Walter Jessen – Page 3

Health Highlight: Researchers use gut bacteria to map genetic mutations in colorectal cancer tumours

October 13, 2015 | by Walter Jessen

Colorectal cancer is now understood to be definitely linked to microbial problems in the gut. Research has shown that the disease is linked with less numbers and diversity in the gut microbiome, and with the increased presence of more harmful strains. Therefore using gut bacteria to diagnose and even aid in cancer prevention is highly desirable due to it’s quick, non-invasive ease of investigation.

Now, a study from researchers at University of Minnesota has predicted key genetic mutations in colorectal tumours by analyzing the types of gut bacteria present around them. The team state that it could be possible to genetically classify the colorectal tumour a person has without having to do a biopsy and dissect it. Their findings were presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2015 Annual Meeting.

Source: Healthinnovations

Health Highlights is a recurring series of curated health and medical news from around the web.

Anti-parasite Drugs and the Nobel Prize for Medicine

October 8, 2015 | by Walter Jessen

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced earlier this week [1]. The prize was awarded to three scientists who developed therapies by looking at natural, local substances, against parasitic infections.

The prize of 8-million-Swedish-krona ($1.2-million USD) was divided, with one half jointly to Drs. William C. Campbell, age 85, at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, USA, and Satoshi Omura, age 80, at Kitasato University in Tokyo, Japan, for their work on a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites, and the other half to Dr. Youyou Tu, age 85, at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, China, for her work on a novel therapy against Malaria.

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Scientists Hit Limit of Time to Read Scholarly Articles

February 18, 2014 | by Walter Jessen

Scientists may have hit the wall when it comes to reading articles. A 35-year trend of researchers reading an increasing number of scholarly manuscripts appears to be leveling off, accompanied by the bottoming out of time taken to read each article.

Scientists hit limit of time to read scholarly articles

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Johnson & Johnson to Make Clinical Trial Data Open

February 3, 2014 | by Walter Jessen

In a move that promotes open science, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced last week that it will make all of its clinical trial data publicly available.

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Pharma Company Success Depends on More Efficient R&D

January 8, 2014 | by Walter Jessen

According to a new report from Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts CSDD), although many pharmaceutical companies are increasing the pace of new products by improving the efficiency of clinical trial operations, their medium- and long-term success will increasingly depend on their ability to support more efficient research and development (R&D) models.