Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 12, 2022

A teen's cancer is in remission after she received new cells edited with CRISPR

A teenager with an aggressive form of leukemia now has no detectable cancer cells in her body, thanks to an experimental therapy in which the 13-year-old received new, genetically-tweaked immune cells. The patient, named Alyssa, seems to be in remission but will need to be closely monitored in the upcoming...

Jan 18, 2023

Some cancer cells grow stronger after chemo. Research hints at how to kill them.

As with weeds in a garden, it is a challenge to fully get rid of cancer cells in the body once they arise. They have a relentless need to continuously expand, even when they are significantly cut back by therapy or surgery. Even a few cancer cells can give rise...

Jan 25, 2023

Ants can detect the scent of cancer in urine

Ants can be trained to detect cancer in urine, a new study finds. Although ant sniffing is a long way from being used as a diagnostic tool in humans, the results are encouraging, the researchers said. Because ants lack noses, they use olfactory receptors on their antennae to help them...

Feb 24, 2023

Ovarian cancer: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Ovarian cancer occurs when cells in one or both ovaries proliferate out of control. Although women of all ages are susceptible to ovarian cancer, around half of those that are diagnosed are age 63 or older, according to the American Cancer Society. It also notes that in the past 20...

Mar 2, 2023

Breast cancer: Symptoms, treatment and prevention

Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells that starts in the breast tissue. About one in eight women in the United States will develop the condition in their lifetime, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is the second most common cancer in women, after skin cancer,...

Mar 13, 2023

Prostate cancer treatments can be avoided or delayed in many cases, huge study finds

Many men with prostate cancer can delay or skip harsh treatments, such as surgery or radiation, without undermining their chances of survival, a decades-long study finds. Instead, they can have their cancer actively monitored following diagnosis, rather than having their prostate removed or exposed to high-energy radiation. Such treatments can...

Mar 22, 2023

Hormonal birth control slightly increases breast cancer risk, regardless of type

Most, if not all, forms of hormonal birth control, from pills to implants to intrauterine devices (IUDs), increase the risk of developing breast cancer, a new study suggests. It was known that combination birth control, which contains both progestogen and estrogen, comes with a slight increase in breast cancer risk....

Apr 17, 2023

CRISPR-edited fat shrank tumors in mice. Someday, it could work in people, scientists say.

Fat sucked out of the body and tweaked with the gene-editing tool CRISPR could be used to treat cancer, a study of mice and transplanted human tissues hints. However, it remains to be seen whether the experimental therapy would be safe and effective in people. The new study found that...

Apr 23, 2023

Black patients may need breast cancer screenings earlier than what many guidelines recommend

In line with many current medical guidelines, doctors generally recommend that their female patients be regularly screened for breast cancer with mammograms starting at age 50. However, for Black patients, it may be better to start screening years earlier, because their risk of breast cancer death in their 40s is...

Apr 24, 2023

Does it matter what time of day you get cancer treatment?

The trillions of cells in the human body run to the rhythm of an ever-ticking clock. This internal timepiece is known as the circadian rhythm, where circadian stems from the Latin words circa diem, meaning around a day. In roughly 24-hour cycles, the functions of the body's tissues fluctuate, and...

May 2, 2023

New ultrasound device helps powerful chemo reach deadly brain cancers, human trial shows

The human brain is like a walled fortress: Nutrients, hormones and fuel are allowed to pass through its guarded gates, but pathogens and toxins are locked out. However, this barrier also blocks many drugs from reaching the brain, including potent chemotherapies that could help clear deadly cancers from the organ....

May 11, 2023

Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, expert task force says

Female patients should start getting mammograms to screen for breast cancer at age 40 and then get one every other year, a U.S. panel of experts has recommended. Previously, the same panel advised that regular breast cancer screening should begin at age 50. This new guidance was announced Tuesday (May...

Jun 5, 2023

Lung cancer pill drastically cuts risk of death after surgery

A once-daily pill halved people's risk of dying from a common lung cancer when they took the drug after tumor-removal surgery, new trial data shows. Made by the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Tagrisso, also known as osimertinib, reduced the five-year risk of death in lung cancer patients by 51%, according to...

Jun 6, 2023

AI predicts 5-year breast cancer risk better than standard tools — but we aren't sure how it works

Artificial intelligence (AI) can pinpoint patients at highest risk of developing breast cancer in the next five years better than a standard risk assessment used in the clinic, a study suggests. Doctors commonly predict a person's five-year risk of developing breast cancer using models that take into account the person's...

Jun 30, 2023

'Disappearing' Y chromosome in aging men may worsen bladder cancer, mouse study shows

Most men carry one X and one Y sex chromosome in each of their body's cells. However, over their lifetimes, many men start losing Y chromosomes in a portion of their cells, and this might hamper their ability to fight certain cancers, a new mouse study suggests. Loss of the...