Chemotherapy leads to drug resistance in tumor blood vessels
Scientists at Hokkaido University have published research on the effects of chemotherapy on the cells that line the blood vessels inside tumors. They found that, in response to first-line chemotherapy, these tumor endothelial cells (TEC) can become drug-resistant, which allows the tumors themselves to survive chemotherapy and metastasize.
FDA’s Project Patient Voice makes patient-reported outcomes publicly available
On Tuesday, the FDA announced a new program called Project Patient Voice that aims to provide cancer patients with more information about their treatment options by making patient-reported outcome (PRO) data from clinical trials publicly available.
Super-antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 show promising results in animals
If you’ve been following biomedical news on the novel coronavirus over the last several months, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about the potential for antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients (convalescent antibodies) to help fight the virus and provide temporary immunity to healthcare workers and other persons at high risk of contracting the virus.
Facial Recognition to Predict Protein-Protein Interactions
Machine learning could be a powerful new tool in the study of protein interactions. Computational biologist Bruno Correia at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, has designed a new system for "molecular surface interaction fingerprinting" (MaSIF), which utilizes...
Antibodies may prove useful for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers at the University of Cambridge, as well as University College London and Lund University, have proposed a method for developing antibodies that can identify the elusive amyloid beta oligomers implicated in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid...
CRISPRing out Host Cell Proteins
In a recent Nature Communications paper titled "Multiplex secretive engineering enhances recombinant protein production and purity", scientists from the Technical University of Denmark and the University of California, San Diego, describe their work to create a...
Specificity and Sensitivity of tests for COVID-19 antibodies
We read a really interesting article on the current state of COVIS-19 antibody testing that is also a very lucid introduction to the principles behind ELISAs and lateral flow immunoassays. The article titled “Why the Accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Tests Varies So...
Clinical trials in the time of COVID-19
FDA has issued guidelines for the conduct of clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. “With this guidance issued today, the FDA is helping industry and investigators navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and help assess how to move forward with critical clinical...
The infinite Monkey Cage
To provide some diversion during these trying times, a colleague recommended ‘The infinite Monkey Cage’. Extremely funny British science podcast. There are more than 10 seasons for your pleasure. You will learn and you will laugh. If you like Monty Python you are on...
COVID-19 vaccines
Hope for containing the COVI-19 pandemic rests on the develop of an effective vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. Recently we found an interesting list of 16 ongoing efforts to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in the magazine The Scientist. These vaccines vary considerably in their...