Category Health/Medical

First-in-human clinical trial will test vaccine in select cancer patients. A study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC — James) described a potential therapeutic anticancer vaccine that frees suppressed cancer-killing immune cells, enabling them to attack and destroy a tumor.

Published in the journal Oncoimmunology, on October 1, 2020, the findings showed that the peptide called PD1-Vaxx, a first checkpoint inhibitor vaccine, was safe and effective in a colon cancer syngeneic animal model.

The vaccine produced polyclonal antibodies that inhibit the programmed cell death receptor, PD-1, on cancer c...

An international research team led by UCSF scientists has shown, for the first time, that gut immune cells travel to the brain during multiple sclerosis (MS) flare-ups in patients. These gut cells seem to be playing a protective role, helping drive MS symptoms back into remission.

Scientists know that in MS, other types of immune cells go haywire and attack myelin, crucial insulation material that helps nerve cells communicate with one another quickly and reliably. The resulting damage leads to periodic MS attacks that can leave patients struggling with vision loss, memory problems, pain and other symptoms...

Scientists are working on new materials to create neuromorphic computers, with a design based on the human brain. A crucial component is a memristive device, the resistance of which depends on the history of the device — just like the response of our neurons depends on previous input. Materials scientists from the University of Groningen analysed the behaviour of strontium titanium oxide, a platform material for memristor research and used the 2D material graphene to probe it. On 11 November 2020, the results were published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Computers are giant calc...

Scientists have uncovered a method of combining natural organic compounds which can create anticancer drugs with minimal side effects. They have discovered a method of synthesizing organic compounds that are four times more fatal to cancer cells and leave non-cancerous cells unharmed.

In the past decades, cancer has surpassed many other diseases to become the current second leading cause of death globally, with one in six people dying from it. This concerning position has given it a unique and ubiquitous position in global culture, so much so that finding a cure for cancer is considered one of the most noble things any person can do. Sadly, humanity hasn’t arrived at this cure yet; tons of research is being conducted to explore every angle of cancer, trying to find a weakness.

A...