An international team of researchers from Leeds, London and Berlin has discovered more about the function of muscle stem cells, thanks to next-generation DNA sequencing techniques.

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Giant platelets are shown here on a blood smear. Image: wikipedia/Bobjgalindo

MIT cancer biologists determine how platelets in the bloodstream help cancer cells form new tumors.

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office
November 15, 2011
Repost from MIT News

About 90 percent of cancer deaths are caused by secondary tumors, known as metastases, which spread from the original tumor site.

To become mobile and break free from the original tumor, cancer cells need help from other cells in their environment. Many cells have been implicated in this process, including immune system cells and cells that form connective tissue. Another collaborator in metastasis is platelets, the blood cells whose normal function is to promote blood clotting.

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The following article, while not Canadian, gives a stark reality to what you may see on the road. The drugs mentioned are ones you should definitely know for their various uses.

November 16, 2011

(AP) — More than 20 percent of American adults took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression in 2010, according to an analysis of prescription data, including more than one in four women.

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Image provided by ADHD CENTER

Published: 16 Nov 11 08:19 CET

Scientists in central Germany are working on a method with which they reckon they could diagnose Alzheimer’s disease years before any symptoms are noticed – by looking up patients’ noses.

An early diagnosis would give people the chance to try to slow the development of incurable dementia, said the researchers at the Technical University of Darmstadt.

Until now diagnosis has only been possible using radiological techniques such as computer or magnetic resonance tomography – or memory tests, the scientists said in a statement on Tuesday. But these do not allow for an early diagnosis.
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