CanCell blog - Page 2

The 15th and 16th October we arranged our CanCell Annual retreat which is two days filled with seminars and exciting scientific speaks. As for everyone else this year was different due to the coronavirus pandemic and there were a lot of safety measures to consider when hosting the retreat. For instance, we could not have as many attending that we had before. This had some implications for us when we had invited several key speakers from around the globe to teach us about their field of cancer research. Fortunately, we had our solution right within reach; I am talking about ZOOM! We were able to host most of the retreat on Zoom so everyone that wanted could join us online.

All cells in our body contain the “headquarters” of our genetic information, the nucleus, wrapped in a double nuclear membrane, similar to a protective bag. The DNA coding this information is packed in 23 chromosomes in those headquarters. Imagine a script with numbered pages. This script contains all the information for the actions that the cells are “programmed” to perform during their lifetime. Upon cellular division (mitosis), the script (DNA) copies itself in order both of the newly created cells to have an idea of what they are going to do with their lives. The genetic material is safely wrapped into nuclear membrane and voilà! Two brand new nuclei ready for new adventures!

One of the most fascinating aspects of biology is developmental biology, and that means the development of an organism, from an embryo until adulthood. For some organisms, this is easily observed under the microscope, such as the elegant zebrafish embryo, which starts twitching its tail at 24 hours of age. For other organisms, development is hidden since it is within the mother, as is the case for us. ‘Why is development relevant to cancer?’ I hear you ask. Well, it turns out cancer is development gone wild. And this is why today I want to introduce you to a happy middle-ground that allows the visualisation of development of human organs. Enter the ORGANOID.

All cancers are different, and some cancer patients respond better than others to current treatment approaches. Researchers at CanCell are trying to tackle this problem by tailoring cancer therapy to find drugs that are the right ‘fit’ for individual patients.

October 2018 saw the very first CanCell annual meeting take place at the Holmen Fjordhotell in Oslo, Norway.