BfR has now assessed the size at which small hard sugar balls are still large enough that accidental or intentional swallowing can result in blocking of the airways in children from the age of 5. Under certain circumstances , spherical objects can slip to the lowest part of the throat or into the upper esophageal constriction and become lodged there because this area is too narrow for them to pass through. If spherical objects become lodged in this area, this can result in almost complete or total blockage of the airways and therefore to a life-threatening event. Although the probability of such an incident occurring is very low, it is nevertheless relevant due to the potential severe health impairments that can ultimately be fatal. In the case of children from 5 years of age, a ball diameter of a maximum 14 mm can be assumed to be safe in such a case with a high degree of probability. It can be expected that, at this age, spherical objects with a...

Now, for the first time, researchers from Imperial College London have found an association between infant mortality rates and the differences in costs between higher and lower priced cigarettes. The authors say that eliminating budget cigarettes from the market may help to reduce infant deaths globally. Dr Filippos Filippidis, lead author from Imperial's School of Public Health, said: "Thanks to tax and price control measures, cigarettes in EU countries are more expensive than ever before. However, the tobacco industry is good at finding loopholes to ensure that budget cigarettes remain available. In this study, we found that the availability of budget cigarettes is associated with more infant deaths." The study, published today in the journal  JAMA Pediatrics , analysed nearly 54 million births across 23 EU countries from 2004 to 2014. The researchers obtained data on cigarette prices over this period and examined whether differences between average priced and bud...

The newly discovered mutated gene is called GREB1L . It is associated with renal agenesis, a hereditary condition in which children are born with either one kidney or no kidneys at all. Children born with a single kidney, a condition called unilateral renal agenesis, generally live, but they often encounter other health problems, including hypertension and early kidney failure. Children born without kidneys do not survive. John Manak, associate professor in biology, says the finding allows for families carrying the mutation to be told in advance whether their children are at risk of inheriting the disorder. "Essentially, it's a way to determine early on whether the child will likely be born with the disorder or be born healthy," says Manak, corresponding author on the paper. "Imagine the relief the parents would feel in the latter case. In fact, based on our work, we already know that additional families have been identified that harbor mutations in this gene, ...

Salk researchers uncover how oxygen-deprived tumors survive physique's immune response. Right here, seen areas of hypoxia in tumor samples correlate with cell signaling linked to suppressing the immune system. Credit score: Salk Institute The immune system routinely destroys dysfunctional cells reminiscent of most cancers cells, however cancerous tumors typically survive nonetheless. A brand new examine by Salk scientists reveals one methodology by which fast-growing tumors evade anti-tumor immunity. The Salk crew uncovered two gene-regulating molecules that alter cell signaling inside tumor cells to outlive and subvert the physique's regular immune response, in line with a September 18, 2017, paper in  Nature Cell Biology . The invention...

Colin Johnson of the School of Science research a protein important to listening to. Credit score: Picture courtesy of Oregon State College Scientists at Oregon State College have taken an necessary step towards gene remedy for deaf sufferers by growing a technique to higher examine a big protein important for listening to and discovering a truncated model of it. Mutations within the protein, otoferlin, are linked to extreme congenital listening to loss, a standard kind of deafness through which sufferers can hear nearly nothing. The analysis suggests otoferlin, which is within the cochlea of the interior ear, acts as a calcium-sensitive linker protein. The examine additionally reveals mutation in otoferlin weakens the binding between the prote...