For Whom the Cell Tolls: Cancer Biology

Welcome to our most CONTROVERSIAL episode yet! We address “Turbo cancer” (idk what’s specifically meant by this still but I outline the likely/historical geneses behind these cases), inflammation issues, central dogma basics, mRNA vaccine tech, the rise of the microbiome and its importance for health, and the likely (yet boring) underlying sources of the rising cancer diagnoses among Millennials and younger Gen X ...

Welcome to a special episode where I'm joined by 11 of my Minnesota State students as we close out our Cancer Biology lecture! We weave through discussions surrounding generational causes of cancer, potential next-generation hallmarks, treatment & financial ethics, and what the future hold for this disease as a whole.

All said, this one is super fun because there are contributions from pre-med, pre-dental, and pre-STEM studen...

The basic answer is no. When faced with R-CHOP resistance, DLBCL patients now have the option to utilize genetically modified Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells (CAR-T) designed to hunt tumors. This episode investigates the recent controversy into if these super-cells can transition into a villainous tumor themselves. We cover a paper by Garcia et. al. that showcases how much power we are adding to CAR-T, even activating oncogenes t...

Welcome back! It's been a while. I'm excited to get going again with an episode on the emerging science of "ecotyping" the cells around tumors - the microenvironment. Ecology and Evolution of lymphoma tumors is only half the story. We needed to know more about the state of cells around the tumor. How do they affect the surrounding immune cells? Do they support the tumor? We examine the worst possible scenario: when very little rema...

This episode covers the basics of how a cancer begins. Genetic mutations can often knock out genes responsible for keeping an eye on how many cell divisions are allowed. Once these are out of the way, aggressive growth genes can overcome them and cause initial tumor populations to form. After further successive survival advantages are gained, tumors eventually break free from their original organ/tissue and wreak havoc. Learning ho...

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells (CAR-T) represent one of the most profound and exciting advances in modern medicine and science. Many lymphoma patients fail therapy after therapy with little recourse. CAR-T aimed to stop that. Taking immune T-cells from the patient, engineering them to target cancer cells, and re-releasing them into the patient would’ve sounded crazy 20 years ago. Thanks to modern technology, science, and c...

We live in an age where social media provides a platform for everything - good and bad. I wanted to summarize how ideas can be spread, weaponized, and distorted, much like a disease. We also briefly go over the differences between ideas and beliefs. The episode takes a look at how stem cell clinics offer hope through social media without a solid foundation of biology with which to apply their therapies (that nobody knows how to con...

This is an exciting and quick episode that mainly covers the findings of a recent Daniel D. Carvalho paper in Nature Reviews called “Epigenetic therapy in immune oncology” where the authors elaborate on new mechanisms of cancer treatments. Essentially, the epigenetic Cancer therapies that cause genes to reprogram the “on/off” state also awaken ancient relic viruses that lie dormant in our DNA, which subseque...

Today’s episode is the first one that is primarily driven by literature and philosophy, namely borrowing themes explored in Frankenstein and Paradise Lost. Victor Frankenstein’s fraught relationship with his creature is a devastatingly emotional purview into what life is. The influence from Paradise Lost and our subsequent relationship with a creator initiates a powerful dialogue worth exploring. General aspects of bein...