Antibiotics are increasingly ineffective due to the increase of multidrug-resistant bacteria and scientists are struggling to find alternative ways to fight deadly infections. But what if we could simply make existing antibiotics work better? Scientists at the University of Surrey in collaboration with research partners at the University of Sheffield and University of Würzburg, Germany, […]
‘A significant number of cancer treatments may have no benefit over existing treatments or a placebo,’ remarked a senior cancer researcher recently, ‘giving some patients false hope.’ Giving ‘false hope’ is one of the common charges laid against non-drug ways of supporting cancer patients, even though it is an oxymoron. However the opening sentence (which […]
For many people, October represents cosy jumpers, falling leaves and a plethora of pumpkins. But for Breast Cancer Now, October means only one thing: Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). Throughout the year our supporters are relentlessly raising money for world-class breast cancer research, whether by rattling collection tins, running marathons, or baking up a storm. […]
Magic mushrooms may ease depression by ‘resetting’ the activity of key brain circuits of patients where conventional treatments have failed. That’s the key finding of a study by researchers from Imperial College London who used psilocybin – the psychoactive compound that occurs naturally in magic mushrooms – to treat a small number of patients with […]
Stealing from the body is how cancer recharges its batteries, according to research published in the journal, Blood. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA), funded by the Rosetrees Trust and The Big C Charity, found that healthy bone marrow stromal cells were made to transfer their power-generating mitochondria to neighbouring cancer cells, effectively […]
Can worms really be loving parents? For many millions of years worms have led a simple life in which they feed off the bacteria that exist in the fermenting environments they live in. Although they have a simple nervous system, they have cleverly learnt to avoid bad bacteria that would harm them. They perpetuate generations […]
The Rosetrees Trust is a unique charity which works on the basis of venture philanthropy for medical research. In other words, we invest relatively small sums for big ideas and help cutting edge projects get off the ground. Thirty years after the charity was established by my parents on the occasion of their Golden Wedding Anniversary […]
“Sometimes chromosomes can break and get reattached to a different one in an unusual way. This results in a fusion between one gene and another which makes a new gene, called a gene fusion. Cancer cells often have gene fusions which happen because the DNA in cancer cells is really messed up such as the […]
The European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) has launched an intuitive online Trials Map, where medical and surgical trials from across the world will be hosted and available to practitioners. The Trials Map is aimed at encouraging participation in and the sharing of trials relating to coloproctology. In having some of the most innovative trials hosted […]
Researchers are looking for ways eliminate the need for bone marrow donors altogether and instead use different types of cells derived from the patient in need of a transplant, says Dr Vladislav Sandler. At the moment, people who develop leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases often need to undergo a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (“HSCT”). This […]