Articles
A new weapon to boost cancer immunotherapy
In recent years, immunooncology has paved new avenues for effective treatment across cancer types. In addition to cytotoxic chemotherapy, we can now harness the power of the human immune response against malignant cells. However, immunotherapy is not perfect, and as always, cancer has mechanisms to evade these attacks. Dr Svetlana Hamm, Head of Research and Translational Medicine at 4SC in […]
Integrated pest management: Advances in sustainable food production and food security
Integrated pest management (IPM) is an old concept that is based on environmentally safe pest management practices. This is set to change with the development of a revised model of integrated pest management. The new model aims to balance three important factors – economic viability, environmental safety, and social acceptability – in achieving sustainable food production and food security. It […]
Decision making under uncertainty: Ambiguity preferences
We all face daily decision making under uncertainty. Everyone has a different tolerance for the level of risk that they are comfortable accepting and the amount of uncertainty they are happy to make decisions within, which is also known as their ambiguity preference. Traditionally, ambiguity preferences have been measured in economic laboratory environments using complicated and time consuming tasks. As […]
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Extracellular vesicles: Insights into mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease
Dr Aida Serra of the IMDEA Research Institute Food & Health Sciences in Madrid, Spain, together with Dr Siu Kwan Sze of Nanyang Techological University, Singapore, and Dr Xavier Gallart-Palau at the Institut Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Tarragona, Spain, is driving forward research concerning the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its progression. To do so, they are focusing their […]
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Renewable energy concepts for addressing climate change
Climate change is real, is here, and it will not go away unless we do something. Based on current scientific advancements on energy systems, energy storage, renewable energy options, and understanding of the Earth’s feedback mechanism, there is hope that global efforts could help avoid an environmental catastrophe. However, the action plan needs to be global, based on collective approaches, […]
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Gender, performance, and self-efficacy in STEM-related careers
The expansion in STEM-related industries has exposed a shortage of qualified labour, particularly females. Dr Matthew J. Liberatore, the John F. Connelly Endowed Chair in Management, and Dr William P. Wagner, Professor of Information Systems, both at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA, are investigating whether the gender gap observed in IT careers and STEM subjects extends to the gender and […]
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Reconciling forest and tree conservation with food security
Forests and trees are a critical resource for human communities. However, conservation efforts to prevent biodiversity loss increasingly conflict with the rights and access of communities using forests for their livelihoods and crucially to meet their nutritional needs. Prof Terry Sunderland of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, has long pointed to the importance of forests in contributing to food […]
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Targeting melanoma cells with a drug-infused graphene matrix
Dr Livia Sima of the Institute of Biochemistry of the Romanian Academy and Dr Emanuel Axente of the National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics in Romania are developing novel platforms for screening of therapeutic drug combinations for patients with metastatic melanoma. Their most recent work involves investigating a method which can be used to screen potential drug candidates. […]
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Patients as partners in research – The challenges for researchers of patient involvement
Modern clinical research often includes Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), in which patients play an active role in the research process. While the benefits of PPI are well recognised, little attention has been given to the challenges researchers face in implementing it. Recently, Professors Mogens Hørder and Marie Konge Nielsen of the University of Southern Denmark set out to discover […]
AMP-activated kinase as a therapeutic target in prostate cancer
Pharmacological treatment of prostate cancer has advanced significantly in recent years. However, while the newest therapies are initially effective in reducing tumour size, most patients eventually develop drug resistance and the recurrence of malignant spread. Professor Inés Díaz-Laviada and her team at the Alcala University in Madrid, Spain, have demonstrated that long-term treatments may induce the transformation of cancer cells […]
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