Body

Depression is common in cancer, up to half of all patients facing the disease experience depressive symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. When depression co-exists with cancer, patients may be at an increased risk of death from cancer and from suicide.

LA JOLLA, CA – June 26, 2014 – Scientists working to make gene therapy a reality have solved a major hurdle: how to bypass a blood stem cell's natural defenses and efficiently insert disease-fighting genes into the cell's genome.

In a new study led by Associate Professor Bruce Torbett at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), a team of researchers report that the drug rapamycin, which is commonly used to slow cancer growth and prevent organ rejection, enables delivery of a therapeutic dose of genes to blood stem cells while preserving stem cell function.

PHILADELPHIA (June 26, 2014)—Autism Awareness Month each April brings blue lights and puzzle shapes out to shine in many communities – but does it actually lead to increased autism awareness? According to a new analysis of web search trends by researchers at Drexel University, it does appear to drive an increase in Google searches for autism – by a third over searches in March in recent years.

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has announced that the Center for Self-assembly and Complexity have succeeded in developing a new technology that introduces metal nanoparticles on the surface of polymer nanocapsules made of cucurbit[6]uril.

Writing June 27, 2014 in the journal Science, a team of researchers led by Michael Sussman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harold Zakon of the University of Texas at Austin and Manoj Samanta of the Systemix Institute in Redmond, Washington identifies the regulatory molecules involved in the genetic and developmental pathways that electric fish have used to convert a simple muscle into an organ capable of generating a potent electrical field.

It is a remarkable survivor of an ancient aquatic world – now a new study sheds light on how one of Earth's oldest reefs was formed.

Researchers have discovered that one of these reefs – now located on dry land in Namibia – was built almost 550 million years ago, by the first animals to have hard shells.

Scientists say it was at this point that tiny aquatic creatures developed the ability to construct hard protective coats and build reefs to shelter and protect them in an increasingly dangerous world.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The famous slogan is "A diamond is forever," but that phrase might be better suited to herpes: Unlike most viruses, which succumb to the immune system's attack, herpes remains in the body forever, lying in wait, sometimes reactivating years later.

Signals from the immune system that help repel a common parasite inadvertently can cause a dormant viral infection to become active again, a new study shows.

Further research is necessary to understand the clinical significance of the finding, but researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said the study helps illustrate how complex interactions between infectious agents and the immune system have the potential to affect illness.

The results appear online June 26 in Science Express.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — For the first time, the genome of the electric eel has been sequenced. This discovery has revealed the secret of how fishes with electric organs have evolved six times in the history of life to produce electricity outside of their bodies.

The research, published in the current issue of Science, sheds light on the genetic blueprint used to evolve these complex, novel organs. It was co-led by Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Texas-Austin and the Systemix Institute.

SAN FRANCISCO (June 26, 2014) – Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences have discovered a new species of round-eared sengi, or elephant-shrew, in the remote deserts of southwestern Africa. This is the third new species of sengi to be discovered in the wild in the past decade. It is also the smallest known member of the 19 sengis in the order Macroscelidea. The team's discovery and description of the Etendeka round-eared sengi (Macroscelides micus) is published this week in the Journal of Mammalogy.

ALLENDALE, Mich. — New research shows world-class sprinters are born, not created. Grand Valley State University researchers found that exceptional speed prior to formal training is a prerequisite for becoming a world-class sprinter. The findings are published in the online journal PeerJ, https://peerj.com/articles/445/.

Chemists at Queen Mary University of London have discovered a new chemical to aid drug manufacturing processes, making it more environmentally-friendly and easier to scale up for industry.

Carbon-based molecules used in pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals can be prepared via a process called C-H activation, which requires the bonds in complex chemicals to be broken and reattached. This method can be expensive as precious metals like palladium or silver are needed to speed up the synthesis process, and can produce waste byproducts harmful to the environment.

Scientists have taken a step closer to understanding the causes of Parkinson's disease, identifying what's happening at a cellular level to potentially help develop future treatments.

Researchers at the University of Bristol, and their US-based collaborators at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic, have shown that a genetic change, known as a mutation, impairs the ability to transport proteins correctly within cells.

A study led by Princeton University researchers has revealed that the gene Metadherin — which is implicated in promoting the spread of breast cancer tumors — only stimulates tumor growth when the protein made by the gene interacts with a second protein known as SND1.

Studying mouth cancer in mice, researchers have found a way to predict the aggressiveness of similar tumors in people, an early step toward a diagnostic test that could guide treatment, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

"All patients with advanced head and neck cancer get similar treatments," said Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, associate professor of otolaryngology. "We have patients who do well on standard combinations of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and patients who don't do so well. We're interested in finding out why."