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When biomedical engineer Jeff Karp has questions, he looks to animals for answers. In 2009, Karp gathered his team at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to brainstorm novel ways to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream. They mulled over the latest microfluidic devices. Then the conversation turned to the New England Aquarium, and to jellyfish.
Scientists have tried to grab cancer cells from blood ever since they discovered that tumors shed malignant cells that migrate throughout the vasculature—a process known as metastasis. “If you pluck out these cells, you have a direct indicator of what the cancer looks like,” says Karp. “Then you can screen drugs to get those that will have the greatest impact.” Doctors might also be able to ...
