Weak Magnetic Fields, Cancer Cells And Other Aspects Of Biology
We are surrounded by a constantly changing magnetic field, be it the Earth's or those emanating from devices, such as cell phones. Carlos Martino, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, is interested in understanding how these magnetic-field fluctuations change biochemical reactions inside us. Martino explains that the subject is controversial. "Our research shows that exposure to different types of magnetic fields affect biological response, " he says. "More importantly, the exposure levels are well below the standard levels" approved by the World Health Organization.
Melanoma - Gene Research Should Pave Way To Targeted Treatment
A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals that elevated expression of a gene in the deadly skin cancer melanoma can raise the mortality risk from the tumor, making it a potentially new target for treating melanomas that express high levels of this gene. The study, entitled "Pleckstrin Homology Domain-Interacting Protein (PHIP) as a Marker and Mediator of Melanoma Metastasis", was conducted by researchers at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI), part of the Sutter Health network.
Ability To Culture Rare Tumor Cells Isolated From Blood Could Help Improve Patient Response To Therapy
A research collaboration between the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Children's Hospital Boston has created a microfluidic device that can harvest rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood to enable their expansion in culture for analysis. These cells, which have detached from a primary cancer site and often create a secondary -- or metastasized -- tumor, hold an extraordinary amount of information regarding patient-specific drug sensitivity, cancer progression, and patient response to therapy.