Blog
As an editorial team, we aim to share news about our study experiences and recent research with fellow early scientists in training. We hope to immerse our readers in new developments and debates taking place in the wider life sciences community.
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Dendritic cells: The key in the battle against HIV
By: Silvia Tosolini
As finding a cure for HIV feels like a maze of locked doors, dendritic cells (DCs) emerge as the master key, unlocking the path to finding new treatment possibilities. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that infects the body’s immune system. Presently, there is no effective cure: once people have it,…
From puzzle pieces to personalized medicine: how biomarkers tailor cancer therapy
Each person’s cancer has a unique combination of pieces in their puzzle. Partly due to the complexity of everyone’s genetic profile, it is challenging to develop effective one-size-fits-all therapy that targets all the cells within the tumour. Therefore, it has been suggested that treatment should be tailored to individual patients based on the specific characteristics…
A Novel Strategy to Improve Peptide Based Cancer Vaccines through Molecular Mimicry
Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. The therapeutic options to treat cancer are often limited, which reduces the chance to successfully treat patients. To tackle this health problem, interventions are developed such as immunotherapies to target or influence the immune system. For example, cancer vaccines that are potentially able to initiate anti-tumour responses.
Of Mice and Men
By: Milo Molleson
From house mouse to laboratory mouse
The relationship between humans and mice has a long and captivating history. The house mouse, scientifically known as Mus musculus domesticus, has shared our narrative since its beginning; eating our grain and scurrying around our floors at night since before we left our nomadic lifestyles…
mRNA circularization: a means to the two ends
Looking back at mankind’s history, we can see how the concept of circularization influenced the development of our society. Wheels, for example, are one of the most important first human inventions. Yet the concept of circularity is also prevalent naturally in biology. Molecules such as RNA, proteins, and nucleotides are more stable when circularized. But…
A history of the RNA world hypothesis
Scientists have been speculating for over 50 years about RNA’s role at the beginning of life. They debate that before depending on DNA, primitive cells relied on RNA. This so-called RNA world would have existed some 4 billion years ago. But could primitive molecules have really depended on RNA before DNA?