Genius vaccine uses cancer to kill itself - Shareables Hope & Optimism #16

This week: curing blindness and killing cancer [View this email in your browser]( Hey everyone, Similar to last week, we continue to be inspired by those who are at the forefront of pushing humanity forward. It seems like they never sleep! There’s a lot to be optimistic for in the next handful of years, particularly on the health and medicine front. These are critical pain points for so many people around the world and to be able to completely redefine their standard of “being healthy” is truly remarkable. Check out some amazing progress our scientists have made below! If it's your first time reading or a friend sent this to you, you can [subscribe here](. Image courtesy of Harpreet Singh / Unsplash [(1) Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness]( New research reveals retinal organoids created from human stem cells can successfully communicate and form connections with neighboring tissue. This impressive feat may open the door to curing degenerative eye disorders, offering hope to those affected by impaired vision. For over a decade, scientists at UW-Madison have worked diligently on technology that reprograms skin cells to function as retinal cells, sensing light and transmitting signals to our brains which ultimately enables sight. The intent was to use lab-grown cells to replace areas that are commonly damaged by retinal diseases. After having grown these cells for months, researchers needed to test whether they could be utilized as intended. In 2022, UW-Madison researchers demonstrated that lab-grown retinal cells could indeed respond to light waves like those found in healthy cells. Furthermore, when separated from other nearby organoids, they formed new connections through "axons" - biological threadlike cords essential for communication between cells. The last step was to test whether these cells could form synapses, which are tiny gaps at the tips of the cords that carry sensory information. By using a traceable and modified form of rabies, they were able to conclude that synaptic connections were formed between neighboring cells, indicating that human clinical trials are a clear next step! Preliminary results showed that the two most common types of retinal cells forming synapses were 1) photo receptors (rods & cones), which are generally damaged from diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration and 2) retinal ganglion cells, which are the result of optic nerve disorders like glaucoma. While there's still a lot to test, it's not out of the question to say that, in the foreseeable future, we'll be able to cure blindness. Imagine the profound impact this could have on those who currently have or may develop vision disorders in the future. [(Full article)]( Image courtesy of Kok Siong Chen and Khalid Shah [(2) Cancer Vaccine to Simultaneously Kill and Prevent Brain Cancer Developed]( Investigators at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital lab led by Khalid Shah, MS, Ph.D are trying to flip the script back onto cancer. Using CRISPR gene-editing techniques, their new cell therapy destroys existing tumors and lays the foundation for long-term cancer immunity by modifying the cancer cells themselves. Their dual-action cancer-killing vaccine was tested against the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma and showed promising results. “Our team has pursued a simple idea: to take cancer cells and transform them into cancer killers and vaccines,” said Shah. "Using gene engineering, we are repurposing cancer cells to develop a therapeutic that kills tumor cells and stimulates the immune system to both destroy primary tumors and prevent cancer.” Their approach is unique in that it leverages and repurposes living tumor cells. Turns out, these cells have a homing function that autopilots them back to the core site of their fellow tumors. Shah's team took advantage of this trait and engineered tumor cells that release cancer-killing agents while simultaneously expressing factors that assist the immune system in tagging and spotting cancer cells, setting the body up for long-term immunity. “Throughout all of the work that we do in the Center, even when it is highly technical, we never lose sight of the patient,” said Shah. “Our goal is to take an innovative but translatable approach so that we can develop a therapeutic, cancer-killing vaccine that ultimately will have a lasting impact in medicine.” Shah and colleagues note that this therapeutic strategy is applicable to a wider range of solid tumors and that further investigations of its applications are warranted. [(Full article)]( Image courtesy of National Cancer Institute / Unsplash [(3) US cancer death rate falls 33% since 1991, partly due to advances in treatment, early detection and less smoking, report says]( Speaking of eliminating cancer, studies show that US cancer death rates have fallen 33% since 1991, representing roughly 3.8 million deaths averted. This progress is attributed to various factors including improved cancer treatments, people smoking less, and earlier detection of cancer. HPV vaccinations, which prevent infections that may lead to cervical cancer and other cancer types, also played a role in lower cancer rates. Looking at historical data, US cancer death rates increased the most during the 20th century with a large portion of cases related to lung cancer from smoking. Over time, people started smoking less, and this combined with improved treatments and detection methods helped initiate the decline in cancer death rates from its 1991 peak. While overall cancer death rates have steadily declined, there’s been recent concerns about breast, uterine, and prostate cancer, particularly for communities of color. Dr. Ernest Hawk, VP of Cancer Prevention and Pop. Sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center says, “It’s well past time for us to take health inequities seriously and make them a much greater national priority. Inequities in cancer risks, cancer care and cancer outcomes are intolerable, and we should not be complacent with these regular reminders of avoidable inequities. Last year, President Biden relaunched the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative which strives to reduce cancer death rates by at least 50% over the next 25 years. Significant progress has been made over the last 30 years and “millions of American families have been spared the immeasurable loss of a loved one." However, there remains much work to be done to eliminate health inequities and get cancer death rates as close to zero as possible. [(Full article)]( “There is abundant reason to believe that optimism - big, little, and in between - is useful to a person because positive expectations can be self-fulfilling.” - Christopher Peterson As always, we'd love to hear your feedback regarding the newsletter. Let us know if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas and email us directly at newsletter@sbly.com. If you come across great news that you feel compelled to share, send it over to us [using this form here]( and we'll try to include some submissions in the upcoming emails! Thanks for reading! [:heart:][:wave:] See you in a few days for another happy start to the week! [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [About Shareably Media]( [Email](mailto:newsletter@shareably.net) If you enjoyed today's newsletter, share it with someone by clicking one of the buttons below! [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Have feedback? Email us at newsletter@shareably.net! Did a friend forward this to you? 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