Blocking the mechanism that cancer cells exploit to avoid destruction by the immune system could spur new treatments for the disease. Researchers have developed an antibody that prevents pancreatic cancer cells from evading the immune system and slows tumour growth. The discovery could lead to more treatment options for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma - the most common type of pancreatic cancer, which has limited treatment options and a low survival rate.
Scientists have described a 'superflare' from a distant black hole - the most luminous burst of light ever detected from such an object. At its peak, the blaze shone more than 10 trillion times brighter than the Sun and was probably triggered by the black hole's gravity shredding a star that was at least 30 times as massive as the Sun. The flash also seems to be the farthest ever detected at roughly 10 billion light years away from our Solar System.
The research team, a mixture of people from a biotech company and academic labs, used a commercial injection setup that mixes the injection of the DNA with short pulses of electricity. The electricity disrupts the cell membrane, allowing the plasmid DNA to make it inside cells. Based on animal testing, doing this in muscle cells is enough to turn the muscles into factories producing lots of broadly neutralizing antibodies.
