Narrow Results

EUROPE – Avastin + Metformin = Drastic reduction in skin cancer.

EUROPE – Skin barrier puzzle solved.

EUROPE – Ageing population could boost economy.

EUROPE – Social amoeba replace animals in Bipolar Disorder research.

JAPAN – Rogue DNA plays key role in heart failure.

JAPAN – New photonics technology to spot and help cure diseases earlier.

JAPAN – Researchers at University of Bonn convert skin and umbilical cord cells directly into nerve cells.

SINGAPORE – IBN's 'Fish and Chips' may help accelerate drug discovery.

USA – Non-cancerous brain tumors linked to frequent dental X-rays.

USA – New cellular mechanism against viral infections uncovered.

USA – Study shows unified process of evolution in bacteria and sexual eukaryotes.

USA – Sugar production switch in liver may offer target for new diabetes therapies.

USA – Dengue changes gene activity, function of mosquito salivary glands.

USA – ORNL, Yale take steps toward fast, low-cost DNA sequencing device.

USA – Normal tissue cells have "personal space" issues.

USA – Scientists discover key enzymes that uncross chromosomes.

USA – New Brain-Machine Interface Moves Paralyzed Hand.

USA – Researchers Find Evidence of Banned Antibiotics in Poultry Products.

The following topics are under this section:

• Asia-Pacific — MIT's research enterprise in Singapore (SMART) launches new research group, boosting nation's cell therapy R&D
• Asia-Pacific — Potential cancer treatment strategies for humans from mechanisms behind low cancer occurrence in bats
• Asia-Pacific — Singapore scientists uncover mechanism behind development of viral infections
• Asia-Pacific — Exosomes found to aid in fighting Dengue infection
• Asia-Pacific — National platforms created to accelerate Singapore's drug development efforts
• Rest of the World — Cybersecurity company threat report details cyberattacks targeting the healthcare industry
• Rest of the World — Artificial intelligence – designed influenza vaccine begins clinical trials in the US
• Rest of the World — Clinical – stage biotechnology company presents Murlentamab phase II study results in colorectal cancer

To define a vaccination policy and antiviral treatment against the spreading of viral infections a nonlinear optimal (H-infinity) control approach is proposed. Actually, because of the scarcity of the resources for treating infectious diseases in terms of vaccines, antiviral drugs and other medical facilities, there is need to implement optimal control against the epidemics deployment. In this approach, the state-space model of the epidemics dynamics undergoes first approximate linearization around a temporary operating point which is recomputed at each time-step of the control method. The linearization is based on Taylor series expansion and on the computation of the associated Jacobian matrices. Next, an optimal (H-infinity) feedback controller is developed for the approximately linearized model of the epidemics. To compute the controller’s feedback gains an algebraic Riccati equation is solved at each iteration of the control algorithm. Furthermore, the global asymptotic stability properties of the control scheme are proven through Lyapunov stability analysis. This paper’s results confirm that optimal control of the infectious disease dynamics allows for eliminating its spreading while also keeping moderate the consumption of the related medication, that is vaccines and antiviral drugs.

Although cancer has been considered a disease of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the fundamental dogma that cancer is the result of cumulative mutations that alter specific locations in a cell's DNA is facing challenges. Several major hypotheses of carcinogenesis associated with epi-genetic factors are reviewed. Warburg proposed that cancer is caused by irreversible damage to the aerobic respiration capacity of normal cells; Pauling suggested that a deficiency of vitamin C was a cause of carcinogenesis; and Szent-Györgyi proposed a bioelectrical conductivity hypothesis. Deficiency of micronutrients such as folic acid, vitamin B₆, B₁₂, choline, methionine, iron, and zinc are factors that cause cancer. A decrease of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides concentration and niacin deficiency are also suggested to be involved in the evolution of cancer formation. Dysfunctional gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) caused by environmental carcinogens was proposed to be a cause of cancer. The alterations in DNA methylation is also considered to be a cause of carcinogenesis. Chromosomal abnormalities and viral infections also cause cancers. Each hypothesis, which has survived long scrutiny and many trials, led to a valuable study of a particular facet in the complicated processes related to both normal and cancerous cells. It is important to study how these various hypotheses are interrelated and attempt to integrate all different facets of cancer cells into a plausible mechanism of carcinogenesis. It would also be beneficial for future research efforts to study the synergistic effects of both epigenetic factors and genetic alterations on normal cells.