Cancer research
Category archives for Cancer research
Overturning Ideas on Cancer
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on February 24, 2013 Another advance in cancer research is featured on our website this week. Among other things, this one highlights the dangers of assuming causation from correlation. Prof. Dov Zipori and his team were looking at adult stem cells in the bone marrow. These hold a lot of potential for treating many kinds of disease but, like…
Double Attack on Cancer
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on February 7, 2013 New research at the Institute may offer a sliver of hope for treating “triple-negative” breast cancer. “Triple-negative” refers to the fact that the breast cancer cells are missing the three different receptors targeted by the currently available drugs, for instance Herceptin and steroid hormone blockers. This type of cancer also tends to be fairly aggressive,…
Math in Medicine
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on September 12, 2012 One of our constant themes is the innovative ways that tools and ideas from math and physics can lead to new insights in the life sciences. Take, for example, a recent study produced by a group that included a professor of mathematics, an oncologist who works in pharmaceutical research and has a Ph.D. in mathematics,…
A Dynamic Trio of Findings
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on June 13, 2012 Blurring, chopping and blocking. Three online items this week all deal with some pretty dynamic phenomena. The blurring is in our perceptions. It turns out that if you even think you have lost money in an experiment, your ability to distinguish between musical notes will be hampered. What’s the connection? Dr. Rony Paz has been…
Cancer Breakthrough 20 Years in the Making
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on September 12, 2011 Last month, Penn Medicine put out a press release heralding a “cancer treatment breakthrough 20 years in the making.” In a small clinical trial, three patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were treated with genetically engineered versions of their own T cells. Just a few weeks after treatment the tumors had disappeared, and the…
Weizmann Science News: Autism, Rain Clouds and a Universal Cancer Therapy
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on July 24, 2011 Today’s science news from the Weizmann Institute covers research in neurobiology, environmental science and cancer immunology. • In the first, scientists identified a likely biological marker for autism that shows up even in very young children. Diagnoses of autism are generally not possible so early, as the signs typically appear gradually throughout the first 3-4…
This Week at the Institute: The Mechanics of Life and a Quantum Amplifier
Posted by Weizmann Science Writer on May 25, 2011 This week’s Weizmann news stories: A “steam release valve” for inflammation, a “brake” for cell division and an “amplifier” for quantum signals. The steam release valve mechanism also involves an amplifier – one that ramps up the inflammation signal in response to viral attack on a cell. When the signal reaches its peak, it trips…