Electron microscopy turned cold – The Nobel Prize winners (Chemistry)
Electron microscopy turned cold – The Nobel Prize winners (Chemistry) The Nobel Prizes were awarded yesterday, December 10th. Let’s have a closer look at the prize awarded in Chemistry and how the laureates work helped us to literally look at proteins, the molecular machines so central to our lives. The electron deserves more credit It…
Your internal clock is decoded – The Nobel Prize winners (Medicine)
Your internal clock is decoded – The Nobel Prize winners (Medicine) The Nobel Prize Award ceremony is near. On December 10th, the Nobel laureates of 2017 will be presented in Stockholm, Sweden. Let’s talk Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and your internal clock. You know the feeling, those days after an intercontinental trip, where you’re…
Everybody wants EMA – the relationship drama about drugs
Everybody wants EMA – the relationship drama about drugs Last week it was settled: the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be moving from London to Amsterdam. Brexit was the classic homewrecker in this story, forcing a 12-year relationship to end. But what does this mean for the involved parties and why all the drama? And,…
What in the name of science is CRISPR/Cas?
What in the name of science is CRISPR/Cas? CRISPR/Cas is the tool that is on people’s lips right now, not only scientists’ (in our opinion at least). Media is talking about designer-babies, disease-resistant crops and many other applications. It could possibly play a significant role in our future everyday lives, and because of this, it’s…
Genome editing: How we cut and manipulate genes in our DNA
Genome editing: How we cut and manipulate genes in our DNA There is a good chance that you have heard of the advances in genome engineering and genome editing. Scientists can now alter the sequence of mammalian genes (and of other organisms) through a relatively new technology called CRISPR. This highly efficient tool has truly…
CAR T-cell therapy – Novartis and the question of ‘how much?’
How much? I imagine that question came up eventually at one of the meetings of whichever team decides pricing strategies at Novartis. And they came up with an answer: 475000 $. Four Hundred And Seventy Five Thousand dollars for a one shot therapy that can potentially cure a rare type of cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In other words,…
CAR-T therapy against ALL
CAR-T therapy against ALL The game Kill the cancer with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. A cancer therapy based on genetic manipulation of T-cells to attack specific targets that would otherwise evade the immune system. The players T-cells The potential cancer killer. Cells of the adaptive immune system that are responsible for killing foreign invaders…
Is ignorance bliss?
Is ignorance bliss? Our responsibility to inform – we are part of the ivory tower Do a quick scroll in the news-feed of your preferred social media sites. Stop scrolling once you find a post covering ideas or even proclaimed facts about cancer research or treatments. If your feed resembles ours you could get the…
Difficult times – or what’s the Ivory Embassy and why?
We live in difficult times, my friends. Our society seems to have taken a collective dive into the unknown. We are ruled by prejudice and divisive leaders, experts are decried and white nationalists are grazing freely on our once so welcoming meadows. People decided to talk louder and listen less. Minds and opinions are bend…