Researchers at the Technion are developing a new system that will direct drugs directly to a cancerous tumor * Among the researchers is a Fulbright scholarship. The America-Israel Education Fund awarded 65 Fulbright scholarships this year
Cancer was a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many countries of the world. But despite promising achievements in recent years, the road to effective treatment is still long. One of the most difficult problems that many patients face is the side effects of chemotherapy or other treatments. Many of the side effects are due to the fact that the chemotherapy damages not only the cancer cells but also the normal cells in many tissues, such as the digestive system, the skin and the immune system.
Because of this, scientists are trying to find different methods to focus the treatment on the cancer cells only. Targeted treatment will prevent damage to healthy cells both by directing the drug to the tumor environment, and also because this way it will be possible to use lower doses of the drug, because it will not be distributed throughout the body.
Dr. Beth Schon, who is currently in Israel on a Fulbright program scholarship and on behalf of the American Association of Women in Academia in the laboratory of Professor Marcel Mahloof, is trying to improve such a system for transporting drugs to the cancer tumor. Mahlouf, the head of the inter-unit program for biotechnology and the deputy vice president of the Technion for research, developed an innovative system for transporting drugs to treat cancer based on mesenchymal stem cells, cells that originate from the bone marrow and have the ability to focus specifically and selectively on inflamed areas. Since the cancerous tumors are closely associated with inflammatory processes, the mesenchymal stem cells colonize these tumors, and therefore can be used as a sophisticated system for transporting drugs directly to the tumor.
In Mahloof's laboratory, the membranes of these cells are used as a bag into which the desired drug is placed. These sacs, called by the poetic name "nano-ghosts", carry the medicine to the cancerous tumors, and accumulate there in increased concentration.
So far so good, but in order for this unique drug transport system to be used to treat humans, it is necessary to improve some aspects, such as the uniformity of the membranes and their level of cleanliness. Shawn, who earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Florida and a doctorate at Michigan State, both in chemical engineering, is responsible for improving the membrane system so that they don't stick together into inactive clumps. For this purpose, she attaches molecules of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the membrane proteins that reduce the tendency of the proteins to stick to each other. Experiments on mice show that the nanometer ghosts do accumulate in cancerous tumors, and in contrast are naturally eliminated from the rest of the body's tissues within a day or two. These properties allow the use of much lower concentrations of chemotherapy, up to a tenth of the amount needed in a normal infusion.
65 Fulbright scholarships were awarded for the upcoming academic year
The USA-Israel Education Foundation awarded 65 Fulbright scholarships to Israeli and American researchers, post-docs and students for the 2016/2015 academic year
At the annual event of the US-Israel Education Foundation to mark the end of the 2015/2014 school year, which took place on May 28 at the home of the American Ambassador Mr. Daniel Shapiro, the names of the Fulbright scholarship winners were announced. The event was attended by the winners of the Israeli scholarships, senior representatives of the academic establishment in Israel, presidents and senior managers of the institutions of higher education in Israel, some of them graduates of Fulbright programs. The American ambassador, Mr. Daniel Shapiro, opened the event and said "The US government and the embassy in Israel continue to believe that the personal contacts that are created between people as part of exchange programs are essential to deepening the relationship between the US and Israel." The Fulbright program brings together the best talents and minds from around the US with the best of Israeli society for its nuances and different voices."
The Fulbright program is funded equally by the US government and the government of Israel, and has been working to promote the scientific ties between Israel and the US since 1956. The program has left its mark on academic research in Israel and its graduates have been integrated into key positions in academia and public life in the country. During its 60 years of activity in Israel, more than 1700 Israelis and 1400 Americans were able to participate in Fulbright programs.
Dan Wilensky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the US-Israel Education Fund said "We see Fulbright Israel's activity as an important and effective pillar for promoting understanding between the United States and Israel through the exchange of scientists and academic cooperation. In addition to the fact that the academics serve as goodwill ambassadors for their countries, they also lay the foundations for effective long-term collaborations." Wilensky noted that the success of the program cannot be carried out without cooperation with the administrations and faculty of the universities in Israel and the cooperation with the staff of the American Embassy in Israel.
Dr. Anat Lapidot-Pirilla, CEO of the USA-Israel Education Foundation, states that the migration of knowledge between the two countries is essential for the future of science in Israel. The foundation will continue to contribute to the promotion of academic excellence and enable leaders who wish to contribute to society to receive training in their field.
The United States-Israel Education Fund (USIEF) was founded by virtue of a treaty signed by the governments of the United States and Israel in 1956. The fund administers the prestigious Fulbright program to promote academic-scientific cooperation between the United States and Israel and supports outstanding researchers and research students. Since its establishment, the foundation has played an important role in fostering research and intellectual discourse and promoting social leaders. The Fulbright program left its mark on academic research in Israel and in other key areas. Among the graduates of the program are well-known graduates such as Professor Aharon Barak, the former President of the Supreme Court, Professor Aharon Chahanover of the Technion, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Professor Gabriela Shalu, former ambassador to the United Nations, writers A.B. Yehoshua and Etgar Keret and many others.
For more information about the USA-Israel Education Fund and the Fulbright program
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Modulation is done in the following way: the modulating wave (sound waves in our case) changes the amplitude of the carrier wave, usually an electromagnetic wave (AM modulation) or its frequency (FM). There is also phase modulation, SSB, and more.
Because what is a voice? Simply molecules that vibrate at frequencies defined as audio frequencies (20HZ - 20 KHZ). It doesn't have to be in the air, the sound goes through almost any material. Everything that vibrates in this area will be heard as sound.
The primordial sounds in the article you brought are not exactly sound waves, but modulation - ripples - of the electromagnetic background radiation. "The ripples in the background radiation, which are subtle variations in the density of the material, can be viewed as sound waves."
Not sure I understood what "55 octaves below the hearing threshold of the human ear" means. Do you mean waves with a very, very low frequency and therefore so long? This certainly explains why they are 30 light years across, but how can they be called sound waves?
Regarding the train paradox: the problem was how 2 observers at the same moment, a timeless period of time, and at the same point, a dimensionless geometric object, are able to take opposite pictures: a picture of observer A will show double the cars on train B, and a picture of observer B will show double the cars on the train A'.
The question was: How do photons from certain cars on train A, which never reach viewer A, actually reach viewer B who is at the same point and at the same moment and takes pictures in the same direction?
The classic description of the aberration - raindrops falling vertically down but an observer moving horizontally towards them will see them at an angle proportional to his speed and their speed - is half a solution. The other half is the structure of the camera: in order for it to block the photons that do not reach viewer A, it needs to have a certain depth between the lens and the collector, because the lens itself is always hit by photons from all the cars.
On the other hand, if the camera is moving, like the camera of observer B is moving relative to observer A, who is considered stationary, then by the time the photon reaches a "wall" in the camera structure that blocks it, the camera has already moved forward and the wall with it, so the photon will not be blocked, like raindrops falling into a locomotive chimney: At a certain angle of the chimney, drops that would hit the inside of the chimney when the locomotive is standing and therefore do not reach the bottom, will actually manage to reach when the locomotive is moving.
Israel
https://www.hayadan.org.il/birth-cry-of-the-universe-280604
How did they record? Did they separate certain frequencies (is this what is meant by 'modulation'?)?
Aberration - the mother of all distortions..
Reminiscent of the two cracks experiment.
Ok, clearly not a quantum solution... but is the cause/problem in the cameras; Human eye, etc. or does the photon also have a role here?
Or does the photon function as expected in this process?
(It would be nice if Michael would also explain. I noticed he stopped by for a visit)
Aren't these "nanometric ghosts" what they called "nano submarines" until today?
Jenz
they are not..
There are no sound waves in outer space.
They can be modulated on a radio wave and transmitted, then filter the carrier wave out and thus hear them.
The solution to the railway paradox: aberration (and thanks to Michael and Prof. Granot).
Israel, if you are already here, an unrelated question:
Sound waves are known to travel in a medium. Without a medium on which the waves will move, it will not be possible to hear the sound. That is, the sound waves will not move and will not reach the destination.
The question is how do you manage to pick up sound waves moving in outer space? Through what medium do they move? What is the factor(s) that transmits the waves at these particular frequencies to the device that receives them?
: )
Jenz, this article is for you.