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Michael Green in the lab, smiling at the camera
Molecular Biologist Michael Green Dies at 69
Beyond his achievements in academia, he also cofounded three pharmaceutical companies and filed 15 patents related to cancer therapeutics. 
Molecular Biologist Michael Green Dies at 69
Molecular Biologist Michael Green Dies at 69

Beyond his achievements in academia, he also cofounded three pharmaceutical companies and filed 15 patents related to cancer therapeutics. 

Beyond his achievements in academia, he also cofounded three pharmaceutical companies and filed 15 patents related to cancer therapeutics. 

genetics & genomics, cancer

Illustration of intestine containing pink microbes
Fungal DNA, Cells Found in Human Tumors
Catherine Offord | Sep 30, 2022 | 2 min read
It’s not clear whether, or how, the organisms might play a role in disease pathology.
Illustration of light blue speckled DNA helix on a dark background
Study Nearly Doubles Known Cancer-Linked Mutational Signatures
Jef Akst | Apr 22, 2022 | 2 min read
Analyzing the whole genome sequences of more than 18,000 tumors, researchers catalog nearly 60 new patterns of mutations that could inform cancer treatment.
Conceptual image showing fragmented X chromosomes
How Chaos in Chromosomes Helps Drive Cancer Spread
Samuel F. Bakhoum | Mar 1, 2022 | 10+ min read
A new link between inflammation and rampant chromosomal abnormalities reveals novel strategies to treat diverse malignancies.
Infographic showing how bursting micronuclei promote cancer
Infographic: Chromosome Errors Cause Micronuclei and Drive Cancer
Samuel F. Bakhoum | Mar 1, 2022 | 2 min read
When micronuclei rupture, chromosomes break, recombine, and form circles, causing inflammation and promoting carcinogenic growth.
A tasmanian devil with its nose in the air
Deadly Facial Tumors Spur Tasmanian Devil Evolution: Study
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jun 16, 2021 | 6 min read
The largest study to date of the animals’ genetics provides robust evidence that they are adapting to survive a highly lethal, contagious cancer scientists feared would cause their extinction.
clear blood draw tubes with peach-colored caps and white labels with a red banner that has a DNA double helix icon and the word text. inside the tubes is a conceptual drawing of a DNA double helix in white
FDA-Led Consortium Details Improvements Needed in Liquid Biopsies
Marcus A. Banks | May 19, 2021 | 4 min read
In the largest effort to date to standardize performance metrics of the cancer diagnostic across products, researchers say the products can likely detect advanced tumors reliably, but early-stage malignancies would remain a challenge.
No Transgenerational Effects of Chernobyl Radiation Found
Abby Olena, PhD | Apr 22, 2021 | 4 min read
The genomes of the children of people exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident appear to carry no trace of the incident.
Cancer May Be Driven by DNA Outside of Chromosomes
Paul Mischel | Apr 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
In the last decade, researchers have come to realize that tumors harbor bits of extrachromosomal DNA that can drive malignancy.
Contributors
Asher Jones and Kerry Grens | Apr 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Meet some of the people featured in the April 2021 issue of The Scientist.
“Rogue” Protein Could Contribute to Humans’ High Cancer Rates
Asher Jones | Apr 1, 2021 | 2 min read
A mutant protein called Siglec-XII may promote carcinoma progression in humans, but inactivation of its gene seems to avoid the problem, according to a study.
Infographic: The Role of Extrachromosomal DNA in Cancer
Paul Mischel | Apr 1, 2021 | 2 min read
Researchers are uncovering how circular bits of DNA found in some cancer cells can help tumors evolve and kill.
Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Not Linked to Cancer, Bluebird Finds
Lisa Winter | Mar 11, 2021 | 2 min read
Clinical trials were halted after the treatment’s vector that ferries in the healthy genetic sequence was identified in the genome of a patient’s cancer cells.
Microbial Signatures in Blood Are Associated with Various Cancers
Shawna Williams | Jul 13, 2020 | 2 min read
A study suggests the potential for a noninvasive diagnostic that could detect tumors early and differentiate between disease types.
Paul Marks, Past President of MSKCC, Dies
Catherine Offord | May 8, 2020 | 3 min read
A cancer researcher with a talent for leadership, Marks turned the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center into one of the world’s foremost oncology research institutions.
Infographic: How Some X-Chromosome Genes Escape Inactivation
Amber Dance | Mar 1, 2020 | 2 min read
About one-quarter of the hundreds of genes on the inactivated X chromosome in XX cells manage to escape that silencing, at least some of the time.
Genes that Escape Silencing on the Second X Chromosome May Drive Disease
Amber Dance | Mar 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
When X-linked genes evade silencing on the “inactive” chromosome in XX cells, some protect women from diseases such as cancer, but others seem to promote conditions such as autoimmunity.
CRISPR-Edited Cells for Cancer Therapy Safe in Humans: Trial
Ashley Yeager | Feb 6, 2020 | 3 min read
In the first clinical study of its kind in the US, researchers used CRISPR to modify CAR T cells to make them more potent against cancer, but the clinical benefits are unknown.
Most Comprehensive Analysis of Cancer Genomes to Date
Jef Akst | Feb 5, 2020 | 2 min read
An interrogation of the whole genomes of more than 2,600 cancers yields clues about the genetic drivers of malignancy, how tumors evolve, and more.
Immunology Leader Vincenzo Cerundolo Dies
Ashley Yeager | Jan 16, 2020 | 2 min read
The Oxford researcher’s work on lipid and peptide antigens revealed key mechanisms in inflammation, immunotherapy, and vaccination, which are being pursued in clinical trial treatments.
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