Oncolytic Virus Therapy — Note: This is part 4 of my article series on cancer immunotherapy and covers the basic science behind cancer-killing (or oncolytic) viruses and how they might change the immunotherapy space forever. If you don’t have prior exposure or understanding of how the immune system works or what immune checkpoint blockade therapies…

The Philosopher Who Challenged Our Most Basic Ideas About the Universe — Consider a mighty ship that was only made of wood. Let’s call it… Sea Señor 😁. Let’s say Sea Señor is used by sailors for generations, passed down from one great sea captain to another. Just like any object, over time, the ship experiences wear and tear, namely rot. So…

How Using Far-UV Light Could Prevent Future Pandemics — The attempt to take control of the COVID-19 pandemic has quite clearly been an utter failure. Apart from the successful development of vaccines in a record low time, there were significant issues with detection of the virus, governmental actions to bring the virus under control, and public acceptance of social…

Boosting Activated T-Cell Responses — As we’ve discussed in the past two articles, though the immune system is extremely versatile and powerful, in some individuals, cancer cells are able to develop mechanisms to avoid or even directly block the immune system, allowing them to form life-threatening tumors. Now, one way to overcome these mechanisms is…

I I had to choose something to designate as the one constant reason behind all the actions almost every person takes throughout their life, it would be the pursuit of happiness. We as humans care so much about things like money, social status, romantic and familial relationships, and friendships only…

Releasing the Brakes on the Immune System — Note: This is just part 2 of my article series on cancer immunotherapy and covers the basics of what might be the earliest breakthrough in immunotherapies: immune checkpoint blockade therapy. It will require a basic understanding of the cellular mechanisms in the immune system. …

Crash Course Immunology — Part 1 of Cancer Immunotherapy Series — Note: This is just part 1 of my article series on cancer immunotherapy and covers basic immunology concepts that you might need to know to better understand the remaining articles on specific methodologies for cancer immunology. This article does assume that you have some understanding of topics like transcription, translation, mitosis…

How Is It Different Than Your Normal Age, and Why Is It Important? — Everyone knows that as a person gets older, their health slowly gets worse and worse. From a young age, we’ve seen grandparents and other “old” people suffer from different diseases, frailty, poor eyesight, and a host of other problems. But what some people might not realize is that it’s not…

The Exciting Science Behind Generating A Map of the Brain — Humanity has come a long way since we first evolved from our ape ancestors. It started slow (extremely slow), with figuring out how to light a fire and make tools using stones, but quickly picked up to the point where, about 200,000 years later, we can manipulate life at the…