Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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'Hitchhiking' virus may help fight cancer
ROCHESTER, Minn., Sep 19, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A Mayo Clinic research team in Rochester, Minn., has devised a new virus-based gene therapy delivery system to help fight cancer.
The team, which includes a collaborator from the United Kingdom, says its findings will help overcome hurdles that have hindered gene therapy cancer treatments.
Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, the scientists say their approach relies on "therapeutic hitchhikers" -- particles derived from retroviruses.
The viral particles attach to a specific kind of T cell in the immune system and "hitchhike" to the tumor because T cells home in on tumors naturally. T cells are the immune system's major line of defense against tumors.
By hitching a ride on the T cells, the therapeutic particles can hit their tumor target while avoiding detection and destruction by the body's immune system.
"Any clinical situation in which cells home to disease sites ... might benefit from this approach," explained Richard Vile, a Mayo Clinic molecular immunologist and lead researcher of the investigation.
Vile emphasized the work is still experimental and not yet ready for use in human patients.