Just another day in the life of a carbon nanotube

Carbon Nanotubes Boost Cancer-Fighting Cells

-One defensive strategy in the human immune system utilizes T cells, which are able to detect bad stuff in the body, replicate in lymph nodes, and then induce a strong immune response.
-Tumor cells are able to survive because they prevent tumor-specific T cells from replicating and therefore suppress any immune response.
-A technique called 'Adoptive Immunotherapy' is a treatment option, where patient's blood is drawn and T cells are stimulated and replicated in the lab before being transferred back into the patient.
-A major drawback right now is that it can take several weeks until sufficient T cells are produced.

-Yale scientists have found that carbon nanotubes mimic lymph nodes in the lab and reduce the time to produce enough tumor-fighting T cells by 1/3.
-All that is needed now is find an efficient way of removing the carbon nanotubes before re-injecting the T cells into the patient.

One small step for man, One giant leap for cancer treatment

(PhysOrg.com)
-'DNA -> RNA -> Protein' is the central dogma of genetics.
-A good way for me to remember complex scientific concepts is to put them in context with something simpler that I understand.
-For me the best context for this genetic concept is comparing it to opening a zip file on the computer.
     -Say you have a zip file (DNA). You cannot simply open the zip file, because it is only useful for storage.
     -In order to open the zip file you must first unzip it (transcription) into a readable file (RNA).
     -Now, when you try and open the unzipped file (RNA) it results in something usable such as a word document, pdf, or mp3 (protein).

-Most anticancer drugs target certain proteins unique to the growth and survival of tumor cells.
-These therapeutics have some limitations because of the 3-D shapes of proteins and the possibility of mutations which 'hide' the protein from the drug without changing the protein's use for the cell.
-A new approach using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targets a type of RNA in the cell called messenger RNA (mRNA).

-Unlike protein, mRNA is linear in shape (no bends/folds to hide itself) and has fewer potential mutations.
-This therapy is very exciting because it allows for the indirect targeting of virtually every protein.
-A major hurdle of this therapy (other than getting the siRNA into the cell is targeting only the tumor cell(s).
-Solution = packing the siRNA into nanoparticles which bind only to cancerous cells, then release the siRNA into the bound tumor cell.
-Most importantly, this combined treatment was found to be effective in a human patient during a phase I clinical trial.
-This therapy is being developed for treating cancer, but I can see it being utilized for treating nearly every disease.

I love gooooold. But cancer sure doesn't

ScienceDaily (2010-03-16)
-"Magic Bullets" are highly targeted medical treatments which are the ultimate goal for drug development.
-Cancer has evaded these so-called bullets because of drastic changes in tumors between (1) different stages of cancer development, (2) different organs/tissues of the body, and (3) different patients.
-A new treatment developed at Washington University in St. Louis may be able to target cancer cells and selectively kill them with minimal damage to healthy cells.
-The technique is called 'Photothermal Therapy' and involves injecting gold nanocages into a patient's bloodstream (gold is inert and therefore nontoxic at low levels).
-Some of these 'golden bullet' nanocages accumulate at the tumor site (~6%) through leaky blood vessels (a commonality between tumor).
-A laser is then shone on the tumor site and the nanocages present convert light into heat which leads to the death of the tumor cells and has little/no effect on the surrounding healthy cells.
-This treatment was shown to work in a mouse model, but with the way things are currently for translating developments from the lab-to-clinic, this technology should be available in 100 years or so.
-This treatment isn't perfect yet, more research has begun on actively targeting cancer cells so fewer particles need to be injected, but is a huge tool in treating cancer which could be effective right now!

Frozen boobies

ScienceDaily (2010-03-20)
-Once again, an article that hits close to home since my mom was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer over 2 years ago.
-Women (and some men) diagnosed with breast cancer have many treatment options which usually involve invasive surgery to remove the tumor(s) and chemotherapy to ensure the death of any remaning cancerous cells.
-Unfortunately, these treatments can be expensive, uncomfortable, and long-lasting as well as resulting in drastic physical changes after a mastectomy (breast removal) most often leading to further plastic surgery.
-A new technique called 'image-guided multiprobe cryotherapy' solves most/all of those complications.
-Needles small enough to be inserted into the body through a small skin nick instead of a surgical operation are guided to the tumor site using ultrasound, CT, or MR imaging before releasing "ice balls" which selectively destroy tumor cells.