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Cambridge Chat (previously New Cambridge Students Entry 2004)

irisng

Hopefully without sounding really really stupid here, can the autoimmune help with killing cancer cells? Although cancer cells are recognised as faulty cells and the immune system should attack that regardless right? Why does a tumour keep on growing anyway - surely the body should attack the tumour? Hoping I'm not sounding stupid again but I know nothing about oncology and it's really interesting! :biggrin:

Ah well...cancer is a bastard and has developed to avoid this. You get mutations happening all the time and a couple of cells might start to grow rapidly. But yes, your body recognises this and signals to initiate apoptosis. The problem with cancer is that these cells have that mechanism turned off, and are able to evade immune recognition because they are self tissue, so they pass under the radar, as it were. Most recent developments in chemotherapy etc are aimed towards being able to re-initiate apoptosis rather than just blasting the cancer. Prof Wyllie is a god :biggrin:

Reply 17521

khil

15

Helenia

Ah well...cancer is a bastard and has developed to avoid this. You get mutations happening all the time and a couple of cells might start to grow rapidly. But yes, your body recognises this and signals to initiate apoptosis. The problem with cancer is that these cells have that mechanism turned off, and are able to evade immune recognition because they are self tissue, so they pass under the radar, as it were. Most recent developments in chemotherapy etc are aimed towards being able to re-initiate apoptosis rather than just blasting the cancer. Prof Wyllie is a god :biggrin:

How would you re-initiate apoptosis? (that's cell death or something right?) How would you recognise those cancer cells etc? - what about cancer cells are different to the rest of the cells again?

How do you turn off apoptosis anyway? It's apoptosis in that specific region of cells, right?

Who's Prof Wyllie? Inventor of that new development in chemotherapy?

Reply 17522

visesh

17

Isn't Wyllie THE apoptosis dude?

Reply 17523

khil

15

visesh

Isn't Wyllie THE apoptosis dude?

Oh the guy who found out about apoptosis...

Lol well I didn't know that! :biggrin:

Reply 17524

priya

14

oooh side-note (sorry, your onocology discussion is interesting, honest!!) but forgot to mention that i got this teaching jobin italy for 2 weeks at the end of august!!! it's so jammy, they pay my (easyjet) flight, stick me in with a family for the two weeks near the school where i'll be teaching. AND they pay me 215 Euros a week for it!! wooo!! can't wait!! It's in the north east, so at the weekends I can go to Venice, Padua, Verona etc!

only downside is that the lil brats are gonna be aged 9-14. ah well, i'm sure they'll be adorable...

Reply 17525

leavemealone

Priya, how did you arrange that? Or was it done by Camb?

Reply 17526

crana9

2

Iris, Google and textbooks Are Your Friend.

Reply 17527

priya

14

leavemealone

Priya, how did you arrange that? Or was it done by Camb?

normally things like that are publicised by the italian dept. this one wasn't, but the woman who organises used to go to fitz, and publicises it in fitz on their mailing lists. one of my friends at fitz told me about it, he found out about it through his college dad. not all the applicants have to be linguists, no knowledge of italian is necessary, as we're teaching them english, but the fact that I'm learning the language will mean good experience for me, especially with a family.

Reply 17528

leavemealone

Sounds fun and worthwhile - enjoy :smile:

Reply 17529

Helenia

20

visesh

Isn't Wyllie THE apoptosis dude?

Hell yes

- bounces around the stage like a loon, talking about the most complex stuff but somehow making it comprehensible.

irisng

How would you re-initiate apoptosis? (that's cell death or something right?) How would you recognise those cancer cells etc? - what about cancer cells are different to the rest of the cells again?

How do you turn off apoptosis anyway? It's apoptosis in that specific region of cells, right?

Who's Prof Wyllie? Inventor of that new development in chemotherapy

Cancer cells have several characteristics different from normal cells - they are dividing rapidly, often have incomplete genomes and therefore partial surface protein expression, they are unresponsive to growth inhibitors and their DNA damage/repair mechanisms are buggered basically.

There are several intracellular signalling pathways that can lead a cell to go into apoptosis. In cancer cells apoptosis is turned off in these cells due to mutations in genes coding proteins in one or more of these pathways so that ineffective proteins are made and the pathways can't be completed. However, in most cancer cells there are still SOME potential pathways available that would work; it's finding out which they are and working out how to activate them in just those cells that is the key.

Prof Wyllie is head of the Dept of Pathology and back in the 70s was the first person to describe apoptosis as an alternative method of cell death (previously necrosis was the only one known about) - since then both he and many others have done massive amounts in elucidating the mechanisms behind it and what happens when it goes wrong.

Reply 17530

visesh

17

Helenia

Hell yes

- bounces around the stage like a loon, talking about the most complex stuff but somehow making it comprehensible.

And rosie says he loves the pipes guy from Little Britain :biggrin:

Reply 17531

crana9

2

no I said he reminds me of pipes guy, he doesnt love him that I know of

you lie

visesh

And rosie says he loves the pipes guy from Little Britain :biggrin:

I don't know who pipes guy is :frown:

I don't really watch Little Britain :frown:

Reply 17534

visesh

17

Rosie says:
if you had cancer on a monday
Rosie says:
id say
Rosie says:
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

:flute:

Reply 17535

priya

14

visesh

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

:flute:

*shudders* most of the male population of sid seem to love this word....why i shall never know

Reply 17536

Alaric

1

priya

oooh side-note (sorry, your onocology discussion is interesting, honest!!) but forgot to mention that i got this teaching jobin italy for 2 weeks at the end of august!!! it's so jammy, they pay my (easyjet) flight, stick me in with a family for the two weeks near the school where i'll be teaching. AND they pay me 215 Euros a week for it!! wooo!! can't wait!! It's in the north east, so at the weekends I can go to Venice, Padua, Verona etc!

only downside is that the lil brats are gonna be aged 9-14. ah well, i'm sure they'll be adorable...

That sounds really cool, have fun! Venice is ace (as I think I've said many times before) make sure you get to some of the less touristy bits---Campo Santa Margarita in Dorsoduro is worth a visit if you want to relax in a cafe/restaurant at less extortionate prices than around st. marks or the rialto. Reputedly the best ice cream shop in Venice is one in Campo Santa Margarita, but when I went it shut in August (with the rest of Italy) so you may or may not be in luck! If you have the time then there used to be some reasonable modern art in the Peggy Guggenheim museum also in Dorsoduro. Also *not helpfully* there's a little shop with all the Venician masks etc which I think was between Academia and Salute if you walk but I'm not entirely sure. I think it was the main one for Venice though, so it might be in the guide books and it's kinda cool to go and look at all the masks etc. iirc for shopping (touristy not supermarkets) it's best to go to st.marks and then walk to the Rialto.

/me is jealous :smile:

A.

Reply 17537

priya

14

thank yee! :biggrin:

i'm planning on going there, and then taking the train down to rome and naples after the camp is finished *fingers crossed*

edit: when did you go to Venice alaric? /me is more jealous :p:

Reply 17538

Alaric

1

priya

thank yee! :biggrin:

i'm planning on going there, and then taking the train down to rome and naples after the camp is finished *fingers crossed*

edit: when did you go to Venice alaric? /me is more jealous :p:

Oh ages and ages ago now. I went to both Tuscany (near Lucca) and Venice for 3 summers when I was 11/12/13 or something. I also went to Rome when I was 14months old, but I maintain that doesn't count as I don't remember it! Apparently I was an adorable bambino who got 'stolen' by waitresses to play with though.

It's definitely due a visit again at some point by me, maybe next summer when I should have a bit more capital (using some of my 15days holiday per year :frown:

---working life is going to suck). If you're doing it on a budget you might be interested to know there was an Esselunga (sp?) between Campo San Margarita and Campo San Barnabas (where one of the scenes of an Indiana Jones film was set). There are also famously fruit and veg barges on the San Barnabas canal.

A.

Reply 17539

priya

14

ooh love esselunga- survived on it in florence, it's brilliant, cheers :biggrin:

urgh working life. become a teacher= more holidays :p:

Cambridge Chat (previously New Cambridge Students Entry 2004)

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