Zooming in on Zuckerberg's Tumor Takedown Team in Dresden
Get ready for some cutting-edge cancer crusading! That's right, we're discussing the hard-hitting research happening in Dresden, Germany backed by yours truly, the one and only Mark Zuckerberg of Meta fame. His philanthropic venture, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, has recently sprinkled 2.2 million US dollars (or approximately two million euros) on a team at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC). But what's all the fuss about, you ask?
Well, imagine you're about to undergo surgery for cancer, and the docs aren't entirely sure they've scraped every last malignant cell. Conventional imaging methods have their limits when it comes to deep tissue penetration. This is where our proactive researchers step in, aiming to provide pinpoint precision in tumor detection.
Keep your eyes glued on these mad scientists from Dresden, London, Los Angeles, and beyond as they dive into the mysteries of short-wavelength infrared light. Their hope is that this powerful tool, combined with fluorescent dyes, cutting-edge cameras, and good old dedication, will allow them to visualize a cancer cell, one solitary cell! That's right, a single cancer cell! The aim? To zap those tiny tumor fragments before they have a chance to build themselves back up.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has already lent a hand to the team's Dresden project, dropping a cool million US dollars their way in 2021. Out of a whopping 300 funding applications, this ambitious group was one of the nine fortunate souls selected to receive support. And with this new funding, the team plans to create custom probes and an all-star microscope that makes traditional microscopes look like child’s play.
You go, ladies! Female researchers from Dresden, London, and Los Angeles are making their mark on this project, with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's additional funds supporting their innovative work on imaging techniques.
Fun Facts
- NIR Light: The Rising Star: Whether it's preserving healthy tissue during surgery or peering deep into the human brain, innovative uses of near-infrared light could revolutionize your next check-up.
- Swarm Learning, AI, and Breast Cancer: Swarm learning with weak supervision is being employed to combat the rising demand for breast cancer diagnostics by using AI models trained on scattered datasets.
- Quantum Technology: Boron Nitride Edition: Researchers are cooking up clever quantum systems using hexagonal boron nitride for integrated quantum photonics in the name of future technology.
- SLC7A11 and SLC3A2: Cancer’s Achilles’ Heels? A colorectal cancer study revealed the impact of overexpressed SLC7A11 and SLC3A2 genes—could this be a breakthrough for pharmacological blockage of ferroptosis cancer therapies?
Sources:
[1] Coulter, S. (2022, November 3). Dresden researchers funded for cancer detection. [article online]. URL: https://nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid/43706/
[2] Intraoperative imaging-guided surgical resection strategies in cancers. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7841499/
[3] Quantum photonic devices: Hexagonal boron nitride and its derivatives. Applied Physics Reviews. Retrieved from https://aip.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/10.0004646
[4] Sodium fluorescein is a publication focused on the clinical applications of sodium fluorescein in intraoperative nerve visualization. It provides extensive information on the use of this fluorescent dye in surgery but does not disclose details on a specific tumor research project in Dresden, Germany funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
