Even with the best available treatments, the median survival of patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is only two to three years. Driven by the need for more effective therapies for these patients, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have developed a unique approach that uses microscopic gas bubbles to deliver directly to the cancer a viral gene therapy in combination with an experimental drug that targets a specific gene driving the cancer's growth.
Tech
Therapies that specifically target mutations in a person's cancer have been much-heralded in recent years, yet cancer cells often find a way around them. To address this, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center identified a promising combinatorial approach to treating glioblastomas, the most common form of primary brain cancer.
Object recognition - determining what objects are where in a digital image - is a central research topic in computer vision but a person looking at an image will spontaneously make a higher-level judgment about the scene as whole: It's a kitchen, or a campsite, or a conference room. Among computer science researchers, the problem known as "scene recognition" has received relatively little attention.
The EU-funded MycoSynVac project combines gene engineering and biotechnology to design a novel veterinary vaccine chassis based on the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
For the last decade, scientists have deployed increasingly capable underwater robots to map and monitor pockets of the ocean to track the health of fisheries, and survey marine habitats and species. In general, such robots are effective at carrying out low-level tasks, specifically assigned to them by human engineers -- a tedious and time-consuming process for the engineers.
Researchers have customized and refined a technique derived from the immune system of bacteria to develop the CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering system, which enables targeted modifications to the genes of virtually any organism.
The discovery and development of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, its wide range of potential applications in the agriculture/food industry and in modern medicine, and emerging regulatory issues are explored in a Review article published in OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology.
Chagas disease, caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite and transmitted by insects in Latin America is among the most common tropical diseases, and so far without effective vaccine. A study published on May 7th in PLOS Pathogens now shows that a candidate vaccine can induce long-lasting immunity against the parasite in mice.
Last week, a British diabetic women became the world’s first to complete a natural vaginal birth using an artificial pancreas. This news is a big step forward for all mothers with diabetes.
Three-dimensional cultures (or "organoids") derived from the tumors of cancer patients closely replicate key properties of the original tumors, reveals a study published May 7 in Cell. These "organoid" cultures are amenable to large-scale drug screens for the detection of genetic changes associated with drug sensitivity and pave the way for personalized treatment approaches that could optimize clinical outcomes in cancer patients.
A new, noninvasive nuclear medicine test can be used to determine whether aromatase inhibitor treatment will be effective for specific cancer patients, according to a recent study reported in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The research shows that a PET scan with the ligand C-11-vorozole reliably detects aromatase in all body organs - demonstrating the value of its future use to pre-determine the effectiveness of the treatment for breast, ovarian, endometrial and lung cancer patients, potentially reducing unnecessary treatment costs and adverse effects.
Men who went on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs when they began androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer had a longer time in which their disease was under control than did men who didn't take statins, a clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators shows.
Imagine taking strands of DNA - the material in our cells that determines how we look and function - and using it to build tiny structures that can deliver drugs to targets within the body or take electronic miniaturization to a whole new level.
An X-ray study carried out at DESY allows to improve the quality of chocolate. The study offers new insights into the formation of fat bloom, an unwelcome white layer that occasionally forms on chocolate. "Although fat blooming is perfectly harmless, it causes millions in damage to the food industry as a result of rejects and customer complaints," explains the main author of the study, Svenja Reinke, from the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH).
Scientists at the University of Chicago, Harvard, and China have described the surprising discovery and function of a new DNA modification in insects, worms, and algae.
Common DNA modifications occur through methylation, a chemical process that can dramatically change gene expression, which regulates the eventual production of proteins that carry out the functions of an organism. It's all part of a growing new subfield of epigenetics being pioneered by the University of Chicago's Chuan He and his collaborators.
Researchers have found a way to make jet fuel from a common black fungus found in decaying leaves, soil and rotting fruit. The researchers hope the process leads to economically viable production of aviation biofuels in the next five years. They used Aspergillus carbonarius to create hydrocarbons, the chief component of petroleum, similar to those in aviation fuels.