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Can thermodynamics help us better understand human cancers?

By Guest PostOctober 18, 2013Scienceavinoam ben shaul, better understand, biomarker, cellular process, chemistry, francoise remacle, gene array analysis, human cancer, mechanisms of disease, physical dynamics, raphael levine, sohila zadran, surprisal analysis, thermodynamic signature, thermodynamics, war on cancer, wolf prize

When the “war on cancer” was declared with the signing of the National Cancer Act in 1971, identifying potential physical traits, or biomarkers, that would allow doctors to detect the disease early on was a significant goal. To this day, progress in the battle against cancer depends on understanding the underlying causes and molecular mechanisms of the disease.

In a new study, UCLA researchers analyzed the gene-expression profiles of more than 2,000 patients and were able to identify cancer-specific gene signatures for breast, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers. The study applied an innovative approach to gene-array analysis known as “surprisal analysis,” which uses the principles of thermodynamics — the study of the relationship between different forms of energy — to understand cellular processes in cancer. (more…)

Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Healthcabi, cancer, dose of radiation, glucocest, human cancer, image tumour, magnetic resonance imaging, mark lythgoe, mri, mri scanners, new technique, radioactive material, radiologist, scans of mice, simon walker samuel, standard radioactive techniques, sugar, ucl scientists, university college london, xavier golay

A new technique for detecting cancer by imaging the consumption of sugar with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been unveiled by UCL scientists. The breakthrough could provide a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques and enable radiologists to image tumours in greater detail.

The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth. (more…)

Breast Cancer DNA Mutator Found

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 2013Healthbreast cancer dna, breast cancers, cancer genes, dna mutating enzyme, enzyme induced mutations, human cancer

Masonic Cancer Center researchers discover a virus-fighting enzyme

It’s well known that sunlight and chemical carcinogens can mutate DNA, and that mutations are essential for cancer to develop. (more…)

Duplex-sequencing Method Could Lead to Better Cancer Detection and Treatment

By Guest PostOctober 3, 20121 commentHealthbacteria, canadian rockies, cancer cell, cancer drug, cell mutation, chain reaction, chemotherapy, christopher klein, diagnosis, dna sequencing, duplex sequencing, error rate, ethical treatment, human cancer, hypothesis, ice climbing, infect, jesse salk, last christmas, lawrence loeb, m13, michael schmitt, mutator phenotypes, nucleotides, pcr, polymerase, rare mutation, recurrent tumor, safe seqs, scott kennedy, substructure, Technology, trip, true mutation, university, virus, Washington

During an ice climbing trip to the Canadian Rockies last Christmas, two young researchers from the University of Washington, Drs. Michael Schmitt and Jesse Salk, talked about a simple but powerful idea to get better results when looking at cancer cells. If they could reduce the error rate in DNA sequencing, then researchers could better pinpoint which cells are mutating.

This improvement could lead to early diagnosis of cancer and a better treatment plan once researchers knew which cells were resistant to chemotherapy. (more…)

Engineered Microvessels Provide a 3-D Test Bed for Human Diseases

By Guest PostMay 31, 2012Science3 d test bed, abraham stroock, abundant protein, bioengineering, blood clots, bloodstream, cancer, chemical factor, collagen, cornell university, disease, endothelial cells, honeycomb, human, human blood vessels, human cancer, human cell, jose lopez, mechanical, mice and monkeys, michael craven, model, petri dish, samuel totorica, shear stress, tumor progression, university of washington, ying zheng

Mice and monkeys don’t develop diseases in the same way that humans do. Nevertheless, after medical researchers have studied human cells in a Petri dish, they have little choice but to move on to study mice and primates.

University of Washington bioengineers have developed the first structure to grow small human blood vessels, creating a 3-D test bed that offers a better way to study disease, test drugs and perhaps someday grow human tissues for transplant.

The findings are published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Tag Archives: human cancer

Can thermodynamics help us better understand human cancers?

Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners

Breast Cancer DNA Mutator Found

Duplex-sequencing Method Could Lead to Better Cancer Detection and Treatment

Engineered Microvessels Provide a 3-D Test Bed for Human Diseases