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Researchers Find Cancer News May Contribute to Confusion About Cancer

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2010Culture, Health, Mediaamericans, behavior, cancer, CNN, dale brashers, disease, google news, health information, kami kosenko, msnbc, north carolina state university, online, people, ryan hurley, uncertain terms, yahoo news

New research from North Carolina State University shows that most online news stories about cancer contain language that likely contributes to public uncertainty about the disease – a significant finding, given that at least one-third of Americans seek health information online.

“Previous studies show that more than 100 million Americans seek health information online, and that their findings affect their health decisions,” says Dr. Kami Kosenko, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. “But, while people facing uncertainty about cancer issues are likely to seek out additional information, we’ve found that there are features of the information they’re seeking that may actually exacerbate the uncertainty.” (more…)

New 3-D Model of RNA ‘Core Domain’ of Enzyme Telomerase May Offer Clues to Cancer, Aging

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2010Health, Scienceaging, cancer, cells, chromosomes, DNA, dna damage, enzyme, helical extension, juli feigon, medicine, nmr, nobel prize, nuclear magnetic resonance, physiology, proteins, pseudoknot, qi zhang, rna, spectroscopy, telomerase, telomeres, virus

A model representation of telomerase's RNA "core domain," determined by Juli Feigon, Qi Zhang and colleagues in Feigon's UCLA laboratory. Image credit: Juli Feigon, UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry/PNAS

Telomerase is an enzyme that maintains the DNA at the ends of our chromosomes, known as telomeres. In the absence of telomerase activity, every time our cells divide, our telomeres get shorter. This is part of the natural aging process, as most cells in the human body do not have much active telomerase. Eventually, these DNA-containing telomeres, which act as protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, become so short that the cells die.

But in some cells, such as cancer cells, telomerase, which is composed of RNA and proteins, is highly active and adds telomere DNA, preventing telomere shortening and extending the life of the cell.

UCLA biochemists have now produced a three-dimensional structural model of the RNA “core domain” of the telomerase enzyme. Because telomerase plays a surprisingly important role in cancer and aging, understanding its structure could lead to new approaches for treating disease, the researchers say. (more…)

Knowledge of Genetic Cancer Risks Often Dies with Patients, Finds VCU Massey Cancer Center

By Guest PostOctober 29, 20101 commentHealth, Sciencebanking, cancer, cancer patients, dna testing, genetic risk, genetic testing, genetics, hereditary, john m quillin, thomas j smith, vcu massey researchers

Richmond, Va. – If you were dying from cancer, would you consider genetic testing? A recent study conducted by researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center showed that most terminally ill cancer patients who were eligible for genetic testing never received it despite that it could potentially save a relative’s life.

The research, “Exploring Hereditary Cancer Among Dying Cancer Patients—A Cross-Sectional Study of Hereditary Risk and Perceived Awareness of DNA Testing and Banking,” was recently published in the Journal of Genetic Counseling, and is the first to document the prevalence of hereditary cancer risk and the need for genetic services and patient education among terminally ill cancer patients. (more…)

200,000 Malaria Deaths Preventable Annually, says U of T Researcher

By Guest PostOctober 24, 2010Generalaids, assam, canada, cancer, cghr, chhattisgarh, eastern india, healthcare facilities, India, jharkhand, kenneth arrow, malaria, malaria atlas project, malaria parasite, orissa, prabhat jha, premature deaths, simon hay, symptoms, uk, v m katoch

*Deaths in India vastly underestimated*

Professor Prabhat Jha of medicine and an international team of researchers from India, Canada and the U.K. say their new studty shows the number of premature deaths from malaria in India has been vastly underestimated.

The new study is of a nationally representative sample of all deaths from any cause in India, asking family members to describe the fatal illness. Its results show that malaria accounts for about 200,000 (2 lakh) premature deaths before age 70 in India (including 80,000 children below age 15 and 120,000 adults). Previous estimates of malaria deaths were less than 10 per cent of this new figure. (more…)

The Promise of Ion Beam Cancer Therapy

By Guest PostOctober 23, 20101 commentHealth, Scienceatoms, beams of ions, berkeley lab, bragg peak, cancer, carbon, cyclotron, ernest lawrence, gamma rays, heavy ion linear accelerator, heidelberg ion beam therapy center, hilac, hit, hydrogen ions, ion-beam therapy, john lawrence, neon, protons, robert wilson, therapy, x-rays

For certain kinds of cancer, the most effective therapy does not use x-rays or gamma rays but beams of ions, the electrically charged cores of atoms, including hydrogen ions (protons) and heavier ions such as carbon and neon.

About the image: Beams of heavy ions can target hard-to-reach tumors with great accuracy and with minimal damage to surrounding tissues. Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center. Image credit: Berkeley Lab (more…)

Discovery of a Mechanism that Controls the Expression of a Protein Involved in Numerous Cancers

By Guest PostOctober 22, 2010Health, Sciencecancer, cancers, colon, cures to cancer, ejc, institute for research in immunology and cancer, iric, lung, mapk protein, marc therrien, mechanism controlling the transmission of an abnormal signal, melanomas, pancreatic, protein complex, signalling pathway, université de montréal

Marc Therrien. Image credit: University of Montreal

Researchers at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal have identified a new mechanism controlling the transmission of an abnormal signal at the origin of several cancers. In an article published in the journal Cell, Marc Therrien’s team explains the recent discovery of a protein complex that controls the RAS/MAPK signalling pathway, responsible for some of the deadliest cancers, including pancreatic, colon and lung cancers, and melanomas. This regulating mechanism could prove to be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of these diseases. The study conducted on the drosophila model organism is to be verified in humans in a forthcoming step. (more…)

U of T researcher discovers key protein involved in DNA repair

By Guest PostAugust 22, 2010Health, Scienceanne‐claude gingras, cancer, cancer development, cells, daniel durocher, dann, dna repair, frank sicheri, genetic material, mount sinai hospital, mutations, otub1, protein, riddle syndrome, rna interference, rnai, samuel lunenfeld research institute, thomas kierans research chair

*Discovery gives insight into the way cells protect their own genetic material*

In a groundbreaking study, U of T researchers including Professors Daniel Durocher, Anne‐Claude Gingras and Frank Sicheri have uncovered a protein called OTUB1 that blocks DNA damage in the cell—a discovery that may lead to the development of strategies to improve some cancer therapies.

(more…)

A Cellular Housekeeper, and Potential Target of Obesity Drugs, Caught in Action

By Guest PostAugust 2, 2010Scienceberkeley lab, bing jap, cancer, crystal chuang, enzyme, eukaryotic cells, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, molecular breaks down, obesity, peter walian, proteins, roy kaltschmidt, tripeptidyl peptidase II

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have obtained the closest look yet of how a gargantuan molecular machine breaks down unwanted proteins in cells, a critical housekeeping chore that helps prevent diseases such as cancer.

(more…)

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