LONDON: Scientists have developed a new drug which they claim can put cancerous cells to sleep to stop them from multiplying.
The drug called Aflibercept tricks tumours into becoming dormant by flipping molecular switches in the structure of the cancer so it cannot spread.
Positive results are being seen already in the UK, where trials have seen patients enjoy a "significant" extension of life, the Daily Mail reported. More than 1,400 patients were involved in trials, with some participants with advanced bowel cancer who had already had chemotherapy prolonged life by two years.
Scientists think the drug could be used across a range of different cancers in future studies.
A report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology said Aflibercept had a 'statistically significant survival benefit' compared to conventional drug regimes treating bowel cancer that had spread after initial treatment.
"The trial results were positive . Around 10,000 patients a year die from bowel cancer and most of them are having some form of chemotherapy so it is theoretically applicable to those," said Dr Rob Glynne Jones, Macmillan Clinical Lead for Gastrointestinal Cancer at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, Middlesex, said.
"I am sure this drug will have a research programme and they will be extending it to all other cancers. Maybe they will find other cancers where it may be more effective," Jones said.
Aflibercept is administered as a 30-minute infusion alongside chemotherapy. It is available in the US, and European approval is expected soon, the paper said.
Protein tied to breast cancer growth found
Scientists have discovered a protein "partner" used by breast cancer cells to unlock genes needed for spreading the disease around the body. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University found that "the protein JMJD2C is the key that opens up a whole suite of genes needed for tumours to grow and metastasize".
| Human brain, Internet and Cosmos have same structures' |
| Press Trust of India / Washington November 25, 2012, 15:35 |
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Researchers found that the structure of the universe and the laws that govern its growth share more similarities than previously thought to the structure and growth of the human brain and other complex networks, such as the Internet or a social network of trust relationships between people.
"By no means do we claim that the universe is a global brain or a computer," said Dmitri Krioukov, co-author of the study from the University of California (UC), San Diego.
Structural and dynamical similarities among different real networks suggest that some universal laws might be in action, although the nature and common origin of such laws remain elusive.
By performing complex supercomputer simulations of the universe and using a variety of other calculations, researchers have now proven that the causal network representing the large-scale structure of space and time in our accelerating universe is a graph that shows remarkable similarity to many complex networks such as the Internet, social, or even biological networks.
"These findings have key implications for both network science and cosmology.
"We discovered that the large-scale growth dynamics of complex networks and causal networks are asymptotically (at large times) the same, explaining the structural similarity between these networks," noted Krioukov.
"This is a perfect example of interdisciplinary research combining math, physics, and computer science in totally unexpected ways.
"Who would have guessed that the emergence of our universe's four-dimensional spacetime from the quantum vacuum would have anything to do with the growth of the Internet? Causality is at the heart of both, so perhaps the similarity Krioukov and his collaborators found is to be expected." said San Diego Supercomputer Center, Director Michael Norman.
The network representing the structure of the universe is astronomically huge – in fact it can be infinite. But even if it is finite, researchers' best guess is that it is no smaller than 10250 atoms of space and time.
Super-Earths Get Magnetic 'Shield' from Liquid Metal
by Charles Q. Choi, SPACE.com Contributor
Date: 22 November 2012 Time: 02:01 PM ET
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A new study suggests that the extreme pressures inside
so-called super-Earth planets may create liquid magnesium oxide, a
liquid metal, suggesting that similar processes may help create
protective magnetic fields around the worlds. This image depicts a
laser-shock experiment on Earth that recreated conditions deep within
the planet as part of the study. Image released Nov. 22, 2012. CREDIT: Eugene Kowaluk, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester |
Among the hundreds of extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that astronomers have discovered in recent years are so-called "super-Earths," which are rocky planets like Earth but larger, at up to 10 times its mass. Scientists have discovered super-Earths that may support oceans of water on their surfaces on their surfaces, and others that may even be planets made of diamond.
The increased mass of super-Earths would bring about internal pressures much greater than Earth's. Such high pressures would lead to large viscosities and high melting temperatures, meaning the interiors of super-Earths might not separate into rocky mantles and metallic cores like Earth's does.
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