Bats could hold the key to unlocking new ways to combat cancer, a new study suggests. A paper published by Oxford University Press, looks at the rapid evolution of bats for their abilities to both host and survive infections such as Covid-19 as well as cancer. The animals are known to have a strong immune system which helps fight off many viruses and diseases. These mammals are also thought to have played a role in the emergence of Covid-19 and scientists say such characteristics are interesting to investigate due to the implications it might have on human health. According to the research, understanding the mechanisms of the bat’s immune system that allows these animals to fight off viral infections – may pave the way to understanding how to prevent disease outbreaks from animals to people. To conduct the study, researchers sequenced the genomes of two bat species - the Jamaican fruit bat and the Mesoamerican mustached bat. The team used advanced technology from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and bat samples collected by the American Museum of Natural History in Belize. They then compared the bat genomes to those of other mammals. The results revealed that bats possessed genetic adaptations in proteins which are related to DNA repair and cancer suppression. It was found that bats had adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 cancer-related proteins. The study also found that bats had more than double the number of altered cancer-related genes compared to other mammals, which provided further evidence that they have the ability to suppress cancer. “By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals we continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes,” said the paper’s lead author, Armin Scheben. “These investigations are the first step towards translating research on the unique biology of bats into insights relevant to understanding and treating ageing and diseases, such as cancer, in humans.” The results open up new paths for understanding and studying the links between cancer and immunity, which offers hope that these insights from bats might possibly lead to new treatments for human illnesses. According to the United States Department of the Interior, there are over 1,400 species of bats worldwide and are mostly found in extreme deserts and polar regions. In the US and Canada, there are about 45 species of bats. Read More British bats ‘can help identify coronaviruses with potential to infect humans’ Coronavirus origins still a mystery 3 years into pandemic Groundbreaking migraine treatment offers ‘new hope’ for patients World Sepsis Day: What is the condition and its symptoms? Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor says he’s ‘asymptomatic’ after end-of-life diagnosis

At least one person is dead and six injured including two children as Russian shelling continue to hammer Ukraine‘s southern region of Kherson overnight. On the Telegram messaging app the governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian forces had launched 71 attacks in the past 24 hours, “aimed at the residential districts”, as well as shops and medical infrastructure, among other establishments. Twenty of the air and land attacks targeted the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative district, the governor added, while authorities promptly doused a fire sparked by shelling early on Monday. It came as Yevgeny Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son, Pavel Prigozhin, has been making moves to take over command of the Wagner Group, according to a US thinktank. He is negotiating with the Russian national guard, Rosgvardia, over having the mercenary organisation rejoin combat in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said, citing a prominent Telegram channel affiliated with the group. At a ceremony at his father’s grave in St Petersburg, Pavel laid flowers alongside Prigozhin’s mother. Supporters waved the black flags of Wagner which sport a skull and the motto “Blood, Honour, Motherland, Courage”. Read More Ukraine ‘hits power substation’ in drone attacks on Russian border regions Putin’s shameless UN charm offensive - with stolen grain from Ukraine Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's Olympic doping case will resume for two more days in November Ukraine's Zelenskyy taps celebrities for roles as special adviser and charity ambassador

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SHIMOTSUKE-SHI, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 27, 2023--

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EDP445, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, used to post vlogs and mukbangs on his channel