Body

Living cells express genes involved in physiological functions like development and metabolism via complex mechanisms. The cell membrane protects the genome from various exogenous molecules. Cell transfection is a fundamental technique that is used to deliver molecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and drugs, into living cells. The technique has been implicated in the development of a broad spectrum of life science applications.

Until recently, endangered foxes on California's Catalina Island were suffering from one of the highest prevalences of tumors ever documented in a wildlife population, UC Davis scientists have found. But treatment of ear mites appears to be helping the wild animals recover.

Roughly half of adult foxes examined between 2001 and 2008 had tumors in their ears, with about two-thirds of those malignant, according to a UC Davis study published this month in the journal PLOS ONE.

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 7, 2015 -- Although green tea is enjoyed by millions for its numerous health benefits, University of California, Irvine researchers have discovered that excessive consumption adversely affected development and reproduction in fruit fly populations.

A five-year research partnership between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has revealed the atomic-level structure of the bluetongue virus (BTV), a disease that has killed an estimated two million cattle in Europe over the past two decades. The results are published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Results of a multicenter phase 1 clinical trial presented today at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium show that the anti-androgen agent enzalutamide is active and well-tolerated alone and with fulvestrant in patients with advanced breast cancer. The study takes another important step toward larger clinical trials targeting androgen receptors in breast cancer.

Men diagnosed with infertility have a higher risk of developing other general health ailments, including diabetes, ischemic heart disease, alcohol abuse and drug abuse, compared with fertile men, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The study, to be published online Dec. 7 in Fertility and Sterility, is one of several conducted by investigators at the medical school that suggest male infertility is associated with higher rates of mortality and health problems unrelated to reproductive health.

ATLANTA - Dec. 7, 2015-A new breast cancer survivorship care guideline created by the American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology provides guidance to primary care and other clinicians in caring for the estimated 3.1 million female adult survivors of breast cancer in the United States.

DALLAS - Dec. 7, 2015 - UT Southwestern Medical Center and California researchers today provide the first report that an enzyme previously known solely for its role in cell division also acts as an on-off switch in the innate immune system -- the body's first defense against infection.

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a group of non-coding RNA molecules in cancer cells that sets off an immune response because they appear to have features similar to those of pathogens. As a result of these molecules being expressed and amplified in cancer, the immune response they generate may be influencing the cancer's growth, investigators say in their study, published in the PNAS early edition this month.

TORONTO, ON -- Researchers from the University of Toronto have found that a specific cell type plays a key role in maintaining healthy arteries after inflammation. It's a discovery that could provide treatment options for cardiovascular disease -- one of the leading causes of death in Canada.

While most of the knowledge about tiny snails comes from studying empty shells sifted out from piles of dust and sand, the present research is the first contemporary microscopic exploration of organs in cave snails tinier than 2 mm. The paper, published in the open-access journal Subterranean Biology, reveals that underneath the seemingly fragile shells of the Zospeum genus, there are strikingly huge organs.

December 7, 2015--Young men who have sex with men and have detectable levels of HIV were more likely to report not using a condom during anal intercourse with a partner not infected with HIV, compared with virologically suppressed young men who have sex with men, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Findings are published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

In an interdisciplinary collaboration between prominent academic and industry investigators, researchers have discovered a novel method for repositioning an FDA-approved anti-cancer compound so it can specifically target liver cancer tumors. A 'triple attack' technique combining chemotherapy, thermal ablation, and hyperthermia provided a highly targeted, yet minimally invasive approach.

What makes invasive cancer cells behave differently than the other cells in the tumor from which they arise? Let's turn them red with a laser and find out.

That's the experimental approach taken by scientists from Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University who will present their work on Sunday, December 13, 2015 at the American Society for Cell Biology meeting at San Diego Convention Center.

Athens, Ga. - Researchers at the University of Georgia have found links between certain patterns of connections among Facebook friends and drug and alcohol use among college-aged females.

Using network data extracted from the Facebook accounts of 318 female students at UGA, researchers found that the severity of child physical abuse is associated with how central an individual is in her social network, potentially increasing the risk for alcohol abuse.