The latest advances in detecting cancers through a blood test (a type of liquid biopsy) are exciting. After I read the blog posts by the NIH Director Francis Collins and by Derek Lowe, I started wondering where all this screening will lead. Whereas Collins emphasizes the encouraging aspects of the latest liquid biopsy results, Lowe … Read more
Coordinating growth with heart health ensures that the heart can keep up with the demands placed on it by the body. A recent study (1) identified a molecule called growth differentiation factor 15 [GDF15, also known as macrophage inhibitory cytokine 1 (MIC1)] that was released from the heart that signals to the liver to inhibit … Read more
Spasers are energy-absorbing particles that release light. Spaser stands for “surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” These tiny particles are a type of plasmonic nanoparticle. Lasers activate spasers, which can be targeted to cancer cells. Once internalized by cancer cells, spasers can selectively kill them. Galanzha and colleagues generated and tested spasers of … Read more
What is a vaccine? A vaccine may be described as medicine that stimulates an immune response with a “memory.” Many people also consider a vaccine to be a medicine that prevents a disease caused by a pathogen. Indeed, the first vaccines were ones that prevented infectious diseases, such as polio and measles. Some vaccines have … Read more
T cells of the adaptive immune system are not the only cytotoxic cells in the immune system. Natural killer cells (NK cells) are a cytotoxic white blood cell (lymphocyte) of the innate immune system. Clinical trials with NK cells use these as cell-based biologic therapies: The NK cells are the therapy. New research suggests that … Read more