Research led by the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, China, shows that the action of a specific micro (mi) RNA can suppress cervical cancer growth and that mimicking and boosting this action could be used as a therapeutic approach for these patients. The team found that higher levels of…

New research published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology Clinical and Research Reports shows that Hummingbird Diagnostics’ blood-based 5-miRNA signature (miRisk) can predict survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high PD-L1 expression after they have received immunotherapy. The results point to miRisk being able to answer…

A research team, headed by scientists at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, has identified microRNAs (miRNAs) specific to accidental head impact and repetitive headers in soccer, which could potentially be useful as biomarkers of brain injury. Research lead Stian Bahr Sandmo, PhD, stated, “This is a relatively small sample-size…

Oncologists may soon be able to detect and quantify cancer biomarkers while their patients are still in the clinic using a test developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The test uses nanoparticles to capture tumor-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in human serum. These small, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs play an…

Early diagnosis of CNS tumors is complicated by the lack of early symptoms. Brain CT or MRI are definitive, but usually done only after the onset of noticeable symptoms when the cancer has spread or is otherwise inoperable due to a large tumor size. A study from Nagoya University found…

A new study has identified micro RNA (miRNA) MIR1249 as a key player in genetically altering cancer cells to become resistant to chemotherapy. This discovery opens new possibilities in the field of drug research and development, in that this miRNA could be a more favorable biomarker to target than more…

Scientists headed by a team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), now report on a new approach to diagnosing melanoma that uses microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers to indicate the presence of even just a few melanoma cells in biopsies of skin tumors that may contain predominantly benign cells. “miRNAs…

Researchers in the department of molecular biology at Princeton University have identified a microRNA (miRNA) that helps maintain the activity of stem cells in both healthy and cancerous breast tissue. The findings of the study “Normal and Cancerous Mammary Stem Cells Evade Interferon-Induced Constraint through the miR-199a–LCOR Axis” to be…

A trial comparing the self-replicating mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, developed by U.S. biotech Arcturus Therapeutics in collaboration with CSL, with BioNTech/Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine shows it is able to elicit better immune responses 12 months after vaccination than the approved mRNA vaccine. The self-amplifying technology developed by Arcturus allows quick and long-lasting…

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the blood could provide a new way to diagnose mild cognitive impairment and predict progression to dementia years before it is officially diagnosed, two studies suggest. The findings could lead to greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the plaques, tangles and brain atrophy that are hallmarks…

Targeted editing of a micro(mi)RNA mutation could help preserve the hearing of some patients genetically predisposed to deafness, a pre-clinical study indicates. The findings in mice suggest that CRISPR-Cas 9 gene editing of a mutation in miRNA-96 (Mir96) could be a potential strategy for preserving auditory function in humans. So…

Research led by the University of California San Diego (UCSD) shows that a panel of micro (mi)RNA biomarkers can predict preeclampsia and also indicate how severe the condition is likely to be. The researchers initially identified 110 extracellular miRNAs, which can move between cells, that were linked to preeclampsia before…

By Mike May, PhD Katherine Dunn, DPhilsenior lecturerUniversity of Edinburgh Blood tests play a crucial role in diagnosing cancer and tracking the impact of a treatment, but their potential far outstrips their current uses. For example, the cellular composition of a blood sample may suggest that…

Researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) working with commercial partner Oxford Nanopore Technologies have developed a method for DNA barcoding that allow nanopore sequencing to identify dozens of biomarkers in one test. The new method, reported today in Nature Nanotechnology, shows promise to identify specific biomarkers of diseases such as…

Purdue University researchers have developed a first-in-class microRNA (miRNA) therapy that slows tumor growth by targeting multiple genes at once, giving it the potential outperform current single-gene targeted agents. The therapy, tested in mouse models, combines a folate-based delivery system that targets cancer cells with a fully modified version of…