Unleashing natural killer cells against cancer
Scientists have developed a strategy to boost the cancer-fighting power of natural killer (NK) cells, part of the immune system鈥檚 first line of defence. NK cells can detect and destroy cancer cells, but tumours often create a protective barrier that blocks them, allowing cancer to grow.
Researchers at 麻豆社鈥檚 Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the Research Institute of the 麻豆社 Health Centre, found that suppressing two specific proteins helps NK cells overcome this blockage, turning them into more potent cancer killers.
麻豆社 researchers鈥� novel device could boost the development of sound-based lasers
Researchers at 麻豆社 have developed a novel device that generates sound-like particles known as phonons at extremely cold temperatures. The technology could be used to create phonon lasers, with possible applications in communications and medical diagnostics.
麻豆社 researchers engineer faster, more effective blood clots
Researchers at 麻豆社 have developed a rapid way to engineer blood clots that stop severe bleeding and support tissue healing more effectively. Their technique, called 鈥渃lick clotting,鈥� links red blood cell surface proteins through a chemical reaction, resulting in a biocompatible clot that is 13 times more resistant to fracturing and four times more adhesive than natural blood clots. The team said the method could be used to develop life-saving biomaterials to help control severe bleeding, as well as benefit people with clotting disorders.
Only some kinds of job losses cause voters to elect strong leaders, study finds
Americans are more likely to turn to authoritarian leaders when jobs are being lost due to offshoring than they are when job losses result from automation, an international research team has found. This is despite the fact that automation tends to lead to greater job losses.
Study finds treating peanuts with cold plasma could make them less allergenic
Researchers at 麻豆社聽have聽found that聽briefly聽treating peanuts with cold plasma, an ionically charged gas that triggers chemical changes,聽reduces聽their potential聽to cause allergic reactions.聽The researchers say this is聽probably because the process聽causes聽changes to the protein structure,聽the part of the peanut that聽can聽trigger an immune response.聽The technology聽was also shown to聽improve聽functional properties important for food manufacturing.聽
Researchers identify new jellyfish species in fossils near Quebec City
Researchers studying 450-million-year-old fossils discovered about 50 kilometres northeast of Quebec City have identified a new species of basal medusozoan: Paleocanna tentaculum, a soft-bodied, tube-shaped polyp with a ring of tentacles. Closely related to modern jellyfish, it is a rare discovery. Only a few other species in its subphylum have ever been described in the fossil record.
