cell & molecular biology, cancer

Cellular blebs shed by tumor cells can process short stretches of RNA that go on to induce tumor formation in neighboring cells.

Stress and telomere length in children; osmotic channel protein identified; amoeba nibbles, then kills cells; amphetamine and mental disorder risk; news from AACR

Researchers discover a tool to trigger an uncommon strategy cancer cells can use to lengthen their telomeres.

Researchers show that cancer stem cells can exist in two distinct and interconvertible states.

Unlike the usual smooth, spherical shape of exosomes, glioblastoma-derived exosomes appear to have long nanofilaments protruding from their surfaces.

Stimulus-triggered pluripotency; antioxidants speed lung tumor growth; the importance of seminal vesicles; how a plant pathogen jumps hosts

Oldest hominin DNA sequence; visualizing dyslexia; testing CRISPR; cancer and autoimmunity

Scientists discover that cancer can drive the autoimmune disorder scleroderma.

Researchers scramble to put mouse cancer models on solid footing.

Chilly mice develop more tumors; gut bacteria aid cancer treatment; two Y chromosome genes sufficient for assisted reproduction; HIV’s “invisibility cloak”

Common mutations in metastasized breast tumors suggest how the cancer can develop resistance to frontline drugs.

Researchers develop two small molecules that slow the growth of human cancer cells.

The first full computer model of a single-celled organism mimics the bacterium’s behaviors and paves the way to more complete disease models.

Critics point out that cell therapy has yet to top existing treatments. Biotech companies are setting out to change that—and prove that the technology can revolutionize medicine.

Vesicles released by melanoma cells stimulate pro-metastasis behaviors in bone marrow cells.

Anxious mice are more likely to come down with aggressive skin cancer than those who show less stress on behavioral tests.

Telomeres are repetitive, noncoding sequences that cap the ends of linear chromosomes. They consist of hexameric nucleotide sequences (TTAGGG in humans) repeated hundreds to thousands of times. 

Telomeres have been linked to numerous diseases over the years, but how exactly short telomeres cause diseases and how medicine can prevent telomere erosion are still up for debate.

A roundup of recent research announced this week at the annual conference of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Two proteins interact to save adhesion molecules from degradation, potentially contributing to a more aggressive cancer.