New Atlas

Medical Audio available

Two experimental cancer drugs team up after unexpected discovery

Michael Irving December 4, 2018

Researchers at MIT have combined two experimental cancer drugs, protein kinase inhibitors and ribonuclease drugs, and found that they worked better together than alone. The discovery could help reduce side effects of cancer treatments and make them more effective.

MIT researchers have combined two experimental cancer drugs into one treatment that's more effective than either ...

Medical Audio available

Funnel-web spider venom found to contain potent killer of skin cancer cells

Nick Lavars October 7, 2018

Scorpions, rattlesnakes and funnel-web spiders have all provided scientists with promising building blocks for next-generation medicines, and a dangerous Australian arachnid has again reared its head with a compound in its venom found to be a potent killer of melanoma cells.

A compound found in the venom of the Australian funnel-web spider was found to kill off ...

Medical

Chemotherapy hydrogel could fight skin cancer from the outside

Michael Irving September 26, 2018

Skin cancer treatment often still requires chemotherapy, which is delivered intravenously and can cause a whole range of unpleasant side effects. Now, researchers have made the first steps towards a kind of chemo that can be “painted” onto the skin.

Researchers have made the first steps towards a chemotherapy gel that can be rubbed into the ...

Science

A gene that causes hair loss may be recruited to help kill cancers

Rich Haridy July 30, 2018

An intriguing new study from Columbia University Irving Medical Center has found that the same gene associated with a condition responsible for autoimmune-related hair loss could be recruited to help our immune cells better target tumors.

The gene responsible for autoimmune hair loss has been recruited to put a bullseye on tumor ...

Medical

Blood test to detect early-stage melanoma developed

Rich Haridy July 17, 2018

Melanoma, a common type of skin cancer, is traditionally detected via observing changes in irregular moles, and then conducting a skin biopsy. A team has now developed a blood test that can detect melanoma in its early stages, reducing the need for expensive, and frequently unnecessary biopsies.

A new blood test could help detect the presence of early-stage melanoma, a common form of ...

Medical

Microbiopsy device samples skin cells for cancer without scarring

Michael Irving April 13, 2018

Skin cancer is the most common form of the disease, but it usually requires a biopsy to confirm whether a mark is malignant or not. Now, an Australian team has developed a microbiopsy device that’s far less invasive, basically painless, and won’t leave a scar.

Professor Tarl Prow and his team have developed a prototype of a microbiopsy device, which can ...

Science

Common skin bacteria found to produce skin-cancer killing molecule

Rich Haridy February 28, 2018

A large population of microorganisms live on our skin. Known as the skin microbiome, many of these organisms serve a vital protective function preventing psoriasis, acne and other diseases. New research has now uncovered a strain of bacteria found on human skin that can protect against cancer.

This bacteria has been found to produce a compound that can protect against skin cancer

Good Thinking

Inexpensive skin cancer detector takes out 2017 James Dyson Award

Michael Irving November 8, 2017

A new device called the sKan has won the 2017 international James Dyson Award. The sKan makes heat maps of the skin to identify anomalies associated with melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, to enable earlier detection.

sKan, a device designed to quickly and easily detect melanomas, has won this year's international James ...

Science

Personalized cancer vaccines successful in first-stage human trials

Rich Haridy July 9, 2017

A cancer vaccine is one of the holy grails of modern medical research. Two recent clinical trials that have produced encouraging results in patients with skin cancer are are providing hope for the development of personalized cancer vaccines tailored to individual patient's tumors.

Two early-stage human clinical trials have successfully demonstrated the use of a cancer vaccine personalized to ...

Science

New drug tans skin minus the cancer-causing damage

Nick Lavars June 13, 2017

Way back in 2006, scientists discovered a compound that could induce skin tanning in mice without exposing them to cancer-causing UV light. Now, after 11 years and ongoing trial-and-error, those scientists have reworked their approach to trigger the same response in cultured human skin.

This new class of drugs appears to induce the same tanning effect as the sun, without ...