Magazine Issue - April 2019 | Will Car T Cells Smash Tumors?

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April 2019

Features

The Next Frontier of CAR T-Cell Therapy: Solid Tumors

Kerry Grens | Mar 31, 2019

The technology has wowed the field by all but obliterating some patients’ blood cancers, but solid malignancies present new challenges.

Some Cancers Become Contagious

Katarina Zimmer | Mar 31, 2019

So far, six animal species are known to carry transmissible, “parasitic” forms of cancer, but researchers are still mystified as to how cancer can become infectious.

The Dark Matter of the Human Proteome

Annie Rathore | Mar 31, 2019

Advances in the functional characterization of newly discovered microproteins hint at diverse roles in health and disease.

Contributors

Meet some of the people featured in the April 2019 issue of The Scientist.

Editorial

Miracle Elixirs

A long way into the quest to vanquish cancer, our ears strain to hear the words, “Cancer is cured”—a yearning that can cloud our judgment.

Speaking of Science

Ten-Minute Sabbatical

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

Freeze Frame

Caught on Camera

Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com

Notebook

Tuberculosis Can Emerge After Cancer Immunotherapy

At least a handful of patients have developed active TB after receiving cancer treatment designed to boost the immune system’s antitumor response.

Could Grandpa’s Early Diet Affect Your Health?

A large study seeks to answer whether a man’s childhood diet has transgenerational repercussions.

Why Is Cancer More Common in Men Than in Women?

The molecular processes that lead males to be more susceptible to the disease are only beginning to come to light.

Researchers DNA Barcode the Arctic

A group of scientists in northern Norway are using the technique to measure biodiversity’s response to past and present climate change.

Modus Operandi

Mopping Up Excess Chemotherapy Drugs

A prototype in-vein device would collect toxic medications before they reach healthy tissues.

The Literature

Fat Tissue Can Help Cancer Cells Proliferate, Metastasize

Researchers disentangle how adipocytes communicate with prostate tumors in mice.

Stray Germ Cells May Seed Female-Biased Cancerous Cysts

Similarities in gene expression hint at the origin of a certain type of pancreatic tumor that predominantly afflicts women.

Cancer-Specific Antigens Encoded in “Junk” DNA

Researchers found that allegedly noncoding genetic material carries the instructions for many peptides that may help harness the immune system to fight cancer.

Profile

Cancer Vaxxer: A Profile of Miriam Merad

The Mount Sinai oncologist studies innate immune cells with the goal of designing novel immunotherapies, including cancer vaccines.

Scientist to Watch

Sophia Lunt Traces the Effect of Metabolism on Cancer Metastasis

The Michigan State University researcher’s lab experiences shaped her interest in the role of glucose in cancer’s spread.

Lab Tools

Contending with Resistance in Cancer Immunotherapy

Researchers describe ways to study how cancer cells evade therapies that harness the immune system.

Bio Business

Scientists Take Aim at Disease-Causing RNAs Using Small-Molecule Drugs

Renewed interest from the biotech industry sparks hope for drugging the nucleic acid to treat cancer and other conditions.

Reading Frames

A Review of <em>Everything in Its Place: First Loves and Last Tales</em>

A Review of Everything in Its Place: First Loves and Last Tales

This posthumously published collection of essays by Oliver Sacks further cements the neurologist’s place in the pantheon of science writers.

Foundations

From Chemical Weapon to Chemotherapy, 1917–1946

Mustard gas blistered men’s bodies on the battlefield, but paved the way for cancer-fighting drugs.

Infographics

Infographic: CAR-T Cells in Solid Versus Liquid Cancers

Tumor accessibility, heterogeneity, and microenvironment vary between the two classes of malignancies.

Infographic: When Cancers Become Parasites

Only a handful of contagious cancers are known to exist, yet they have attracted an increasing number of researchers worldwide trying to understand how and why they arise.