BiotechMashup

(American Institute of Physics) A group of researchers at Johns Hopkins University has designed nanoparticles that can carry cancer-treating radioisotopes through the body and deliver them selectively to tumors. Today in Anaheim, Calif., they will report the latest results of their research, including studies in animal models, at the 51st meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

By focusing proton beams using high-intensity lasers, a team of scientists has discovered a new way to heat material and create new states of matter in the laboratory. In a new report, researchers unveiled new findings about how proton beams can be used in myriad applications.

(American Institute of Physics) Half of all Americans will be diagnosed at some point in their lives with cancer, the number two killer in the United States. One of the most common types, especially among women, is breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, 192,370 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, and more than 40,000 women will die from the disease this year alone.

(Ruhr-University Bochum) Biophysicists in Bochum have discovered a diode for protons: just like the electronic component determines the direction of flow of electric current, the "proton diode" ensures that protons can only pass through a cell membrane in one direction. Water molecules play an important role here as active components of the diode.

(American Society for Radiation Oncology) Proton therapy, a type of external beam radiation therapy, is a safe and effective treatment for prostate cancer, according to two new studies published in the January issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, the American Society for Radiation Oncology's official scientific journal.

(American Society for Radiation Oncology) Proton beam therapy is safe and effective and may be superior to other conventional treatments for Stage I inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, according to a study in the October issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

(American Physical Society) The American Physical Society's 2011 April meeting will focus on some of the world's largest physics projects and grandest research areas. The topics on tap include particle physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics, plasma and gravitational physics, as well as talks and sessions dedicated to social issues, energy and security. The meeting takes place April 30-May 3 in Anaheim, Calif.

(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announces the availability of proton therapy, a precise form of cancer radiation that offers potentially life-changing benefits to children with brain tumors and other solid tumors. The $140 million Roberts Proton Therapy Center, located across the street from Children's Hospital in Penn Medicine's Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, is the nation's only proton therapy facility conceived with pediatric patients in mind from the earliest planning stages.

Biophysicists in Germany have discovered a diode for protons: just like the electronic component determines the direction of flow of electric current, the “proton diode” ensures that protons can only pass through a cell membrane in one direction. Water molecules play an important role here as active components of the diode. The researchers were able to observe this through a combination of molecular biology, X-ray crystallography, time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy and biomolecular simulations.