Cancer immunotherapy spreads rapidly
By Sarah Houlton New approvals and expanded use for checkpoint inhibitor drugs illustrate the power of Nobel-winning science A revolution is underway in cancer therapy, raising the spectre of hope for patients whose cancers are difficult or impossible to treat with surgery, radiotherapy or conventional chemotherapy. Immunotherapy, where the body’s immune system is primed to […]
The nuclear option
[:pb] By James Mitchell Crow Using radioisotopes to image inside patients’ bodies – nuclear medicine – is under threat from ageing reactors. James Mitchell Crow discovers the new science trying to fix the problem Nuclear medicine is a race against time. From the moment a medical radioisotope is generated, it starts to decay. The half-life […]
First persistent monosubstituted carbene created
[:pb] By Kira Welter Clever structural design enables room-temperature isolation of highly reactive molecule Scientists have used a bulky, electron-poor ligand to prepare a monosubstituted carbene that can be isolated and characterised at room temperature,1 showing that even extremely reactive species can be stabilised with the right substituent. The compound could have interesting synthetic applications. […]
Nanopore sensors make breakthrough in monitoring health and disease
By Gege Li Home health diagnostics could soon be much more useful thanks to nanopore sensors that allow direct measurement of multiple metabolites. This will let doctors monitor their patients’ health using blood, sweat and saliva samples, as well as keep an eye out for any new diseases developing. Although biosensors integrated into electronic devices […]
Inorganic molecule mimics odd benzene isomer
[:pb] By Katrina Krämer An unlikely inorganic benzene has been made by scientists from Singapore and China. The molecule is a nitrogen–boron zwitterion featuring a rare bridging bond between π orbitals on opposing sides of the ring. Source: © 2018 American Chemical Society Benzene and its valence isomers (top) some of which have been synthesised. […]
Banned persistent pollutant still threatens half of killer whales 30 years after ban
By Gege Li The survival of over half of the world’s killer whales hangs in the balance because of a highly persistent and toxic class of chemicals. Despite a near total ban on the production of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) 30 years ago these carcinogenic and reproductive toxins continue to persist in the environment. New research […]
