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(National Science Foundation) In a recent study, researchers demonstrated that conditional small RNA molecules can effectively kill lab-grown human brain, prostate and bone cancer cells in a mutation-specific manner. The treatment separates the "diagnosis" and "treatment" aspects of chemotherapy, so a cell is killed if -- and only if -- it is diagnosed with a mutation.

(JAMA and Archives Journals) A pilot study suggests the hallucinogen psilocybin may be feasible and safe to administer to patients with advanced-stage cancer and anxiety, with promising effects on mood, according to a report published online today that will appear in the January 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

(Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed)) In the first human study of its kind to be published in more than 35 years, researchers found psilocybin, an hallucinogen which occurs naturally in "magic mushrooms," can safely improve the moods of patients with advanced-stage cancer and anxiety.

(Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) The Sao Paulo Research Foundation presents the Marine Biodiversity Workshop: Recent Improvements in Bioprospection, Biogeography and Phylogeography to be held on September 9 and 10. This scientific meeting is intended to stimulate the formation of research groups involving both Brazilian and foreign scientists towards the development of research on bioprospection, geographic distribution of sea organisms in the Brazilian Coast as well as the search for natural bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical production.

(University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio) A long-term study published in JAMA of women with a genetic predisposition for breast or ovarian cancer showed that those who elected preventive surgeries had a significantly reduced risk of those cancers.The study confirms the view of researcher Dr. Gail Tomlinson at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio that for women with genetic mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2, mastectomies and removal of fallopian tubes and ovaries can be worth it.

(University of Haifa) The researchers say that their study results show that suppression of melatonin due to exposure to LAN is linked to the worrying rise in the number of cancer patients over the past few years.

(Wiley-Blackwell) Patients who use cannabis for medicinal purposes pose a wide range of legal, ethical and medical dilemmas for the health care professionals looking after them according to an in-depth review just published. The study also found extreme caution about integrating cannabis derivative medications into mainstream medical use.

(University of Minnesota) The September cover story of the nation's leading cancer journal, "Cancer Research," features a new study from The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, that links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer.

(University of Edinburgh) Scientists have built a clearer picture of how lengthy strands of DNA are concertinaed when our cells grow and divide, in a discovery could help explain how cell renewal can go wrong.

(University of Georgia) A research team at the University of Georgia has shown for the first time that a gene called Myc, which is traditionally thought of as a cancer-causing gene, may be far more important in the development and persistence of stem cells than was known before.