Tag Archives: bioengineering

Key drug receptor: Atom-level simulation of a G protein-coupled receptor could lead to improved drug design

Roughly 40 percent of all medications act on cells’ G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). One of these receptors, beta 2 adrenergic receptor site (B2AR), naturally transforms between two base configurations; knowing the precise location of each of approximately 4,000 atoms is crucial for ensuring a snug fit between it and the drug. Now, researchers at Stanford and Google have conducted an unprecedented, atom-scale simulation of the receptor site’s transformation, a feat that could have significant impact on drug design. This is the first scientific project to be completed using Google Exacycle’s cloud computing platform, which allows scientists to crunch big data on Google’s servers during periods of low network demand…

First cancer operation room with navigator is created

The system, presented at Gregorio Marañón Hospital, permits real-time interaction with the body of the patient (with its different tissues and cancer) as well as the radiotherapy applicator used to radiate the area affected by the tumor. This innovation will be used in the surgery of cancers treated with intraoperative radiotherapy in the hope of achieving greater precision in the radiation of potentially cancerous tissues after the removal of the tumor. The installation of this new equipment has entailed a complete remodeling of the operating room. …

Researchers test cutting-edge treatment for stubborn skin tumors

Paco is a horse, half Thoroughbred/half Percheron, and at the point of his shoulder — withers — he stands 5 feet 7 inches in human terms. Every two weeks this elegant, easygoing equine and his human pal Ferd Powell come to the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech to be treated for sarcoids…

New technique improves accuracy, ease of cancer diagnosis

The technique, which uses a deformability cytometer to analyze individual cells, could reduce the need for more cumbersome diagnostic procedures and the associated costs, while improving accuracy over current methods. The initial clinical study, which analyzed pleural fluid samples from more than 100 patients, was published in the current issue of peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. Pleural fluid, a natural lubricant of the lungs as they expand and contract during breathing, is normally present in spaces surrounding the lungs. …

A cost-effective way toward personalized cancer drugs

In treating many types of cancer, doctors often use combi-nation of chemotherapy with other treatments. The cytostatic agents used are designed to target faster growing cancer cells. But there is little consistency in how different patients respond to the various treatments: even when dealing with the same type of tumor, there are vast differences in tumor cell reaction to a given treatment…

Physicists decode decision circuit of cancer metastasis

The study appears online this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Cancer cells behave in complex ways, and this work shows how such complexity can arise from the operation of a relatively simple decision-making circuit," said study co-author Eshel Ben-Jacob, a senior investigator at Rice’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP) and adjunct professor of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice. "By stripping away the complexity and starting with first principles, we get a glimpse of the ‘logic of cancer’ — the driver of the disease’s decision to spread." In the PNAS study, Ben-Jacob and CTBP colleagues José Onuchic, Herbert Levine, Mingyang Lu and Mohit Kumar Jolly describe a new theoretical framework that allowed them to model the behavior of microRNAs in decision-making circuits…

‘Molecular flashlight’ illuminates brain tumors in mice

The researchers altered the amino acid sequence of a cystine knot peptide — or knottin — derived from the seeds of the squirting cucumber, a plant native to Europe, North Africa and parts of Asia. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that are integral to cellular processes; knottin peptides are notable for their stability and resistance to breakdown. The team used their invention as a "molecular flashlight" to distinguish tumors from surrounding healthy tissue. After injecting their bioengineered knottin into the bloodstreams of mice with medulloblastomas, the researchers found that the peptide stuck tightly to the tumors and could be detected using a high-sensitivity digital camera. …

Nanoparticles with protein ‘passports’ evade immune system, deliver more medication to tumors

Cancer Nanotechnology Current approaches to chemotherapy leave patients with severe side effects because anti-cancer drugs meant to destroy tumors inadvertently kill healthy cells in the body. But scientists have recently developed nanoparticles that can ferry toxic medications directly to tumors while sparing healthy tissue. Because of their small size, nanoparticles escape from leaky blood vessels that are characteristic of tumors and accumulate in the cancerous tissue. Tumor cells take up the particles which release their toxic contents once inside. …

Realistic 3-d tumor created through tissue engineering using silk scaffolds

The team comprised Professor James Goh, Associate Professor Toh Siew Lok and Dr Pamela Tan from the Department of Bioengineering at NUS Faculty of Engineering, and Associate Professor Saminathan Suresh Nathan from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, who carried out their study using osteosarcoma, which is the most prevalent form of paediatric primary bone cancer. Reconstructing tumours in the laboratory has been a hot topic for research as current methods of testing have not been sufficient to yield concrete results. Dr Tan, who has been researching on the 3-D model for her PhD thesis, said: "Despite the urgent need to develop cancer therapeutics, little progress has been made due to the lack of good pre-clinical drug testing models. …