Researchers have identified 788 biomarkers in blood that could be used to develop an early stage cancer screening test for the general population. The study, led by the University of Sheffield, is the first to create a comprehensive list of relevant cancer blood biomarkers that have been researched in the last five years.

In what is being called the first-ever test of open-source drug-discovery, researchers from around the world have successfully identified compounds to pursue in treating and preventing parasite-borne illnesses such as malaria as well as cancer. Starting in late 2011, the Medicines for Malaria Venture, based in Geneva, Switzerland, distributed 400 diverse compounds with antimalarial activity free of charge to 200 labs in 30 countries.

In addition to its more obvious ills, type 2 diabetes is a condition closely associated with bone fractures, increasing the risk of fractures twofold. To make matters worse, certain anti-diabetic drugs further increase this risk, particularly in postmenopausal women, severely limiting their treatment options.

Telomerase, an enzyme naturally found in the human organism, is the closest of all known substances to a "cellular elixir of youth." In a recent study, Brazilian and US researchers show that sex hormones can stimulate production of this enzyme. The strategy was tested in patients with genetic diseases associated with mutations in the gene that codes for telomerase, such as aplastic anemia and pulmonary fibrosis.

Adding a novel monoclonal antibody therapy to traditional chemotherapy increased median survival by nearly a year in patients with advanced sarcoma, a lethal soft-tissue cancer. Findings from a multicenter clinical trial of the combination therapy, led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, represent the first appreciable improvement in sarcoma outcomes in decades.

Investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine have learned the signal that tumor cells display on their surfaces to protect themselves from being devoured by the immune system also plays a role in enabling atherosclerosis, the process underlying heart attacks and strokes.

Walking briskly on a regular basis may be more effective than vigorous jogging for improving glucose control in individuals with pre-diabetes, according to research from Duke Health. The findings, published online July 15 in the journal Diabetologia, are the result of a randomized, six-month study of 150 participants, each of whom was designated as having pre-diabetes based on elevated fasting glucose levels.