Chinadaily BBS - United States - Shedding new light on tumors

Guest: Login | Register | Search | FAQ

Chinadaily BBS » News Talk» United States» Shedding new light on tumors

Last Thread

Next Thread

iloveree
Newcomer
Rank: 1

UID 254776
Digest Posts 0
Credits 4
Posts 1
Registered 2009-8-14
Status Offline

Shedding new light on tumors

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10309131-247.html
http://www.nature.com/nmat/journ ... t/abs/nmat2509.html

August 13, 2009 1:16 PM PDT
Shedding new light on tumors
by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore

A new oxygen nanosensor that combines a biopolymer with a light-emitting dye could help identify the most aggressive regions of cancerous tumors, according to a press release by researchers at the University of Virginia.

The material uses polylactic acid as its base--good news for the environment and cost because it is both easy and inexpensive to fabricate in many forms.

Guoqing Zhang, a chemistry doctoral candidate, alongside Cassandra Fraser, a chemistry professor, combined a corn-based biopolymer with a dye that is both fluorescent (the immediate illumination of photon re-emission) and phosphorescent (a slower illumination that appears as an afterglow):

Zhang devised a method to adjust the relative intensities of short-lived blue fluorescence and long-lived yellow phosphorescence, ultimately creating a calibrated colorful glow that allows visualization of even minute levels of oxygen. The biomaterial displays its oxygen-sensitive phosphorescence at room or body temperature, making it ideal for use in tissues.

There are several exciting elements to this discovery. First, Zhang managed to combine both times of luminescence into one dye. But also this biomaterial works at room or body temperature, instead of colder temps, which has been a major issue for so long. And also, both the fluorescence and phosphorescence now have similar levels of brightness.

"It is based on a bio-friendly material," Zhang says. "It is safe for the body and the environment, and so we realized it could have applications not just for medical research and developing improved disease treatments, but also for new sustainable technologies."
The material is already in preclinical studies to gain insight into cancer biology and treatment, which could influence drug development and testing.

The researchers have consulted with the University of Virginia Cancer Center and Duke University Medical Center to determine additional uses, which could include injectable nanosensors to monitor ongoing oxygen levels and biological processes.
And because oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) is also linked to stroke, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the material will likely be useful in multiple areas of medicine, not to mention cellular biology, food and drug packaging, tamper-resistant seals, and the environmental monitoring of such systems as bodies of water, etc.

I managed to reach Fraser by phone Thursday (this news is so big that she says she has been getting calls from high-ups in all sorts of fields, including cardiology, neurology, transplantation surgery, engineering, etc.), and her excitement about this discovery was palpable: "It sounds cheesy, but it's my dream come true as a scientist for 25 years, a very rare event at least in my life as a scientist that all of that comes together, plus to have the chance to work with such a tremendously talented and creative graduate student as Zhang."

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. She has contributed to Wired magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include unicycling, slacklining, hula-hooping, scuba diving, billiards, Sudoku, Magic the Gathering, and classical piano. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.

Image Attachment: UniversityofVirginia_270x404.jpeg (2009-8-14 10:21 AM, 11.46 K)

2009-8-14 10:21 AM

rrhonda
Junior Member
Rank: 3

UID 251159
Digest Posts 0
Credits 822
Posts 798
Registered 2009-7-31
Status Offline

I rise my cup and salute the SCIENCES!!!

I'm under the impression that we are doing little advances on the war against cancer.
Our society prefers to devote monies, brains and time, ..................................... to produce things that we do not need (i.e. Ipod), rather than devote the necessary resources to defeat that misserable disease.
This is capitalism at its best. Produce items that we don't need, create an artificial need for them, convince us that we can not subsist without them ........................ and make a fortune on the process .....
And I swear, I am not a commmmie ..................

2009-8-15 04:37 PM

satsu_jin
Super Member
Rank: 6

UID 138675
Digest Posts 0
Credits 11596
Posts 10259
Registered 2007-6-26
Location 日本国東京都
Status Offline

I misread the thread title as 'Shedding new light on rumors'. This would also be a good thread for this BBS...........

2009-8-15 05:32 PM

constance6891 (Pls no question nationality)
Senior Member
Rank: 4

UID 241295
Digest Posts 0
Credits 2749
Posts 2489
Registered 2009-6-24
Status Offline

Do some cancer patients die of pain?

2009-8-16 12:31 AM

blueskies88
Senior Member
Rank: 4

UID 134332
Digest Posts 0
Credits 4141
Posts 4053
Registered 2007-4-26
Status Online

Reply #6 constance6891's post

pain? very much so!

Researchers in my department determined that the only known pain killer with enough strength to do any good is Heroin -- France uses it on patients who are bound o die

but not in the US

we have drug laws that prevent the removal of pain from terminal patients, the issue is too complex for American legislatures to correct! Like Obama's health care plan, back-room deals must be secured before any legislation proceeds!

2009-8-18 05:47 AM

blueskies88
Senior Member
Rank: 4

UID 134332
Digest Posts 0
Credits 4141
Posts 4053
Registered 2007-4-26
Status Online

Reply #7 blueskies88's post

Pain treatment for the terminally ill --

We are waiting on an expose from China or bubba or dodo to correct this problem, huh?

2009-8-18 05:49 AM

vorgal78
Junior Member
Rank: 3

UID 119821
Digest Posts 0
Credits 547
Posts 531
Registered 2006-12-7
Location Adelaide Australia
Status Offline

QUOTE:

Originally posted by constance6891 at 2009-8-16 00:31
Do some cancer patients die of pain?

Constance, I have written about this before but to get an idea of the pain I will reiterate the story of my late Grandfather.

My Grandfather got lungcancer and was given 1 year to live. They could not operate and he would not have survived chemotherapy.

He knew he would die but he thought he could beat the cancer, he was a very strong man for his age.
He had survived a german prison camp in Ww 2, he grew up in the depression. He survived being a dirt poor immigrant and having to catch food with his own hands to survive.

He said to my Oma (grandmother) that all the pain and hurt he had felt throughout his life was nothing compared to the chronic wrenching pain that cancer brought.

He said that even though he wished the guards in the prison camp he was held would die painfully even they would not have deserved the pain of cancer.

The doctors gave him morphine in huge amounts to soften the pain but it did not help.
Towards the end he could not sleep at all, he could not lie flat on his bed, he could not find the strength to do the most basic things by himself.

So to end the pain and not be humiliated by this terrible disease anylonger he shot himself to end it all.

If that is not reason enough to spend more on ending this disease I do not know what could be.

I miss him so.

2009-8-18 12:19 PM

constance6891 (Pls no question nationality)
Senior Member
Rank: 4

UID 241295
Digest Posts 0
Credits 2749
Posts 2489
Registered 2009-6-24
Status Offline

QUOTE:

Originally posted by vorgal78 at 2009-8-18 12:19

Constance, I have written about this before but to get an idea of the pain I will reiterate the story of my late Grandfather.

My Grandfather got lungcancer and was given 1 year to live. They ...

Give you a hug

Yes, it is aweful. I hope there will be a cure soon.

2009-8-18 12:52 PM

#10

Printable Version | Email to Friend | Subscription | Favorites


Forum Rules	Feedback	Privacy