French bulldogs at risk of various health problems.

French bulldogs at risk of various health problems.French Bulldogs, predicted soon to become the most popular dog breed in the UK, are vulnerable to a number of health conditions, according to a new study published in the open access journal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology. Researchers at The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), UK found that the most common issues in French Bulldogs over a one year period were ear infections, diarrhea and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye surface). Dr. Dan O'Neill, RVC Senior Lecturer and the main author, said: "French Bulldogs are a relatively new arrival to the list of common UK breeds so there is very little current research on them in the UK. Our study -- the first on this breed in the UK -- is based on anonymised records gathered from hundreds of UK vet clinics. It provides owners with information on the issues that they could expect and should look out for in French Bulldogs. It may also help potential new owners to decide if a French Bulldog really is for them." Dr. O'Neill adds: "One of the interesting finding from our research is that male French Bulldogs appear to be less healthy than females. Males were more likely to get 8 of the 26 most common health problems while there were no issues that females were more likely to get than males."

'Anti-evolution' drugs could be the key to finally curing cancer.

Cancer researchers are coming together to create a new generation of so-called ‘anti-evolution’ therapies, which they say will combat the disease’s “lethal ability to adapt and evade treatment”. Experts from The Institute of Cancer Research in London teamed up with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and have launched a roadmap for overcoming what they call ‘the cancer evolution’.The plan sets out how big data analysis can identify cancer’s capacity to sidestep treatment by evolving drug resistance, and uncover game-changing new treatments. Cancers evolve and adapt much as animals and plants do in response to changes in the environment, or bacteria do when they become resistant to antibiotics. Patients may initially respond to cancer treatment, but they often then relapse as their disease evolves and becomes resistant. The scientists will therefore use big data to predict how cancers will evolve and their escape routes from treatment, which they say will allow them to design state-of-the-art clinical trials, assessing the best ways of combining new anti-evolution therapies. See

DOCTORS USE GENETICALLY MODIFIED ADENO VIRUS TO ATTACK TUMOR CELLS.

Researchers in Argentina say they have genetically modified an adenovirus – which can cause colds, conjunctivitis and bronchitis – to home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue. Scientific journal Nature reported in October last year that cancer-fighting viruses had started to win approval. Dr. Osvaldo Podhjacer, Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Therapy at the Fundacion Instituto Leloir in Buenos Aires, and his team developed an ‘oncolytic’ virus designed to target both malignant cells and tumor-associated stromal cells. This is a virus, which, by genetic modification, we have restricted their infectivity exclusively to malignant cells. In spite of the fact that originally, the virus can infect normal cells and cause colds, conjunctivitis and bronchitis. There is need for immunotherapy, because in addition to the changes made to restrict the infection only to malignant cells, it also has a gene that exacerbates the immune response. Then there is a direct attack on the tumor initial and an additional immunological response which in principle eliminates the residual tumor, which was not eliminated by the virus and disseminated metastases. “These viruses are very effective in pre-clinical models of cancer, we have tested and in particular, ovarian cancer and melanoma but we also have other viruses for pancreatic and colon rectal cancer. These are non-toxic and they are as important as their therapeutic efficacy, where we have managed to reverse the levels of liver enzymes to a normal level with animals that have a tumor. These levels become very high due to the toxicity. In general terms, it allows us to qualify this virus as an ideal candidate to be taken to a clinical trial in humans beings, Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/gm-adenovirus-used-by-doctors-to-attack-tumor-cells/#mFksmxHRsSPdOXiV.99

Cancer risk study suggests meat and sugar are bad, while plants are good

Cancer risk study suggests meat and sugar are bad, while plants are good

Sharks and secret cure to breast cancer in human

ACCORDING TO RECENT WORK, sharks are fingered in the cure of breast cancer.In Melbourne, Sept 27 (ANI): Researchers have claimed that a type of antibody found only in the blood of sharks could help tackle breast cancer. It is thought that the unique IgNAR antibodies could be used to prevent the growth of cancer cells and research into them could lead to the development of new drugs to fight one of the most common form of the disease, News.com.au reported. Biologists from the University of Aberdeen have been awarded 345,660 Australian dollars by Scottish cancer research charity the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) to carry out a three-year study. Their work will focus on two molecules, HER2 and HER3, found on the surface of cancer cells which, when they pair-up, are responsible for signalling cancer cells to grow and divide. Potentially, IgNAR antibodies could be used to stop these molecules from working and sending the signal. Dr Helen Dooley who is from the university's School of Biological Sciences and will lead the study sais that IgNAR antibodies are interesting because they bind to targets, such as viruses or parasites, in a very different way to the antibodies found in humans. (ANI) ANIMAL HEALTH= HUMAN HEALTH.