Science Enthusiasts

Do you recall the blog we wrote about biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who won a Nobel prize for her work on CRISPR gene editing? Recently, she has partnered with the science development company Danaher to conduct research on rare diseases. They are combining precise technology from Danaher's factory with Doudna's experience from her Innovative Genomics Institute to demonstrate the potential of CRISPR cure in other therapies. Their primary focus is on hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and Artemis-SCID, two life-threatening rare diseases that affect immunity. If the therapies are successful, it could push the limits of gene editing and bring new hope to those affected by rare diseases.

link to the article: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/crispr-pioneer-doudna-allies-danaher-gene-editing-center-rare-disease-and-beyond

and to the Jennifer Doudna blog: https://www.young4stem.com/post/dr-doudna

Recently I've stumbled across an interesting video showing Natural Killer cells (NK cells) destroying cancer cells in their early stages. Since I've never heard whether there was any use of these cells in preventing cancer from spreading, I researched a few enquiring articles.

It claims that NK cells are safe for humans since as lymphocytes they're part of the innate immune system. They have the ability to deflect tumour cells without prior exposure to cell antigens in comparison to cytotoxic (means toxic to living cells - which also NK cells are) T cells which need this primary contact (T cells are already used in immunotherapy). Unfortunately, there are many ways cells escape the surveillance of the NK cells, and with highly invasive cancer cells they often don't stand a chance and what's more, they can be reprogrammed to promote metastatic growth. How cancer cells survive immune selection and avoid NK…

Here is an example of how modern research takes our knowledge to another level. The paper linked below shows a study of chemical reactions which are relevant in both chemistry and physics. They are a vital part of various processes and can affect their outcome on a quantum level. Which is why quantum computers with special programmes were used to slow down these reactions to a level they were never seen before. We are speaking like 100 billion times slowed down, since the reactions take about quadrillionth of a second - something so abstract it's even hard to think about.

the paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37640849/

(we found this very interesting, hope you did too)