crmckenzie's blog

In one specific case, an antibody was created to attack the protein TNFR2 that is common in large amounts of tumor cells. Interestingly enough it is also found on an immune cells that prevents the immune system of a person with cancer from attacking the cancer. In the study the researchers used the TNFR2 antibodies to treat ovarian cancer (NCI Staff 2017). Dr. Farkas’ research is both alike and different from this research in that it utilizes a delivery system to target NPSCs to markers of cancer antigens, using a co-delivery system of therapy just as ADCs do. Once again, if the biomolecular process is completely understood, recent ADC application has proven that such nanoparticle stabilized capsules made from gold and nucleic acids at least in theory will be effective. Thus, the same ideological methodology is being utilized already in medicine, but this process could prove to be more safe and useful due to the material of the delivery system.

I traveled to the Durfee Conservtory located behind the Morrill buildings to find a plant to photograph. After walking through the first room of plants from the front of the greenhouse and into the second room, I circled the room to assess for the plant that stood out to me the most. On the far left against the wall, I found a flowering plant with two different flower color-combinations. One was white and pink, and the other was a light orange and pink. The plant was in a pot sitting on some pebbles with a plant of either side. It had big, sturdy green leaves and thick stems with white covering. I took several photographs of the flower, both up close and at a distance. The tag sticking in the soil read, "Cattleya 'War Paint'". I then left and created a figure with Inkscape. 

In the few cases in which antibody drug conjugates have already been used, the method has proven effective. In one instance, monoclonal ADCs were used in a clinical trial for patients with colorectal cancer. The specific antibody that was used, A7, was utilized as the drug carrier. The drugs mitomycin C (MMC) and neocarzinostatin (NCS) were covalently bound to A7, and the resulting ADCs were named A7-MMC and A7-NCS. In the end the conjugates were found to have a stronger effect on the cancer cells than plain MMC or NCS, and compared to the normal method of treatment which was less effective in that it spread evenly in all tissues, whereas the conjugates were concentrated mostly in the tumor cells (Kitamura K et al., 1988). Many involve the understanding and development of other types of antibodies (not ADCs, but simply antibodies) that have proven in many cases to be more effective than past methods of cancer treatment.

Dr. Farkas’ research focuses on novel concepts that have not yet been thoroughly researched, and it is evident that the focus is on a more promising future for cancer treatment. Current cancer research is wide spread and currently includes areas such as stem-cell research, and immunotherapy (relating to Dr. Farkas’ study of macrophages), however there are other groups researching the area of delivery systems such as antibody drug conjugates. Currently there are many antibody drug conjugates that are being evaluated, however one of the most successful therapies for solid tumor cancers thus far has been monoclonal antibody therapy, which is very similar process, and promises similar or greater success for antibody drug conjugates. In the few cases in which antibody drug conjugates have already been used, the method has proven effective.

If Dr. Farkas and Farkas Research Group discover the exact molecular reason why altered circadian rhythms lead to cancer, this process can also be attacked at the biomolecular level. The same goes for the immune system research with macromolecules. All involve the precise binding of the targets needed to attack tumors. In the meantime, since the correlation has been established, cancer incidences can be reduced simply by the normalizing of circadian rhythms, which can be adjusted through light therapy and by seeing a sleep specialist. Other factors that lead to altered circadian rhythms which were not discussed in the presentation also must be studied. This is a complicated area in that circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral and there is also an inherited genetic component that must be remembered and looked at objectively.

This research could explain the presence and development of all types of cancer in humans and animals. If Dr. Farkas is able to identify the exact biomolecular processes that lead to cancer and the metastasizing of cancer, her specific research in circadian rhythms, macrophages, and the nucleic acid delivery systems could all be effective and precise forms of cancer treatment. Currently, the lack of precise understanding at the biomolecular level is a road block in cancer research. One novel successful application at this level is antibody-drug conjugates, which can be created to suit the exact need of each type of cancer and specific situation. These anti-body drug conjugates could specify between healthy and unhealthy cancerous tumor tissue. In order for this to be done, there must be a clear understanding of the target, the antibody to be used against the target, any effector molecules and the connection the antibodies have to the toxic effector molecules. In other words, the antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) can be manufactured in order to direct a drug—in this case, a cytotoxic drug or agent since it is meant to be toxic for living things—to the desired cell, thus designing the antibody drug conjugate so that the antigen expressed on the surface of the cell can be attacked by an antibody. This is the concept, however Dr. Farkas’ research is instead on a new delivery system that would include gold and fatty acid nanoassemblies. Oftentimes this includes oils, metals, and lipids in the building process.

            Dr. Michelle Farkas’ research involves studying cancer and the spread, or metastasizing of cancer. More specifically, it focuses largely on the relationship between circadian rhythms and aggression in cancer, the tracking of changes in macrophage subtype, and the creation of new systems that can be used to deliver nucleic acids and small molecule therapeutics with gold and fatty-acid nanoassemblies. Dr. Farkas is interested in discovering new ways to diagnose and treat cancer. During this presentation, Dr. Farkas mostly discussed the binding sites and markers necessary to treat cancer and the correlation that has been found between aggression in cancer and abnormal circadian rhythms. The results discussed proved a correlation between the two, however the exact molecular reason is unclear and is still being researched.

           According to Briticanna.com, nutmeg comes from a tropical evergreen tree seed. This tree is native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. The nutmeg seeds look like walnuts and it is surprising that the nutmeg we all know comes from such a seed. Nutmeg trees can grow to be fairly tall at a height of 65 feet. They have fairly long lifespans of 60 plus years. Trimyristin is a saturated fat found in coconut oil, palm oil, and nutmeg. Through hydrolysis of trimyristin, myristic acid was obtained. Myristic acid is a fatty acid commonly found in coconut oil, palm oil, and other beauty products, and because of this it is vital to obtain the purest form of myristic acid during isolation. This is why it is best to obtain myristic acid from natural sources.

"Your Inner Fish" is the first episode of a documentary series about a vertebrae paleontologist named Neil Shubin. The focus of this episode is to discuss how humans evolved from fish. It considers Darwin's common ancestor theory and talks about how the same basic structure of forelimbs exists in mammals and their fish-like ancestor that they also share with birds and reptiles. There are significant similarities between the human embryo and the fish embryo. The portion of the human embryo that corresponds to gills, or what will be gills, in the fish embryo, forms the lower jaw, middle ear, and voice box in humans, and this represents the changes that evolution has brought about. A gene called hedgehog tells cells how to things in a specific order depndeing on how close they are to a specific signal. Tiktaalik is the missing link in the line of evolution between fish and humans that paleontologists have been searching for, as it has the same forelimb pattern as humans.