In order to sustain fast growth, cancer cells need to take up nutrients at a faster rate than healthy cells. The human glutamine transporter ASCT2 allows the amino acid glutamine to enter cells and is upregulated in many types of cancer cells, which need more glutamine. It is a potential target for new anti-cancer drugs.

An international collaborative led by Ludwig Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK has identified key areas that are central to uncovering the complex relationship between nutrition and cancer. Advancing research on these core areas using a holistic, cross-disciplinary approach could catalyze progress urgently needed to prevent cancer and improve public health globally.

Like to unwind with a glass of red wine after a stressful day? Don't give alcohol all the credit. New research has revealed that the plant compound resveratrol, which is found in red wine, displays anti-stress effects by blocking the expression of an enzyme related to the control of stress in the brain, according to a University at Buffalo-led study.

A promising vaccine that clears an HIV-like virus from monkeys is closer to human testing after a new, weakened version of the vaccine has been shown to provide similar protection as its original version. A pair of papers published July 17 in Science Translational Medicine describe how the vaccine - which uses a form of the common herpes virus cytomegalovirus, or CMV - was live-attenuated, or weakened so CMV couldn't spread as easily.

Big pharma and other drug developers are grappling with a dilemma: the era of blockbuster drugs is coming to an end. At the same time, adding new drugs to their portfolios is slow and expensive. It takes on average 10-15 years and $1.5-2B to get a new drug to market; approximately half of this time and investment is devoted to clinical trials.

Living a healthy lifestyle may help offset a person's genetic risk of dementia, according to new research. The study was led by the University of Exeter - simultaneously published today in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2019 in Los Angeles.

Pharmaceutical companies' payments to doctors may be influencing them to prescribe more expensive, brand-name versions of the pain drug gabapentin, a team of researchers report in the July 8 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, and the increasing use of the drug suggests it may be being abused.