| Cancer is a disease often driven by mutations in genes. As researchers learn more about these genes, and the proteins they code for, they are seeking smarter drugs to target them. The ultimate goal is to find ways to stop cancer cells from multiplying out of control, thereby blocking the growth and spread of tumors. | |
| Now researchers from The Scripps Research Institute are reporting an innovative new method to screen for potential cancer drugs. The technique makes use of tiny, three-dimensional ball-like aggregates of cells called spheroids. These structures can be used to interrogate hundreds or even thousands of compounds rapidly using a technique called high throughput screening. In fact, by using this approach, the team has already identified one potential drug for an important cancer gene. The results were reported in the journal Oncogene (“A novel three-dimensional high-throughput screening approach identifies inducers of a mutant KRAS selective lethal phenotype”). |
Image Credit: Kota et. al./The Scripps Research Institute
News This Week
How AI Could Help Cardiologists Detect Heart Defects Without Skipping a Beat
Nearly a third of physicians will be sued at least once in their careers — most commonly for an error in diagnosis. Medical errors are also the third-leading cause of death in the United [...]
Nano-bot can probe inside human cells
University of Toronto Engineering researchers have built a set of magnetic 'tweezers' that can position a nano-scale bead inside a human cell in three dimensions with unprecedented precision. The nano-bot has already been used [...]
Graphene Shows Promise for Repairing Broken Bones
When you were a kid, did you ever sign a classmate’s cast after they broke an arm or a leg? Your name would be on display there for the rest of the semester. Broken [...]
What Are Nanobots? What Are Their Future Implications?
Inventors and scientists have been continuously working towards reducing the size of technological components. Room-sized computers to laptops that are slimmer than a pane of glass? It’s done. Huge bulky telephones to smartphones that [...]
Robotics These Nano-Robots Are Super-Tiny And Can Walk Inside Your Body
You have witnessed a variety of nano-devices that were designed for tasks including delivering medicines within the body. All of them used to move in a variety of ways. However, the latest nano-device is [...]
Nanosponges sop up toxins and help repair tissues
To take his fledgling lab to new heights, Liangfang Zhang hatched a plan that he considered brilliant in its simplicity. It involved procedures that many of his peers found a little out there. But [...]
U of T Engineering Science student investigating the use of nanomedicine in cancer research
Netra Rajesh is an undergraduate Engineering Science student specializing in Biomedical Systems Engineering. She is currently on her Professional Experience Year (PEY) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where her research lies at the [...]
40% of A.I. start-ups in Europe have almost nothing to do with A.I.
Nearly half of the companies in Europe that call themselves AI start-ups don't in fact use artificial intelligence, a new report found. The research, published Tuesday by London-based venture capital firm MMC Ventures, found [...]
Leave A Comment