DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are the most dangerous form of DNA damage and need to be repaired efficiently in order to maintain genomic stability. The kinase ATM becomes activated upon recognition of DSBs and transduces this into cell cycle checkpoint activation and DNA repair. There are two main pathways by which DSBs can be repaired: Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombi...

The provision of pure enantiomers is of increasing importance not only for the pharmaceutical industry but also for agrochemistry and biotechnology. In general, there are two rival approaches to provide pure enantiomers. The "chiral" approach is based on developing an asymmetric synthesis of just one of the enantiomers, while the "racemic" approach is based on separating mixtures of the two ena...

At the request of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), non-anatomic (non-TNM) classifications were evaluated and important classifications incorporated into staging recommendations for oesophageal cancer in the 7th edition of the Cancer Staging Manual [1]. Cancer location, histopathological cell type and histological grade were demonstrated to enhance cancer staging [2]. Adenocarcinom...

Antibiotic resistance surveys are published widely, citing percentage resistance rates, sometimes for vast transcontinental regions. Such data seem straightforward, but when one drills deeper, great complexity emerges. Rates for methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus from bacteraemias vary from <1% to 50% among European countries, and vary greatly among both hospitals and hospital u...