Category Health/Medical

Scientists have uncovered key processes in the healthy development of cells which line the human gut, furthering their understanding about the development of cancer.

Scientists have uncovered key processes in the healthy development of cells which line the human gut, furthering their understanding about the development of cancer. A University of East Anglia (UEA) study shows that a protein called ninein is essential for normal tissue development in the gut. The research aimed to unravel some of the poorly-understood mechanisms involved in rearranging the cytoskeleton – in cells that are undergoing a shape change during normal development.

Using ‘mini-guts’ created in the lab, they studied the tubular filaments which are part of the cytoskeleton called microtubules, and their dramatic rearr...

1. Hypoxia-induced HIF1α targets in melanocytes reveal a molecular profile associated with poor melanoma prognosis. Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/pcmr.12579
2. Hypoxia-dependent regulation of HIF-1 activity.

Insights provide possible new targets for personalized treatments. Cancerous tumors are voracious. Once they have consumed all the oxygen and nutrients in the original tumor site, the cancer cells metastasize to find more nourishment. Searching for clues about how the body signals the lack of oxygen in melanoma skin cancer, NIH researchers focused on HIF1alpha (hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha), a protein that acts as a sensor for oxygen and nutrients in many types of cancer...

Image of a ON Delayed retinal ganglion cell colored by its depth in the retina. Arrowheads point out the unique “recursive” morphology of the dendrites that snake up and down.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a cell in the retina that may cause myopia when it dysfunctions. The dysfunction may be linked to the amount of time a child spends indoors and away from natural light. “This discovery could lead to a new therapeutic target to control myopia,” said Greg Schwartz, lead investigator and assistant professor of ophthalmology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine...

Rahim Esfandyarpour helped to develop a way to create a diagnostic “lab on a chip” for just a penny. Inset: The lab on a chip comprises a clear silicone microfluidic chamber for housing cells and a reusable electronic strip — a flexible sheet of polyester with commercially available conductive nanoparticle ink.
Zahra Koochak

Stanford University School of Medicine has developed a way to produce a cheap and reusable diagnostic “lab on a chip” with the help of an inkjet printer. At a cost of as little as 1 cent per chip, the new technology could usher in a medical diagnostics revolution like the kind brought on by low-cost genome sequencing. The inexpensive lab-on-a-chip technology has the potential to enhance diagnostic capabilities around the world, especially in developing countries...