Creative Biomart Blog

Tue, 2015/09/22

On the Three Revolutions of Cancer Research

So far, cancer drug development has gone through three huge revolutions; they are: cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs, “targeted therapy” and immunotherapy. Immunotherapy has not only revolutionized the effectiveness of cancer treatment and will revolutionize the concept of cancer treating. Relatively speaking, immunotherapy is the real anti-cancer revolution and the most reasonable means to solve cancer. Chemotherapy- the first revolution of anti-cancer drugs Starting from 1940, the most used anti-cancer chemotherapy drugs are basically belong to cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs currently in clinical

Mon, 2015/09/21

Pesticides May Increase Children’s Cancer Risk

According to a recent study published in Pediatrics, the use of certain pesticides at home might increase the risk of childhood cancer. In this analysis, scientists studied the potential links between the exposure to household pesticides and . To their surprise, they found that children exposed to indoor pesticides has 47 larger percentage of suffering from leukemia in the juvenile than those who never touched pesticides. And the risk of getting lymphoma is 43% more. Chen Shenglu, author of this study, said “remember the design and manufacture of pesticides is to kill pests.” Parents should

Fri, 2015/09/18

Human & Chimp

The appearance of Chimp is significantly different from humans, although the creature is close relative of our human beings. Recently, a paper published in Cell has revealed the molecular mechanisms that causes face structural differences between two species that have the same genetic background. The researchers pointed out that the key point lies in how the gene involved in the genetic diversity is regulated, the level of the regulation and the time and location of it. In particular, the researchers found that human and chimp can express different level of proteins that have controls over f

Thu, 2015/09/17

Eight Applications of Liquid Biopsy (Part Two)

The last post has given an introduction to liquid biopsy and its first four applications. This post is to analyze this rest four: Cancer Treatment Last year, some companies began to establish genetic map of cancer through mutated DNA fragments found in the blood. This “diagnosis and treatment” test can be used to determine which medication is suitable for the patients because cancer is caused by a specific mutation and they have a good response to certain drugs. Moreover, since the amount of tumor DNA in the blood is in proportion to the DNA size and stage, this detection can also be applie

Wed, 2015/09/16

Eight Applications of Liquid Biopsy (Part One)

Liquid Biopsy, one of the hottest words recently, has been selected as on of the 2015 Top Ten Breakthrough Technology by MIT Technology Review. Years before, it’s only limited to researches, but now it is more frequently used in clinical. Liquid Biopsy, in fact, is to determine the human blood floating DNA fragments using high-speed sequencing. When a person's body has exogenous DNA, such as infants, cancer or organ transplant, this test can provide information. Liquid biopsy allows scientists to locate, research and monitor those interlopers only by exsanguination, and its applications are r

Tue, 2015/09/15

Who Will Win The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine?

As it’s approaching to the Nobel Prize month, SCI certainly will make forecast by citation. However, the accuracy is not that satisfactory. Typically, the Nobel Prize mainly rely on the peer recommendation, thus hot and mature areas might win. And since the announcement day for the 2015 Nobel Prize Physiology or Medicine is only 20 days left, the writer would like to make a prediction of it. What technologies might be awarded? Gene Editing This field, however, is obviously the hottest one. Though relatively new, it has been shown to have large application space. Scholars recommend this might

Tue, 2015/09/08

New Pathway Links Epigenetics And Aging Was Found

It has been widely acknowledged for nearly ten years that epigenetic marks change as cells age. For instance, Sir2, which is implicated in the association between calorie restriction and lifespan, is known to affect metabolic pathways and alter the acetyl marks on histones. While, in the latest study, scientists have found another pathways that links epigenetic and aging-H3K36 methylation and it decreases as yeast and worm cells age. “This finding provides further support for the idea that as cells age, you are inclined to get more open and permissive chromatin.” commented Shelley Berger, se

Mon, 2015/09/07

Novel Explanation for “Runner's High”

Running is a pleasant thing. And the happiness, freedom and the feeling of energetic is never just owing to the function of endorphin. A recent study published on Cell Metabolism suggested that dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, has influence on this so-called “runner’s high” too. The researchers pointed out that this “reward effect” in exercise is under the regulation of leptin, which can inhibit the body’s physical activity through dopamine neurons in the brain. Leptin, secreted by the adipose tissue, can help the body to produce satiety. So, the more the fat, the more the leptin.