A new study has announced a major advance in the battle against cancer. Seth Augenstein reports:
In a study published [May 14, 2012] in the journal Cancer Cell, four scientists from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Institute for Advanced Study laid out their work involving a compound that corrects a mutation in the valuable p53 protein—”a kind of common denominator” in a wide range of cancers, including ovarian, pancreatic, breast, lung, esophageal and others.
The study’s lead author, surgical oncologist Darren Carpizo, noted that “P53 is at the helm of an elaborate mechanism which is in place to maintain the integrity of your genome in every cell.” Arnold Levine, another of the researchers and 1979 co-discoverer of the p53 protein, called the protein “a skeleton key for a majority of cancers.”
Augenstein notes that “The p53 protein is a kind of intracellular security force that cracks down on cells when they go rogue, but which is hijacked by cancer, allowing malignant cells to spread.” The problem that scientists have been trying to solve is: how to reactivate the protein.
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Journal for People of ReasonWith the powerful, productivity enhancing aid of computers, the researchers isolated a small group of compounds, called “thiosemicarbazones,” that appear to be key to reactivating the protein. After scientists injected the compounds into mice implanted with human tumor cells, “The tumor cells shrank, or slowed in growth, but the other cells were unaffected.”
Levine said that “Since p53 mutations account for 60 percent to 70 percent of all cancers, he’s hopeful the study will open up a new path for cancer research.”
Although, as the article notes, “clinical trials in humans are still years away,” and the research path is always uncertain, the potential here for life-saving treatments is profound.
In their capacity as scientists applying reason to problems of human life, Carpizo, Levine, and their research partners are unmitigated heroes. These men and women exemplify moral virtue—the choice to focus, to think, and to act rationally—and they deserve not only congratulations, but also a heartfelt “Thank you!” from all of us whose lives are or may be enhanced or extended by their work.
Cheers to these men of the mind.
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Related:
- Herman Boerhaave: The Nearly Forgotten Father of Modern Medicine
- How the FDA Violates Rights and Hinders Health
Image of Darren Carpizo: The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
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How many times has Barack Obama taken credit for the U.S. raid in Pakistan that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden?
Cathy Hutchinson, who has been paralyzed for more than 15 years due to a stroke, recently directed “a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips,” using only her mind—and some mind-bending new technology, the Associated Press reports.
Many New Jersey parents were recently shocked to learn that their state’s standardized student test contained a question asking students “to reveal a secret about their lives [and] explain why it was hard to keep.” Child psychologist Dr. Steven Tobias said:
Here’s a beautiful story about what a curious and creative mind can accomplish—even at a very young age. Excerpt from Popular Science:
Dharun Ravi, the defendant in the “Hate Crime” case I wrote about in March, has been sentenced to 30 days in county jail, plus probation, community service, and various fines. Many were shocked and disappointed by this “lenient” sentence, including the prosecution, who vowed to appeal.
Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman comics and novels such as Stardust and Coraline, recently delivered the commencement address to The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Though he tailored his advice for students of the arts, much of what he had to say applies to any field:
“There is so much hope riding on that rocket.” That’s what Elon Musk, cofounder and CEO of SpaceX, said this morning after his company successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket, now carrying supplies to the International Space Station.
The Library of Economics and Liberty offers an insightful study by Linda Gorman on the history and causes of the declining quality of education in America. The report covers a lot of ground and demonstrates, among other things, the wasteful destructiveness of tax-funded education.
When Staff Sgt. Jeremy Cooney, a Marine deployed in Afghanistan, returned home, he was greeted with a great surprise. Doctors originally said that his son, Michael, who is afflicted with cerebral palsy, “would never walk or do much of anything,” explains Jeremy’s wife. “While daddy was away, he learned to walk. For his homecoming, we set it up for Michael to walk to his daddy for the first time ever! We kept the fact that he could walk a secret the whole time his dad was gone!”
