What if our immune system could cure cancer? This logic seems almost too simple to be true, but it forms the basis of an emerging cancer treatment—immunotherapy. André Veillette, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) / Montreal Clinical Research Institute and a professor of Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine,...
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Test run finds no cancer risk from stem cell therapy
A colony of induced pluripotent stem cells. Blue fluorescence indicates cell nuclei; red and green are markers of pluripotency. Therapeutic stem cells can be made without introducing genetic changes that could later lead to cancer, a study in PLOS Genetics has found. The discovery, made by researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, is a boost...
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Fighting cancer with immunotherapy: Signaling molecule causes regression of blood vessels
A microscopic image of tumor tissue under the influence of TNF (left) and IFN- γ (right). Red blood cells are pictured in a magenta color. TNF bursts the blood vessels and releases large amounts of blood cells, whereas IFN-γ lets vessels retreat. Immunotherapy with T-cells offers great hope to people suffering from cancer. Some...
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Annual flu jab may pose greater risk for lung cancer patients under immunotherapy
Lung cancer patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors may be at increased risk of adverse events after receiving the seasonal influenza vaccination, according to the first study measuring this effect. The results, presented today at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, offer the first hint of a possible contraindication with two...
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High rate of tumor shrinkage among pancreatic cancer patients: study
Adding cisplatin to the standard gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel drug treatment provided a very high rate of tumor shrinkage for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, according to the results of a pilot clinical trial conducted by the HonorHealth Research Institute and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). These statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall response and...
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Nanoparticle vaccine shows potential as immunotherapy to fight multiple cancer types
Laser light can be seen scattered by nanoparticles in a solution of the UTSW-developed nanovaccine. Researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a first-of-its-kind nanoparticle vaccine immunotherapy that targets several different cancer types. The nanovaccine consists of tumor antigens — tumor proteins that can be recognized by the immune system — inside a synthetic...
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Apple is working on the ‘holy grail’ of diabetes by creating a wearable sensor that tracks blood sugar levels
Apple has hired a team of biomedical engineers as part of the secret initiative They hope to develop a non-invasive monitor for diabetes and blood-sugar levels Up to 30 people are working on the project which has be running for five years Apple is known more for trend setting technology than for advances in medicine. But...
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Direct 4D printing via active composite materials
Abstract We describe an approach to print composite polymers in high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) architectures that can be rapidly transformed to a new permanent configuration directly by heating. The permanent shape of a component results from the programmed time evolution of the printed shape upon heating via the design of the architecture and process parameters of...
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Smart plaster that tells doctors how you feel: Tiny sensors within bandages will detect infections and blood clotting before reporting back to medics
Smart bandages can now detect how well a wound is healing and let you know Sensors are fitted into dressings that can spot infections, pick up blood clotting The plaster could also connect to a smartphone to track other health concerns Smart bandages that can detect how well a wound is healing and send messages...
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Wearable sweat sensor can diagnose cystic fibrosis, study finds
A wearable sensor developed by Stanford researchers can diagnose diseases by measuring molecular constituents of sweat, such as chloride ions and glucose. A wristband-type wearable sweat sensor could transform diagnostics and drug evaluation for cystic fibrosis, diabetes and other diseases. The sensor collects sweat, measures its molecular constituents and then electronically transmits the results for...