Here at OncoBites, a team of graduate scientists and Ph.D.s with a passion for cancer research has gathered to share cutting-edge research with a wider audience. We understand that jargon and isolated professional communities have made science feel inaccessible to most people, even people considering the field. In addition, paywalls on articles can make trying …
Is Cancer Elimination Really a Mission Impossible?
Reading time: 4 minutes Jason Tetro Imagine a world in which cancer is no longer a threat to the world. Naturally, the task sounds unachievable. But much like Ethan Hunt and his Impossible Missions Force team, the Australian government has accepted this mission in the hopes of eliminating cervical cancer from the country. Now, a …
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Are humans immune to CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing?
Reading time: 4 minutes Morgan McSweeney CRISPR-Cas9 is the molecular gene editing system that has inspired hopes for a solution to genetic disease. By studying how bacteria use the CRISPR-Cas system to defend themselves against bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria), scientists have developed methods to use those same molecular scissors to cut out human genes …
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Double agents save the day?
Reading time: 6 minutes Manisit Das Sometimes double agents can be critical players in changing the course of conflicts, wars, and history. If you are a Potterhead like me, you are probably aware of how Professor Severus Snape played an important role in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. He instigated many of the major …
When good cells go bad: White blood cells may aid in tumor recurrence
Reading time: 4 mins Sara Musetti “I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace.” This line, from John Green’s bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars, hits hard. A young teenage survivor of cancer has had a widespread relapse picked up in one of his many routine scans since going into remission years earlier. …
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Chlamydia, Ovarian Cancer, and the Arrested Immunity Conundrum
Taylor B. Poston Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the world, and 75% of infected women never develop symptoms. Furthermore, chlamydia will ascend from the cervix to the upper genital tract in 40% of infected women. This infection of the endometrium puts women at risk for pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. …
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Hold the sugar: identifying the contributions of high blood glucose to poor cancer outcomes
Tamara Vital We’ve talked at Oncobites about how many factors can cause or contribute to cancer. We’ve discussed how tumors arise from cells that have acquired mutations (could be inherited). Many of these factors have been related to external exposures like UV exposure from the sun or cigarette smoking that cause mutations that contribute to …
The Sweet Method of Cancer Detection
Kaye Alcedo Time is of the essence when it comes to the battle with cancer. Detecting tumors at an early stage increases the chance of patient survival to more than 80%. However, despite today’s advancing technology, about 48% of patients get diagnosed at a very late stage. This is because screening methods of many, if …
