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Scientists Unlock Reasons Cancer Spreads
* * Beatles-Beatles writes "Instead of a cell just breaking off from a tumor and traveling through the bloodstream to another organ where it forms a secondary tumour, or metastasis, researchers in the United States have shown that the cancer sends out envoys to prepare the new site."
Slashdot: Spam for Readers. Page Rank for * * Beatles-Beatles.
...the spread of **Beatles articles.
Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
<p> Just imagine a world without pagerank pirates like ** * Beatles Beatles *
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
"Fibronectin, which acts like a glue to attract and trap the bone marrow cells to create a landing pad or nest for the cancer cells."
Maybe they can sythesize something which is able to bond to Fibronectin? If they flooded the bloodstream with it, it could use up all the landing pads and effectively block the cancer from attaching anywhere.
Kinda like a Denial of Service on a molecular level...?
What, no comparisons to Microsoft yet?
Yes! One step closer to finding the cure for cancer. /me lights another Marlboro...
http://www.hollowdepth.com
"Stem cells from bone marrow can also, quite remarkably, give rise to non-marrow cells"
Do bone marrow cells exhibit pluripotent characteristics that lend them to the use metastasis puts them to?
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
Here's the link to the original article for those who have access: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7069/fu ll/nature04186.html
There's also a commentary in the same issue:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7069/fu ll/438750b.html
Greetings,
Hrshgn
I've always thought the wiser thing would be for a President to proclaim that we shall cure cancer within the next decade. Rather than the tired old Moo... er, Mars thing.
Assuming validity to this story, it seems such a thing might be possible.
A nice side benefit is that the government money involved goes less into the military-industrial complex, and more into medical research. Yes, I know that there are still military applications to any such research... nevertheless it would be nice if the government's research money was targeted directly and explicitly at a benefit to humanity. A cure for cancer falls in that category.
From the rip of a http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=169603 &cid=14134565>rip:
I'm recycling a comment from another AC in another Scuttlemonkey/**Beatles-Beatles post. This guy's getting worse than Roland Picklepail:
Am I the only person who has noticed the numerous stories that get posted by *--Beatles-Beatles? Am I also the only person who has noticed that the link used in is name is a constantly changing URL (depending on the story) with pointers to various scammy sites? Is it not obvious what he's doing? He's using the awesome PageRank of slashdot do promote his sites based on searches that have the word Beatles in them.
It's a small price to pay for free advertising. Find a story, summarize it in 5 minutes, post to slashdot, and get a pagerank boost that advertisers would pay hundreds (or maybe thousands) for. (Text links on high-ranking sites is big business - just ask oreilly).
Slashdot should at least put a ref=nofollow in the links to submitters (or better yet, only link the submitter's name to his/her user page).
In closing, a quick bit of WHOIS shows that all the sites linked by **B-B are registered to Carl Fogle. Carl, cut this crap out.
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
Cancer is a condition of abnormal cell division and growth, not some anaerobic chemical reaction. The cancerous cells have the same metabolic requirement for OXYGEN that normal cells do. OK, sure, they could rely on glycolysis and not use blood oxygen, but rapidly dividing cells use more energy than glycolysis can reasonably provide.
Take your "omg the evil drug companies invented disease so they could gouge us" conspiriacy theories and shove them where the sun don't shine.
Sick of WoW? Try the thinking man's MMORPG: EVE Online
Um London is the Reuters news source - if you read TFA, rather than the first word you would realise these were American researchers.
I don't read your sig, why do you read mine?
Have you ever hear of the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Center? A ton of government money has been going into cancer research for decades. A problem is that cancer is not a single entity, it is hundreds of different diseases. Tremendous progress has been made, but it is unlikely we will ever make any single discovery that can be called "the cure for cancer".
Which "thing" are you referring to? The ability of bone marrow cells to bind to fibronectin? That's fairly essential, seeing that's how cells attach to connective tissue. Or maybe the ability of fibronectin to be soluble in the blood stream? Also fairly vital for things like blood clotting etc... (not to speak of the numerous roles fibronectin has in development)
Lots of things in biological systems are not built "logically". There are some fairly absurd mechanisms that exist merely because they have evolved from other systems that were originally doing something else, and because they "work", but they are not necessarily the simplest or best solution, even though they do usually find a "local maximum"... Sometimes they can leave the system open to attacks.
As for selection pressure *against* this functionality, I would suspect there is very little (practically none). Why?
Think about the meaning of selection pressure. It applies almost primarily to your ability to have offspring, and to how far you can support your offspring to procreate themselves. Given that people generally die of cancer later in life, and given that for the vast majority of mammal evolution this would occur at a point far exceeding the average life expectancy (leave alone the time where parents have influence on their children), I don't think there is any negative selection pressure.
Is calcium used in any cancer treatment regimen in the US? No.
Er, yes. My mother-in-law was given a high dosage course of calcium to treat a small benign tumour. It was quite successful and she is now clear.
Mars is a single object, it's big, we know where it is, what rules it follows and how to hit it.
It makes a difference.
KFG
Google "Nixon war on cancer" and see what you come up with. Sadly, it's an example of governmental hubris.
quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.
Well, yeah. Mainly because the relatively safe tetraethyl lead added to leaded petrol has been replaced with benzine, which is almost spectacularly carcinogenic. Even thinking about the stuff can give you a brain tumour.
Similarly, having more people doing research also doesn't really speed things up. Just an empirical observation based on experience.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I posted that I rather expect the cure for cancer, assuming there actually is one, will come from some entirely unexpected corner disconected from the massive cancer research projects.
Science is not an assembly line.
KFG
... How is the location selected? The article said that marrow cells are sent to a location. By some chemicals generated by the tumor cells. How does a chemical select a precise location in the body? I am confused.
Could it be that a certain combination of chemicals sends the bone marrow cells into a specific location? The body must use the same technique to send them to places needed for new organs I guess. So the cancer cells just hijack that technique to use it themselves? If that is so, could they be manipulated to set the address to a non-existing place? Like a loopback address perhaps?
We are fighting a war: a war on cancer
And we are losing.
--
I'm surprised that so many researchers still view cancer as a sentient malicious being living within a biological system.
Cells have a language that they use to communicate. They communicate with the cells in the other tissues around them. They communicate with the blood cells as they pass by. They communicate with the various cells of the immune system. This communication is constant. Every cell is constantly emitting and absorbing a matrix of cytokines, lymphokines, and other chemokines. It is from the interpretation of all of these different levels that a cell adapts and responds to its environment.
Cancerous cells are simply responding to their environment. In many ways a cancerous cell is malfunctioning. In many ways the set of chemokines which it emits acknowledges that it's malfunctioning. In a body with a healthy immune system the immune response is properly recruited and the cancerous cells are put out of their misery. This is why babies can grow so quickly with so little chance for deformity. The cells are communicating properly and the body ensures that any malfunctioning cells are removed.
In a cancer, when a cell begins malfunctioning, the immune system is not notified of the problem. The surrounding cells, when exposed to the proper levels of the signaling molecules, may be programmed to imitate the same behavior. I believe that this is part of a larger process that's supposed to work to increase the intensity of the signal and attract the immune system. If the immune system is not properly recruited, though, then the originating cells divide and become more and more degenerate and the increased level, intensity, and garbled nature of the signal aggravates even more cells in the area. When sufficiently aggravated without any response to attenuate the signals from the malfunctioning cells then more and more proper cells will begin to show signs of chemical stress and become cancerous, necrotic, or apoptotic.
In some cases the original cancerous cell may not be technically malfunctioning. That cell may be responding appropriately to surrounding tissue which has become numb and nonfunctional. This can be seen in bone cancers where the osteoblast count is at extreme low levels. The remaining osteoblasts are tired, overworked, stressed, and more than a little frightened by the absence of their comrades. Those cells begin exhibiting chemical signs of that stress meant to recruit the repropagation of other osteoblasts. If the situation isn't remedied, however, it's very easy to think that the osteoblast is evilly trying to metastasize. In tissues of high cell censity (kidney, pancreas, stomach, intestine, brain) it's most likely that the cancer is a result of a malfunctioning immune system. In a tissue of low cell density (bone) it's most likely that the cancer is a result of a deficiency in the tissue itself--maybe a logical sign of natural aging.
At any given point in time any one of us has a number of cancerous cells in our body. They're not sentiently floating around looking for tissue to victimize--they're doing what they've been programmed to do: survive.
The real question has always been: Why isn't the immune system responding appropriately? In most cancers the immune system is responding improperly or flat-out ignoring the problem. The studies of immunologists on the pathways of intercell signaling is very important research but sorely underfunded because research and study rarely leads to quick quarterly profit. There are easily hundreds of different intercell signaling molecules all tailored for their own specific message. The field is so complex that it's very difficult to quantify progress in the eyes of the business managers who have no conceptual understanding of the task or the technology.
fast as fast can be. you'll never catch me.
There is biological premise for that. When a cancer forms to any significant extent it begins to recruit new vasculature. This process is known as angiogenesis and describes the legitimate formation of new vasculature as well as the formation initiated by a tumor.
Cancerous cells are cells which are malfunctioning. The lack of plentiful oxygen contributes to their state of distress and causes them to malfunction further. A tumor puts out a cocktail of cell signaling molecules which translates, in English, to "We need more air!" The bodies' natural response is to provide more vasculature. This is two fold: more vasculature allows the immune system greater access to the area to assess the problem and, if oxygen deprivation is truly the only problem, more vasculature solves it.
The prevailing question still is: why is the immune system not recognizing or not properly responding to the problem? I find it hard to believe that the systems of the body are into playing taunting games with each other.
fast as fast can be. you'll never catch me.
In evolution there has to be a reason.
Nope. Mutation is random.
Some mutations have survival value, and individuals manifesting those mutations will tend to become more prevalent over time. Other mutations are detrimentall, and will become less prevalent over time. Still others, probably even *most* mutations, have little effect one way or the other.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I beg to differ you little shit. I have leukemia, and 20 years ago the doctor would have told me "make youself comfortable, you have X years/months to live". 10 years ago they would ahve hit me up with a powerful chemo and then done a bone marrow transplant, a risky procedure at best. My odd of surviving that would not have been optimal though it would be possible. Now, with the release of a drug called gleevec, my prognosis is good. Once I adapt to the side effect (which are tough, but not as bad as traditional chemo), this pill could actually put me into remission. So you are absolutely dead wrong. Money for cancer research it working, and it is saving my life (even though I am now only 22).
xao
http://TheHillforum.hopto.org
Then please reread my earlier comment about this guy:
Ok, let's have a look at his george-harrison.info website. Aha, maybe the links at the bottom of the page? Yes, I see: http://george-harrison.info/reciprocal-links.html [george-harrison.info].
Sooo, what may be on that page? Quoting:
Looking at the link list (just a small excerpt):
HTH!
Windows is like decaf - it tastes like the real thing, but it won't get you through the day.
There have been no reported cases of cancer on Mars in any reputable medical journal. We need to go there and find out why!
Oh the irony: speaking about the "offtopic" mod war got you modded as "offtopic".
It's like pointing out the truth and being modded a liar for doing so.
vb
As far as I can tell, the article and the Nova special are talking about different things. The former is about cell attractors, whereas the latter is about blood vessel growth. Important, but different, parts of the puzzle.
We have cured many types of cancer. When someone finds out that they have cancer, the first question is no longer "How long have I got?", it is now "Is it curable?".
I've always thought the wiser thing would be for a President to proclaim that we shall cure cancer within the next decade. Rather than the tired old Moo... er, Mars thing.
Been there. Done that. President Nixon launched a "War on Cancer" to find a cure within a decade.
Still no cure for cancer. But we're getting closer.
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
Then there are the unknown knowns,
The things we don't know
We know,
But that direct and constrain our thinking anyway.
There are unknown known knowns,
The things we don't know
Even though we know
We know them.
These are things we think we know,
But we're way off base.
There are known known unknowns,
The things we know
We do not know,
Without realizing
We actually know them.
These are questions we keep asking
When the answers
Are staring us in the face.
There are also unknown unknown knowns,
The things we don't know
We know,
But that we don't actually know.
These are unconscious constraints
That need to be changed.
There are known unknown unknowns,
The things we don't know
We don't know,
When we actually know them.
These are the questions
We could answer
If only we thought to ask.
The unknown known unknowns,
The known unknown knowns,
The known known knowns,
And the unknown unknown unknowns
I will leave to another slashdotter.
I found the meaning of life the other day, but I had write-only access.
sue!