Researchers at Columbia University have discovered that Vibrio cholerae has co-opted CRISPR Cas9 systems into transposons for horizontal gene transfer, and that those transposons were capable of site-specific gene editing without the need for double-stranded DNA breaks.
Scientists have discovered a pair of gut microbial enzymes that worked in tandem to convert blood cells of the type A to those of type O by removing the surface molecule alpha-1,3-linked-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) from the surface of red blood cells.
Scientists have discovered a pair of gut microbial enzymes that worked in tandem to convert blood cells of the type A to those of type O by removing the surface molecule alpha-1,3-linked-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) from the surface of red blood cells.
Scientists at University Hospital RWTH Aachen have trained a neural network to recognize microsatellite instability (MSI)-high gastrointestinal tumors directly from histology, without the need for genetic or immunochemistry testing.
CHICAGO – Results from the phase III POLO trial presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO's) 2019 annual meeting on Sunday showed that treatment with Lynparza (olaparib, Astrazeneca plc/Merck & Co Inc.) after platinum chemotherapy nearly doubled the progression-free interval (progression-free survival, PFS) in a group of 154 metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with germline BRCA mutations, from 3.8 to 7.4 months.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have demonstrated that they were able to restore learning abilities in a rat model of fragile X syndrome (FXS) through temporary treatment with the cholesterol-lowering agent lovastatin.
Characterized by large numbers of benign but highly disfiguring tumors, neurofibromatosis 1 (NF-1) is anything but a subtle disease. Because they are glaringly conspicuous, research into NF-1 has largely focused on the tumors themselves. But in the May 20, 2019, issue of PLoS ONE, researchers have reported new insights into the disease that stem from looking not at the tumors themselves but at tumor-free skin from NF-1 patients.
The words "crystal" and "healing" in the same sentence do not, by and large, connote solid scientific ground for the approach being advocated. But there is an exception to every rule, and researchers at Ghent University have described Charcot-Leyden crystals (CLCs) as a targetable feature of some allergic diseases. CLCs are made up of the protein galectin-10.
For the immune system, the self and non-self are something like the proverbial rock and a hard place. In order to be effective, the system as a whole needs to react vigorously to pathogens. But that vigorous reaction can also damage the organism it is meant to protect. The conundrum is on display in influenza infections.
