http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. It will perhaps be possible, in the near future, to detect cancer by a simple blood or urine test. In fact, biologists from CNRS, Inserm, Paris Descartes and Strasbourg universities have developed a technique capable of detecting minute traces of tumoral DNA present in the biological fluids of patients suffering from cancer. The method consists in carrying out ultra-sensitive molecular analyses in microscopic droplets. Successfully tested on genes involved in various cancers, including cancer of the colon and leukemia, it has the potential of becoming a powerful tool for oncologists, both in making a diagnosis and in prescribing a treatment. A clinical study is already envisaged to evaluate this technique. The work is published on the website of the journal Lab on a chip. http://phys.org/news225366367.html Chemistry Mon, 23 May 2011 10:46:29 EST news225366367 A paper by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology may breathe new life into the use of a powerful -- but tricky -- diagnostic technique for cell biology. The paper,* appearing this week in the Biophysical Journal, demonstrates that with improved hardware and better signal processing, a powerful form of molecular vibration spectroscopy can quickly deliver detailed molecular maps of the contents of cells without damaging them. Earlier studies have suggested that to be useful, the technique would need power levels too high for cells. http://phys.org/news206278076.html Physics Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:28:11 EST news206278076 A new study from the Center for Interdisciplinary Chronobiological Research at the University of Haifa has found an additional link between Light At Night (LAN) and cancer. This research joins a series of earlier studies carried out at the University of Haifa that also established the correlation. "High power light bulbs contribute more to 'environmental light pollution', which the study has shown is a carcinogenic pollution," notes Prof. Abraham Haim, who headed the study. http://phys.org/news202641712.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:22:04 EST news202641712 Some nuclear-based breast imaging exams may increase a woman's risk of developing radiation-induced cancer, according to a special report appearing online and in the October issue of Radiology. However, the radiation dose and risk from mammography are very low. http://phys.org/news201792197.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:01 EST news201792197 A combination of Chinese herbs in use for more than 1,800 years reduced the gastrointestinal side effects of chemotherapy in mice, while actually enhancing the effects of the cancer treatment, Yale University researchers report. http://phys.org/news201356042.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:00:11 EST news201356042 Australian scientists have discovered a cluster of brilliant shallow-water corals that could help in the search for anti-cancer drugs and to understand global warming, a researcher said Saturday. http://phys.org/news200991167.html Biology Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:52:57 EST news200991167 A group of researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is developing a way to treat cancer by using lasers to light up tiny nanoparticles and destroy tumors with the ensuing heat. http://phys.org/news198935026.html Nanotechnology Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:00:14 EST news198935026 A study presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) shows that children with brain tumors who undergo radiation therapy (the application of X-rays to kill cancerous cells and shrink tumors) may benefit from a technique known as "intensity modulated arc therapy" or IMAT. http://phys.org/news198571862.html Medicine & Health Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:20:01 EST news198571862 Researchers funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) have discovered for the first time that two proteins called Mahjong and Lgl could be star players in helping to identify how the body's own cells fight back against cancer cells. This discovery, publishing today in the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology, could lead to future treatments to make our healthy cells better-equipped to attack cancer cells, an entirely new concept for cancer research. http://phys.org/news198261482.html Biology Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:00:01 EST news198261482 A landmark study by Florida State University biologists, in collaboration with scientists in Britain, is the first to identify a life-or-death "cell competition" process in mammalian tissue that suppresses cancer by causing cancerous cells to kill themselves. http://phys.org/news198261334.html Biology Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:00:01 EST news198261334 Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center created a large, well armed battalion of tumor-seeking immune system cells and watched, in real time using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), as the special forces traveled throughout the body to locate and attack dangerous melanomas. http://phys.org/news198170671.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:40:04 EST news198170671 The most popular method of breast cancer detection today is X-ray mammography, which takes images of a compressed breast by low-dose ionizing radiation. However, there are several disadvantages to using X-rays for breast cancer screening, chief among them being the invasivity of radiation and the high costs, which limit their wide use and can deter women from getting them. In addition, depending on the age of the patient and tissue density, X-ray mammograms often result in false positives and negatives. http://phys.org/news197715380.html Other Sciences Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:30:02 EST news197715380 (PhysOrg.com) -- Forget surgery. One team of Kansas State University researchers is exploring nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia in the battle against cancer. http://phys.org/news196962056.html Nanotechnology Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:10:03 EST news196962056 Using an off-the-shelf digital camera, Rice University biomedical engineers and researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have created an inexpensive device that is powerful enough to let doctors easily distinguish cancerous cells from healthy cells simply by viewing the LCD monitor on the back of the camera. http://phys.org/news196603942.html Chemistry Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:12:34 EST news196603942 A lawyer and researcher at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics says a new legal and ethical framework needs to be placed around the donation and banking of human biological material, one that would more clearly define the terms of the material's use — and address donor expectations before research begins. http://phys.org/news196350775.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:53:28 EST news196350775 Oncogenes are like friends who've gone off the deep end. Normally steady, reliable members of the cellular workforce, these genes become very bad influences when mutated or expressed at high levels -- urging a cell to divide uncontrollably and become cancerous. http://phys.org/news195738577.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:00:01 EST news195738577 (PhysOrg.com) -- To diagnose cancer reliably, doctors usually conduct a biopsy including tissue ana-lysis ? which is a time-consuming process. A microscopic image sensor, fitted in an endoscope, is being developed for in vivo cancer diagnosis, to speed up the detection of tumors. http://phys.org/news194849770.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Jun 2010 06:10:01 EST news194849770 Breast cancer cells - even the most aggressive type - died after treatments with peach and plum extracts in lab tests at Texas AgriLife Research recently, and scientists say the results are deliciously promising. Not only did the cancerous cells keel over, but the normal cells were not harmed in the process. http://phys.org/news194694469.html Chemistry Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:58:04 EST news194694469 Several years ago, scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and other laboratories made a paradoxical discovery regarding the Akt molecular pathway, a popular target for cancer drug therapies. They discovered that while one Akt protein - Akt1 - was actively preventing cancer cells from spreading, another closely related family member - Akt2 - was actually promoting breast cancer cell migration. And, indeed, subsequent studies in mouse models of breast cancer revealed that blocking the Akt pathway resulted in enhanced metastasis to the lungs. http://phys.org/news192976550.html Medicine & Health Thu, 13 May 2010 13:36:15 EST news192976550 Austrian researchers have found an antibody that could be used to step up the fight against ovarian cancer -- a major killer for women. http://phys.org/news190293056.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:30:02 EST news190293056 New antibodies and recombinant proteins with a key signaling role in immune response to disease have been produced through collaboration between molecular immunology institutes in the Czech Republic and Germany and a private company. The proteins have their own direct uses in immunization and are also the starting point for production of novel, highly specific antibodies with a wide range of biomedical applications. All of the new products are already being marketed commercially. http://phys.org/news188137393.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:50:01 EST news188137393 A team of scientists from Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has embarked on a major new project to unravel the secret lives of cancer cells that go dormant and self-cannibalize to survive periods of stress. The work may help produce new cancer therapies to stem changes that render cancer cells dangerous and resistant to treatment. http://phys.org/news185120003.html Medicine & Health Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:13:42 EST news185120003 Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers say preliminary studies show that a vaccine made with leukemia cells may be able to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients taking the drug Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec). http://phys.org/news182079956.html Medicine & Health Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:00:04 EST news182079956 Scientists at The University of Nottingham have found that a group of genetic rogue elements, produced by DNA sequences commonly known as 'junk DNA', could help diagnose breast and bowel cancer. Their research, funded by Cancer Research UK, is published in this month's Genomics journal. http://phys.org/news181912266.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:12:33 EST news181912266 Biomedical researchers at the University of Central Florida have found a protein that could hold the key to treating one of the most common and aggressive brain tumors in adults. http://phys.org/news180713480.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:40:01 EST news180713480 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at McGill University have identified a protein that plays a key role in cell proliferation and is likely to promote cancer development. The work may lead to the development of new diagnostic tools adjusted for personalized treatments, the researchers said. Their results are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://phys.org/news180033486.html Chemistry Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:20:27 EST news180033486 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has "gone wrong," giving researchers a powerful tool that eventually could make possible new, more targeted therapies for patients. http://phys.org/news179683447.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:04:58 EST news179683447 Surgeons who successfully performed kidney transplants after removing small cancerous and benign masses from the donated organs, have published their results in the December issue of the urology journal BJUI. http://phys.org/news179403431.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:00:04 EST news179403431 (PhysOrg.com) -- A virus that in nature infects only rabbits could become a cancer-fighting tool for humans. Myxoma virus kills cancerous blood-precursor cells in human bone marrow while sparing normal blood stem cells, a multidisciplinary team at the University of Florida College of Medicine has found. The findings are now online and will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Leukemia. http://phys.org/news179085253.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:30:03 EST news179085253 A recently discovered form of the protein that triggers blood clotting may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms leading to the growth of certain metastatic cancers, according to new research reported by an international team of scientists. http://phys.org/news175791619.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:01:41 EST news175791619