Touchpoint 1
Antibody-Drug Conjugate Slays Cancerous T Cells, Spares Many Normal T Cells
What is it?
Cancers can affect both B and T cells. Doctors have to be careful about treatments that wipe out too many T cells. Patients will be at risk of infections that could be very dangerous. Scientists think they have figured out a treatment that goes after cancerous T cells, but leaves other T cells alone.
Potential message to students:
Do you think cancer treatments cause a lot of harm to the body outside the actual tumors? Do you think this weakens the human body and for how long after the treatments are over? Do you think patients could get this new treatment, not feel as sick or weak, and not have longer-term consequences of a broad attack on cancer cells?
Touchpoint 2
“Unheard of in structural biology”: New enzyme models reveal disease insights
What is it?
Enzymes help the cell stay healthy and get rid of extra nucleic acids that are not needed and can harm the cell. But if the enzymes don’t work right, it can lead to diseases. Scientists think they now have the technology to watch enzymes inside the cell and study how these enzymes work well and what happens when they don’t work.
Potential message to students:
Do you think nano and atomic technology is going to allow humans to look closer at the building blocks of life and figure out how to help these tiny processes work better? If you were giving a huge amount of money to cancer research, would you fund new drugs or a better type of imaging system at the cell level?
Touchpoint 3
Novel antibiotic-infused hydrogel kills bacteria and promotes cell growth
What is it?
Special bandages containing hydrogels are great for healing wounds, but these bandages are expensive to produce and sometimes can affect cell growth. Scientists think they have discovered a new approach to hydrogels that contain natural antibiotics.
Potential message to students:
Why do you think wound ointments are not embedded directly into bandaids? Wouldn’t it make sense to add them and let them time release into the wound? Do you think there will be a day when bandaids and medication cremes are just combined into a single bandage?