A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center finds that, in healthy women, some breast cells that otherwise appear normal may contain chromosome abnormalities typically associated with invasive breast cancer. The findings question conventional thinking on the genetic origins of breast cancer, which could influence early cancer detection methods.

The study, published today in Nature, discovered that at least 3% of normal cells from breast tissue in 49 healthy women contain a gain or loss of chromosomes, a condition known as aneuploidy, and that they expand and accumulate with age. This poses questions for our understanding of “normal” tissues, according to principal investigator Nicholas Navin, Ph.D., chair of Systems Biology.

Researchers explain how individual cells are capable of rudimentary forms of learning previously thought exclusive to organisms with brains. By using mathematical simulations, they demonstrate that cells can adjust their responses to repeated stimuli through simple molecular circuits which could be a type of cellular ‘memory’, effectively helping cells "remember" and "learn" from experience. The findings could represent an important shift in how we view the fundamental units of life. If single cells can “remember," it could also help explain how cancer cells develop resistance to chemotherapy or how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.

 A Georgia State University startup company focused on developing cancer-fighting tools and treatments is making new strides by advancing its technology to the next phase of clinical trials.

Georgia State’s Office of Technology Transfer reports that Da Zen Theranostics is preparing an innovation known as DZ-002 for its next significant milestone, with Phase II clinical trials set to begin early next year.