Artificial protein can reprogram cells to become self-regulating "smart cells"

Proteins are the workhorses of the cell, but nature sometimes has room for improvement. Now a team from the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD) and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) has created a new … Continue reading Artificial protein can reprogram cells to become self-regulating "smart cells"

Coating immune cells in nanoparticles helps seek and destroy rogue cancer cells

One of the main reasons cancer can be so difficult to beat is because of its ability to spread through the body, even after the primary tumor has been surgically removed. But now researchers from Vanderbilt University have developed a new tec… Continue reading Coating immune cells in nanoparticles helps seek and destroy rogue cancer cells

Chemists concoct polyester "cells" that may plug gaps in origins of life

The missing link of evolution is often thought of as a step between apes and humans, but the biggest gap lies between non-living matter and the earliest living cells. A new study has found a mechanism that may have helped droplets transition … Continue reading Chemists concoct polyester "cells" that may plug gaps in origins of life

Newly-discovered cells help patch up scarred hearts

As important and durable as it is, the heart has quite a lot of difficulty in repairing itself after sustaining damage. But now, researchers from the University of Calgary have found a previously unidentified cell population in the fluid that… Continue reading Newly-discovered cells help patch up scarred hearts

FDA approves risky new type of cancer drug – with caveats

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval to a new cancer drug called selinexor. This pill, which also goes by the market name Xpovio, has been found to be successful in treating multiple myeloma in patients t… Continue reading FDA approves risky new type of cancer drug – with caveats

Coating cells in hydrogel help protect implanted tissue from the immune system

Bone marrow transplants are a common treatment for certain conditions related to the blood, but the patient’s immune system can often react badly to the foreign cells and attack them. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may help, but they too ca… Continue reading Coating cells in hydrogel help protect implanted tissue from the immune system

MIT supercharges cancer immunotherapy with a booster vaccine

Our bodies have powerful built-in defenses in the form of the immune system, but sometimes it needs an extra push. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy involves reprogramming T-cells to hunt down cancer, which has been effective aga… Continue reading MIT supercharges cancer immunotherapy with a booster vaccine

MIT study identifies dynamic drug duo that's surprisingly effective against cancer

The top image shows a cell undergoing normal cell division, while the bottom three images show ...

A huge range of drugs are in development to help fight cancer, but sometimes they work better in pairs than alone. Now researchers at MIT have identified a surprising new dynamic drug duo, combining two classes that are already beginning to be widely used. Interestingly, the combo appears to work in a completely different way to what scientists previously expected.

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Continue Reading MIT study identifies dynamic drug duo that’s surprisingly effective against cancer

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Continue reading MIT study identifies dynamic drug duo that's surprisingly effective against cancer

Velcro-like proteins keep cancer drugs inside the cancer

There’s no shortage of techniques to kill cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but the really tricky part is doing so without harming the rest of the body. Cytokines are small proteins that could play a part in immunotherapy, but th… Continue reading Velcro-like proteins keep cancer drugs inside the cancer

Detailed lung cell map uncovers new pieces of the asthma puzzle

Considering how common asthma is, it’s rather surprising that we don’t know all that much about how the condition works. Now, as part of the Human Cell Atlas initiative researchers have mapped the different types of cells in the lungs, and sp… Continue reading Detailed lung cell map uncovers new pieces of the asthma puzzle