Curing Cancer with the Help of a Living Fossil: The Horseshoe Crab

by Stephanie Smelyansky figures by Jovana Andrejevic Nature knows to quit when it’s ahead–just take a look at the horseshoe crab. Since its origins 450 million years ago, the animal has remained relatively unchanged. This living fossil continues to trudge through shallow, brackish waters, its large tank-like shell protecting its soft, wriggly underbody, looking for tiny worms and mollusks to scoop into its belly, just … Continue reading Curing Cancer with the Help of a Living Fossil: The Horseshoe Crab

Cancers Evolve – Tagging and Tracking Can Help Us Understand How

by Catherine Gutierrez figures by Aparna Nathan Forty-nine years ago, President Richard Nixon launched a “War on Cancer”. That war has not ended—it rages on today, with cancer right behind heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly 1.8 million new cases of cancer are expected in 2020 in the U.S. alone, and rising rates of cancer risk factors such … Continue reading Cancers Evolve – Tagging and Tracking Can Help Us Understand How

Racial Minorities Face a Dearth of Stem Cell Donors

by Jordan Wilkerson figures by Nicholas Lue Desimond Viray is a Californian in his early ‘30s. He works in IT support for Jelly Belly Candy Company and lives with his wife and four children. Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Each year, nearly 9000 new cases of CML arise in the U.S. While Viray — … Continue reading Racial Minorities Face a Dearth of Stem Cell Donors

America’s Turn to Protect 9/11 Responders this Mesothelioma Awareness Day

by Rosie Rosati On September, 11th 2001, hundreds of thousands of firefighters, responders, and volunteers rushed to Lower Manhattan to aid those lost in the destruction of the World Trade Center. U.S. citizens will never forget the devastation that swept the nation that day, however, those who so graciously lent a helping hand are still suffering the consequences of toxic airborne emissions. Upon the attacks, … Continue reading America’s Turn to Protect 9/11 Responders this Mesothelioma Awareness Day

The New Trojan Horse: Using tumor cells to kill tumors

Cancer immunotherapy exploits our immune system to kill cancerous cells. Recently, researchers have discovered a novel way to do this. They engineered cells that are programmed to die and injected them into tumor. They have successfully shown that the dying cells is able to kill tumor cells via recruitment of the immune system. This strategy might be a potential new method to improve the efficacy of current cancer immunotherapy methods. Continue reading The New Trojan Horse: Using tumor cells to kill tumors