Small molecules can starve cancer cells

 by Biomechanism 

CANCER RESEARCH: All cells in our body have a system that can handle cellular waste and release building blocks for recycling. The underlying mechanism is called autophagy and literally means “self-eating”. Many cancer cells have increased the activity of this system and the increased release of building blocks equip the cancer cells with a growth advantage and can render them resistant towards treatment.

“We have discovered a small molecule that can block autophagy in different cancer cells and specifically, this molecule can increase the sensitivity of breast cancer cells towards one of the most commonly used treatments for breast cancer,” says Professor Anders H. Lund, at BRIC, University of Copenhagen. 

Our own anti-cancer molecule
The molecule that the researchers have studied is called microRNA-101 and is found naturally in our cells. In cancer research, there is currently a large focus on both autophagy and microRNA molecules, which can control our genes and both mechanisms are known to play an important role for cancer development.

“We have shown that microRNA-101 can turn off specific genes and thereby inhibit autophagy in cancer cells. The fact that microRNA molecules can regulate autophagy is quite new and our results disclose a large and interesting field within cancer research” says researcher Lisa Frankel, who has been leading this research project in Anders H. Lund’s laboratory.

Breast cancer treatment
MicroRNA-101 is often lost in liver cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer. By controlling the level of microRNA-101 in cells of different cancer types, the researchers from BRIC show that microRNA-101 regulates autophagy. In addition, the researchers have shown that breast cancer cells become more sensitive towards treatment with the anti-hormone Tamoxifen, when they via microRNA-101 turn off the autophagy system.

“This result has a clear clinical relevance, as resistance against tamoxifen is a large problem in the treatment of breast cancer,” says Anders H. Lund.

The next step of the researchers is to investigate whether other microRNA molecules are involved in the regulation of autophagy in cancer cells. Further, they will take a closer look at the role of microRNA-101 in normal development of our organism and in the development of cancer.

-Latest Cancer Research on Biomechanism.com 

Homeland Security Application Monitors Crowds' Faces, Races, and Eye Movements to Detect Would-Be Criminals

By Sean Kane

FAST Crime Department of Homeland Security

The Department Homeland Security is developing a system designed to apprehend you before you commit a crime. The Future Attribute Screening Technology, or FAST, is designed to analyze whether a person is likely to commit a crime, using a long list of factors. Some are akin to lie detection, such as breathing and heart rate, but the system also measures body movements, voice pitch changes, blink rate, breathing patterns, eye movements, body heat changes and prosody (changes in speech rhythm and intonation). The "prototype screening facility" is built to "detect cues indicative of mal-intent" using these algorithms. The system also analyzes factors like ethnicity, gender, age and profession.

The DHS has already conducted a FAST field test at an undisclosed location in the northeast. "It is not an airport, but it is a large venue that is a suitable substitute for an operational setting," says DHS spokesman John Verrico.

The department views FAST as a tool for airport security, but it has other potential uses as well. A DHS document suggests a mobile version "could be used at security checkpoints such as border crossings or at large public events such as sporting events or conventions."

The development of FAST has raised some eyebrows, including those of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. EPIC has obtained multiple documents, including one detailing the field test (PDF).

[via CNET]

A Treasure Trove of Undiscovered Life: Raw Sewage

By Rebecca Boyle

Bubbling Wastewater Kristian Bjornard/Wikimedia Commons

Raw sewage is apparently a gold mine for virologists in search of new quarry — it contains thousands of previously unknown virus species, according to a new study. Hopefully this unique finding will justify the nasty task of sifting through sewage for science.

Microbiologists at the University of Pittsburgh, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Barcelona have been searching for novel ways to find new viruses. About 3,000 different viruses have been described so far, but this is probably a small fraction of the species that exist, the authors say. In a hunt for new examples, they explored sewage samples from sites in Africa, Europe and North America.

They used deep sequencing methods to explore viruses with various types of nucleic acids — single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA, positive-sense RNA and double-stranded RNA. This method of metagenomics, studying everything in an entire sample population, had been used before to study bacteria and viruses — but not from a a raw sewage sample.

The researchers found a few that they recognized, including human papillomavirus and norovirus, and a suite of plant and animal viruses. They also found bacteriophages, which makes sense because raw sewage also contains plenty of bacteria. In all, there were 234 known viruses from 26 distinct families — by itself, this makes raw sewage the most bountiful reserve of viruses ever found, according to a news release from Pitt.

But the vast majority of genetic sequences had little or no relation to known viruses, the researchers said. Most of them couldn’t even be placed into specific taxa.

“These results show that the vast majority of the viruses on Earth have not yet been characterized,” the authors write.

Uncovering new viruses will help microbiologists understand how viruses evolve and emerge, they added. Apparently raw sewage is a great place to look.

[ScienceDaily]