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Chronic inflammation of the intestine or stomach can damage DNA, increasing the risk of cancer, MIT scientists have confirmed.
The researchers published evidence of the long-suspected link in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In two studies, the researchers found that chronic inflammation accelerated tumor formation in mice lacking the ability to repair DNA damage.
"It's something that was expected but it was never formally proven," said Lisiane Meira, research scientist in MIT's Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) and lead author of the paper.
The results of this work suggest that people with decreased ability to repair DNA damage might be more susceptible to developing cancer associated with chronic inflammation such as ulcerative colitis, Meira said.
The researchers published evidence of the long-suspected link in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In two studies, the researchers found that chronic inflammation accelerated tumor formation in mice lacking the ability to repair DNA damage.
"It's something that was expected but it was never formally proven," said Lisiane Meira, research scientist in MIT's Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) and lead author of the paper.
The results of this work suggest that people with decreased ability to repair DNA damage might be more susceptible to developing cancer associated with chronic inflammation such as ulcerative colitis, Meira said.
Continue reading Link Between Inflammation, Cancer Confirmed.
While we're on the topic of crows...
Women who eat diets similar to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet--which is low in animal protein, moderate in low-fat dairy products and high in plant proteins, fruits and vegetables--appear to have a lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, according to a new report.
The DASH diet has been shown to reduce both systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure in individuals with high or normal blood pressure, according to background information in the article. The diet has also been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein ("bad") cholesterol and is recommended in national dietary guidelines as an example of a healthy eating pattern.
Teresa T. Fung, Sc.D., of Simmons College, Boston, and colleagues studied 88,517 female nurses age 34 to 59 in the Nurses' Health Study who did not have cardiovascular disease or diabetes in 1980. Seven times from 1980 through 2004, the women reported the types of foods they ate regularly over the previous year. Researchers then calculated a DASH score for each woman based on eight food and nutrient components. Their scores increased when they ate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes and stayed close to the recommended amounts of low-fat dairy. Scores decreased with increased consumption of red and processed meats, sweetened beverages and sodium.
The DASH diet has been shown to reduce both systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure in individuals with high or normal blood pressure, according to background information in the article. The diet has also been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein ("bad") cholesterol and is recommended in national dietary guidelines as an example of a healthy eating pattern.
Teresa T. Fung, Sc.D., of Simmons College, Boston, and colleagues studied 88,517 female nurses age 34 to 59 in the Nurses' Health Study who did not have cardiovascular disease or diabetes in 1980. Seven times from 1980 through 2004, the women reported the types of foods they ate regularly over the previous year. Researchers then calculated a DASH score for each woman based on eight food and nutrient components. Their scores increased when they ate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes and stayed close to the recommended amounts of low-fat dairy. Scores decreased with increased consumption of red and processed meats, sweetened beverages and sodium.
Researchers from the Nano Machine Center at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have developed a novel type of nanomachine that can capture and store anticancer drugs inside tiny pores and release them into cancer cells in response to light.Known as a "nanoimpeller," the device is the first light-powered nanomachine that operates inside a living cell, a development that has strong implications for cancer treatment.
UCLA researchers reported the synthesis and operation of nanoparticles containing nanoimpellers that can deliver anticancer drugs in the journal Small.
Nanomechanical systems designed to trap and release molecules from pores in response to a stimulus have been the subject of intensive investigation, in large part for their potential applications in precise drug delivery. Nanomaterials suitable for this type of operation must consist of both an appropriate container and a photo-activated moving component.
Continue reading Nanomachine Kills Cancer Cells.
Scientists have discovered a key part of the chemistry which makes cancer cells so dangerous.
They believe it could now be possible to tamper with the mechanism - and stop tumour growth in its tracks.
Harvard Medical School identified an enzyme which enables cancer cells to consume the huge quantities of glucose they need to fuel uncontrolled growth.
Writing in Nature, they describe how starving cancer cells of the enzyme curbed their growth.
They believe it could now be possible to tamper with the mechanism - and stop tumour growth in its tracks.
Harvard Medical School identified an enzyme which enables cancer cells to consume the huge quantities of glucose they need to fuel uncontrolled growth.
Writing in Nature, they describe how starving cancer cells of the enzyme curbed their growth.
Continue reading Tumour Growth Block Hopes Raised.
If civilization is wiped out on Earth, salvation may come from space. Plans are being drawn up for a “Doomsday ark” on the moon containing the essentials of life and civilisation, to be activated in the event of earth being devastated by a giant asteroid or nuclear war.Construction of a lunar information bank, discussed at a conference in Strasbourg last month, would provide survivors on Earth with a remote-access toolkit to rebuild the human race.
A basic version of the ark would contain hard discs holding information such as DNA sequences and instructions for metal smelting or planting crops. It would be buried in a vault just under the lunar surface and transmitters would send the data to heavily protected receivers on earth. If no receivers survived, the ark would continue transmitting the information until new ones could be built.
Continue reading Good One Nerds!.
Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a dance of proteins that protects certain cells from undergoing apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Understanding the fine points of apoptosis is important to researchers seeking ways to control this process.
In a series of experiments, St. Jude researchers found that if any one of three molecules is missing, certain cells lose the ability to protect themselves from apoptosis. A report on this work appears in the advance online publication of Nature.
"This is probably the first description of what is happening mechanistically that contributes to the ability of cells to delay apoptosis," said James Ihle, Ph.D., the paper's senior author and chair of the St. Jude Department of Biochemistry. "It provides incredible insights into how three proteins work and how they can control apoptosis."
In a series of experiments, St. Jude researchers found that if any one of three molecules is missing, certain cells lose the ability to protect themselves from apoptosis. A report on this work appears in the advance online publication of Nature.
"This is probably the first description of what is happening mechanistically that contributes to the ability of cells to delay apoptosis," said James Ihle, Ph.D., the paper's senior author and chair of the St. Jude Department of Biochemistry. "It provides incredible insights into how three proteins work and how they can control apoptosis."
Continue reading Key Step In Programmed Cell Death Discovered.
ScienceDaily (Feb. 19, 2008) — University College London scientists have taken a significant step in understanding how retroviruses such as HIV can move between species and the biological mechanisms behind the 'jumping genes' which make some monkeys immune. They will now use this knowledge to develop a gene therapy treatment for HIV/AIDS in humans.
The international team of researchers, coordinated by Professor Greg Towers, UCL Infection and Immunity, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, have identified a combination of genes in a species of monkey that protects against retroviruses -- a particularly opportunistic family of viruses that can integrate into the host's genome and replicate as part of the cell's DNA.
The international team of researchers, coordinated by Professor Greg Towers, UCL Infection and Immunity, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, have identified a combination of genes in a species of monkey that protects against retroviruses -- a particularly opportunistic family of viruses that can integrate into the host's genome and replicate as part of the cell's DNA.
Continue reading Imitating Monkey's 'Jumping Genes' Could Lead To New Treatments For HIV.
