Researchers unlock the door to Tumor Microenvironment for CAR T cells

t cell
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The labyrinth of jumbled blood vessels in the tumor microenvironment remains one of the toughest blockades for cellular therapies to penetrate and treat solid tumors. Now, in a new study published online today in Nature Cancer, Penn Medicine researchers found that combining chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy with a PAK4 inhibitor drug allowed the engineered cells to punch their way through and attack the tumor, leading to significantly enhanced survival in mice.

The researchers discovered in laboratory experiments that vascularization in solid tumors is driven by the genetic reprogramming of tumor endothelial cells—which line the walls of blood vessels—caused by an enzyme known as PAK4...

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Air-filled Fiber Cables capable of Outperforming standard Optical fibers

Air-filled fiber cables capable of outperforming standard optical fibers
“Hollow core optical fibres with comparable attenuation to silica fibres between 600 and 1100 nm” has been published in Nature Communications with DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-199107

The next generation of optical fiber could be a step closer as a new study has shown that fibers with a hollowed out center, created in Southampton, could reduce loss of power currently experienced in standard glass fibers.

The COVID-19 crisis has seen people all over the world rapidly move their work and social lives online and communities have never relied on the internet more. The ever-increasing number of Zoom calls and webinars has highlighted the need to keep advancing the technology that has made this possible.

For over 50 years, optical fibers made of silica glass have been the transmission med...

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An Earth-like Stellar Wind for Proxima Centauri c

An Earth-like stellar wind for Proxima Centauri c
An optical image of the starfield near Proxima Cen. The two bright stars are (left) Alpha and (right) Beta Centauri. Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, is the faint red dot inside the red circle. A second planet, Proxima c, was recently discovered orbiting Proxima Cen every 5.3 years. Astronomers calculating the likely effects of the star’s wind on the planet conclude that a possible atmosphere would experience Earth-like conditions. Credit: Skatebiker

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun, and its planet, Proxima Cen b (“Proxima b”), lies in its habitable zone (the distance range within which surface water can be liquid), making the planet a prime target for exoplanet characterization. The star is an M-dwarf with a mass of only 0...

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An Improved Technique for Wireless Power Transfer technology

An improved technique for wireless power transfer technology
Image: Pixabay

Going beyond the anti-laser may enable long-range wireless power transfer. Charging a smartphone wirelessly nowadays is not a big deal. You have to put your smartphone on a charging pad. But usable long-range wireless power transfer, like from one room to another or even across the building, is still in progress.

Most of the development methods involve focusing narrow beams of energy and aiming them at their intended target. These methods have had some success but are, so far, not very efficient. And having focused electromagnetic beams flying around through the air is unsettling.

Scientists from the University of Maryland (UMD), in collaboration with a colleague at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, have developed an improved technique for wireless power transfer...

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