RNAi Therapeutics and Cancer Research

When there's a will, there is a way.
I will start with the story of accidental finding in Molecular Biology.
Two scientists were experimenting with a special model organism called C. elegans.
This is what they look like.

Scientists have mapped how every cell divides from conception onward (there are exactly 959 cells found in hermaphrodites and 1031 cells in males). However, when these scientists fed the worms something called "Double-Stranded RNA", the cells chewed up that Double-Stranded RNA and other normal RNAs that look like it in the cell. RNAs are used by the cells to make proteins, which carry out the most vital and fundamental processes in the cell. They had unknowingly discovered an old mechanism cells use to combat viral infection, some of which, use Double-Stranded RNA.

Shortly after this discovery, many in the community were intrigued with the idea of selectively degrading transcripts that are abherrantly expressed in cancer cells.

The challenge lies in this: C elegans are made up of around one thousand cells, while humans are made of many more than that. How do you create enough of the RNAs to have an effect on as many human cells? How do you get them to the correct cells (If the original cancer growth started in the liver, say, then any growths that come from that are also more like liver cells they came from than anything else.)

Despite how young the technique is, many of the tissue specificity issues are being addressed and the list of diseases currently being tested are extensive:

-Bevasiranib siRNA by Acuity Pharmaceuticals is being tested to treat macular degeneration. It is currently in phase III trials (As of 2009).
-ALN-RSV01 by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is being tested to treat Respiratory Syncytial Virus and is in phase II trials.
-NUC B1000 by Nucleonics is being used to treat Hepatitis B. It is in Phase I trials.
-Anti-tat/rev shRNA (small hairpin) by Benitec is being "pilot feasibility" studied to treat AIDS.
-CALAA-01 by Calando Pharmaceuticals is being designed to treat solid tumors and is in phase I trials.

We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Super Nintendo Shit

Super Nintendo: when character sprites looked like candy corn.

(this is my cow. She always eats the whole damn haystack)

So the other day, we found a Super Nintendo in an old box.
I've been all over that the last couple of weeks.

Super Nintendo Jams:
Zomby: Spliff Dub (Rustie RX)
This boy composes on an atari.

Five Favorite Super Nintendo Games (in no particular order):
////////////#1 Super Ghouls and Ghosts

Pros: This bird has a human ass, adding to its awesomeness. And yes, the man is in his underwear. Anytime you are hit, you lose your armor. This game is like a horribly awkward dream.
Cons: Jumping is hard.  Some of the weapons suck more when you upgrade your suit.

///////////#2 Super Metroid

Pros: This IS the best game ever made. Hands down.
Cons: Too short. I can beat it in two hours.

////////////#3 Gradius III

Pros: Simple.
Cons:I hate level five.

 ////////////#4 Final Fantasy III

Pros: The story is good.
Cons: Final Fantasy fans are creepy and weird.

////////////#5 Harvest Moon

Pros: I get to create the illusion of having a well balanced life.
Cons: I got tired of picking tomatoes.

Untitled 1

The weatherman doesn't make the weather.
It rained yesterday and it wasn't supposed to.

Music:
Footcrab by Addison Groove:

Picture: Addison Groove tune found on Kode9's 2010 DJ-Kicks Compilation.








Actual Pain by UK Greena

What I'm Thinking about:
Slowing global demand. "Figures showed manufacturing output slowing across large parts of the world." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fa81dd7c-8536-11df-9c2f-00144feabdc0.html

Sometimes..

in life, you unearth beauty, sometimes ugliness, and sometimes, you find them together.
If I'm stuck, atleast I'm stuck with these fine folks here.







What am I meditating to? (Track by Guido from Bristol. This is the dub. The vocal track is also great).


What am I partying to? (Unknown track feat. Stush. I have it if you want it).


What do I hope for?
I hope that I'm making good use of my talents.


And what am I thinking about today?
The movie "I am Love" with Tilda Swinton. Directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Go your way

Something I have a problem with today: Machines talking at me. If you ever call Microsoft, or Wells Fargo, keep in mind that they will sit you down with the guru, and she will be so nice to you, but she won't be able to understand a shittin word your saying.

But I'm movin forward.

I was reading a book about a poet name W.S. Merwin. I couldn't really understand his poetry, because I know nothing about the style. The author summed it up nicely though. One conclusion the author typically draws is summed up in a quote by Antonio Porchia: "They will say that you are on the wrong road, if it is your own."

Merwin also had an awareness of human tendency to try and escape one order of finality simply to institute another. We speak about our new systems as the end, but in reality, something else will come along, and I guess we just have to take it as it comes. I think it comes from the hope that at some point, we will dissolve our humanity--that we'll have total control.


Here's what I'm partying to (Unreleased track by Unknown [I have no idea]. If you want it, I can send it to you):

Here's what I'm meditating to (Unreleased Track by Blue Daisy. If you want it, I can send it to you. Don't ask me how I got it):



And what I'm thinking about right now:

"The Lord passed by. Then a great wind
tore the mountains apart and shattered
the rocks before the Lord, but He was
not in the wind. After that there was an
earthquake but the Lord was not in the
earthquake. After that came a fire, but the
Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came
a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19, 11-13.

God's in the quiet things, and I'm glad I know that now.

What I'm hoping for:
http://www.4deserts.com/
Maybe someday soon.

Blindness

I try not to be too serious about anything. At least, more recently. A month ago, "The Office" could have come on, and I would have been analyzing its "deeper dimension." There probably is always a deeper dimension, and as some physicists say, "rolled up so small" in the ordinary day-to-day world that we cannot see them. We are blind to most things, and I'm grateful that nothing will ever be fully characterized.

I like this song. Especially the later parts. The beat is predictable, but it supports the strings, which move in high and unpredictable directions. In short, it reconciled its opposites.


I work as an RA in a research lab, and I am looking at how plant estrogens and breast cancer therapeutics effect certain aspects of estrogen response. I was blind to what was happening in my cells. Sometimes things don't work correctly, and I started to worry that I did something wrong. At one point, I thought I mixed up two chemicals, which would have invalidated five or six months work. I got very sick, I almost quit my job, but I didn't. I stayed, and I am glad that I did, and I can see more clearly these days.

Getting to "Know" Eachother

Well,
I think it's time we got to know eachother a little better.

What am I enjoying today?
Well, I'm enjoying this song by Sleigh Bells called "Kids":

Where are you from?
From the deserts of New Mexico.

If you HAD to get a tattoo of a celebrity's face on your body, who would it be?
Meryl Streep. Or Keith Richards.

What do you regret the most?
Regret sucks. We all feel it but I don't know how constructive it is (in most cases). I regret karaoke night the most.