Category Health/Medical

Blood vessel-on-a-chips show anti-cancer drug effects in human cells. Credit: 2018 YUKIKO MATSUNAGA, INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), the University of Tokyo, CNRS and INSERM, report a new organ-on-a-chip technology for the study of blood vessel formation and drugs targeting this event. The technology recreates a human blood vessel and shows how new capillaries grow from a single vessel (parent vessel) in response to proper biochemical signaling cues. The technology can further be used to develop drugs targeting this growth as a therapeutic approach to treat cancer and blood-vessel-related diseases. The study can be read in EBioMedicine.

Angiogenesis describes a specific process of blood vessel formation from...

The new method overcomes obstacles in designing D versions of complex helical peptides. Credit: Michael Garton, University of Toronto

Mirror-image version of existing drugs would last longer in the body thanks to their ability to avoid breakdown by enzymes in the stomach and bloodstream. For patients, this means less frequent drug injections and more medicines could potentially be made available as pills. Designing these drugs has been tricky, however. Now a team of researchers led by Philip Kim, a professor of computer science and molecular genetics in the University of Toronto’s Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, has developed a new technology for making mirror-image peptides, which bind and activate receptors on the surface of cells.

They created mirror-image versio...

Orthogonal cancer targeting strategy using nanomicelles. a Schematic of the process of photoactivation of Titanocene in disseminated cancer cells in the bone marrow microenvironment

Tumor imaging technique has potential as anti-cancer weapon, mouse study shows. Unlike traditional light therapy – which is limited to the skin and areas accessible with an endoscope – this technique can target and attack cancer cells that have spread deep inside the body, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Light emitted as part of traditional cancer-imaging techniques, to locate metastatic tumors, also can trigger light-sensitive drugs, according to the new study...

How well do plant based alternatives fare nutritionally compared to cow’s milk? Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2017; 55 (1): 10 DOI: 10.1007/s13197-017-2915-y

A new study looks at the four most-commonly consumed types of milk beverages from plant sources around the world – almond milk, soy milk, rice milk and coconut milk – and compares their nutritional values with those of cow’s milk. After cow’s milk, which is still the most nutritious, soy milk comes out a clear winner. How healthy is your almond milk really? It may taste good and may not cause you any of the unpleasant reactions caused by cow’s milk...