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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Combined Forces"
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SOMETIMES HALF THE BATTLE IS JUST FINDING THE ENEMY... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THE BODY'S NATURAL DEFENSE AGAINST CANCER IS SOMEWHAT LIKE THE WAR ON TERROR: IF THE ENEMY BLENDS IN WITH THE GENERAL POPULATION, IT'S MUCH TOUGHER TO ERADICATE. CANCER CELLS OFTEN POSE AS HEALTHY CELLS, IN ORDER TO AVOID DETECTION. ALTHOUGH WE'VE GOT AN ARMY OF POWERFUL T-CELLS FOR IMMUNITY, IF THEY CAN'T I-D THE IMPOSTERS, THEY CAN'T FIGHT THE FIGHT. YALE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVISED A NEW STRATEGY: LINKING RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SCIENCES OF NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIO-MATERIALS, THEY'VE DEVELOPED A PROMISING TECHNOLOGY FOR FIGHTING CANCER. THE SCIENCE INVOLVES CAPSULES--OR BIO-DEGRADABLE PLASTIC SPHERES--THAT COULD BE INJECTED INTO THE BODY: INSIDE EACH SPHERE ARE PROTEINS THAT SUPERCHARGE THE BODY'S IMMUNE RESPONSE--STIMULATING THE T-CELLS TO MULTIPLY; OUTSIDE THE TINY CAPSULE, MOLECULES ARE ATTACHED THAT ACT AS KIND OF AN ALARM SYSTEM THAT'S TUNED TO ALERT THE T-CELLS TO THE PRESENCE OF SPECIFIC INVADERS--AND TO PRIME THEM FOR ATTACK. EVEN THOUGH HUMAN TRIALS MAY BE UP TO FIVE YEARS AWAY, RESEARCHERS ENVISION THIS METHOD BEING USED TO HELP THE BODY CREATE BIO-ARMIES OF CELLS TO FIGHT A WHOLE RANGE OF DISEASES--LIKE CANCER, AIDS, OR EVEN THE FLU. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
