Category Biology/Biotechnology

The results reinforce previous findings that antioxidants hasten the progression of lung cancer. People with cancer or an elevated risk of developing the disease should avoid nutritional supplements that contain antioxidants, the researchers say. Given well-established evidence that free radicals can cause cancer, the research community had simply assumed that antioxidants, which destroy them, provide protection against the disease.

“As opposed to the lung cancer studies, the primary melanoma tumor was not affected,” Professor Bergö says. “But the antioxidant boosted the ability of the tumor cells to metastasize, an even more serious problem because metastasis is the cause of death in the case of melanoma. The primary tumor is not dangerous per se and is usually removed.”

Experiments ...

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This therapy, when translated for use in people humans, would be beneficial in reducing toxicity because the amount of antibody could be decreased by 2/3 and the amount of chemotherapy by at least 1/2, they say. This in turn, “reduces the cost of treatment so that individuals previously not able to afford targeted therapy will be able to do so.

“This line of research is important to future ...

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In 1 in 20 cancer cases, the doctor can confirm that the patient has cancer – but cannot find the source. These patients then face the prospect of a long wait with numerous diagnostic tests and attempts to locate the origin of the cancer before starting any treatment. Now, researchers have combined genetics with computer science and created a new diagnostic technology based on advanced self-learning computer algorithms which can, with 85% certainty, identify the source of the disease and thus target treatment and, ultimately, improve the prognosis for the patient.

Each year, ~35,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in Denmark, and many of them face the prospect of a long wait until the cancer has been diagnosed and its source loc...

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New light has been shed on why people who carry a common genetic melatonin receptor mutation may be more at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. By carefully studying healthy subjects, researchers were able to chart the effect of melatonin supplements on blood sugar control. Their results suggest that taking melatonin close to mealtimes may put people with a common genetic variant more at risk.

As many as 50% of people of European ancestry carry this genetic variation in MTNR1B, a gene that encodes a melatonin receptor...

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