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Bacterial “Communication System” Could Be Used to Stop Spreading and Kill Cancer Cells, MU Study Finds

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cancer, while always dangerous, truly becomes life-threatening when cancer cells begin to spread to different areas throughout the body. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered that a molecule used as a communication system by bacteria can be manipulated to prevent cancer cells from spreading. Senthil Kumar, an assistant research professor and assistant director of the Comparative Oncology and Epigenetics Laboratory at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, says this communication system can be used to “tell” cancer cells how to act, or even to die on command. (more…)

The Gene That Can Transform Mild Influenza in to a Life Threatening Disease

By Guest PostMarch 26, 2012Health, Scienceantiviral, cell, deenan pillay, disease, gene variant, genetic finding, greg towers, h1n1 pandemic influenza, hiv, ifitm3 gene, infection, influenza, life threatening, paul kellam, protein, sir mark walport, swine flu, ucl, variant, virus infection

A genetic finding could help to explain why influenza becomes a life-threatening disease for some people, and yet has only a mild effect on others. Collaborative research led by scientists at UCL and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute found that people who carry a particular variant of the IFITM3 gene are significantly more likely to be hospitalised when they fall ill with influenza than those who carry other variants.

The gene plays a critical role in protecting the body against infection with influenza and a rare version of it appears to make people more susceptible to severe forms of the disease. The results are published in the journal Nature. (more…)

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Bacterial “Communication System” Could Be Used to Stop Spreading and Kill Cancer Cells, MU Study Finds

The Gene That Can Transform Mild Influenza in to a Life Threatening Disease