
DNA nanobot 'starves' tumors - knwang
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/71161
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epmaybe
Here is the actual paper, with abstract:
[https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4071](https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4071)

Major things that are interesting just from the abstract: 1) their targeting
dna aptamer binds to nucleolin (how this isn't binding to the nucleolin in
normal cells is beyond my knowledge, but my guess is that the protein is
expressed somewhere other than the nucleolus of the tumor cell). 2) Doesn't
seem to affect mice without tumors, so a good thing?

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nicwilson
see
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24251811](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24251811)

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epmaybe
Thanks! I figured it must have been that tumors express nucleolin on the
surface rather than normally inside of the nucleolus.

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tyingq
Seems promising, though false positives for “looks like a tumor” might be
problematic. I’m hopeful for something less barbaric than chemo and radiation.
We’re truly in the Stone Ages around cancer treatments.

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amelius
Lots of medical fields are in the stone age. Look at mental disorders, gut
disorders (IBS), diabetes, autoimmune disorders, dentistry, ...

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tyingq
I agree, though sitting and talking with breast cancer patients waiting on the
radiation machine or infusion room...it's so clearly physically barbaric.
Especially those at the "months in" mark that are emaciated, bald, and mostly
without fingernails and toenails.

There's nothing else I can think of that compares. Being a "technical person",
I struggle with some embarrassment talking to them. The "seriously...this is
best science can do???" overtones are there.

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cornholio
> The "seriously...this is best science can do???" overtones are there.

Drug companies have billions of dollars for research, they have a legal
framework where any advancement can be patented for decades and exploited in
an almost limitless market for a cancer drug.

So the incentives seem to be there, the answer is one of two things: either
this is the best science can do at this time, or something is fundamentally
fucked up in the way we approach science and apply it to real life problems.

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smoyer
It's interesting that this nano-compound is made using self-assembly. What
limits this process from producing other molecules? Could this be the
beginning of the so-called "grey goo"?
([http://amzn.to/2oG6mHR](http://amzn.to/2oG6mHR))

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RobertoG
Self-assembly here doesn't imply reproduction.

They compose a two dimensional structure (or more) that, given the proper
conditions, build itself in the desired three dimensional shape (1).

(1)-
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_origami](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_origami)

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smoyer
Ah ... so it's "self-folding". Thanks for the clarification!

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divan
Is this the same technique described in this old TED video?
[https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_rothemund_details_dna_folding](https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_rothemund_details_dna_folding)

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mismatchpair
Yes, you're right. The self-assembly of the nanorobot is done using the same
technique as in the video you linked. In fact, the speaker in the video, Paul
Rothemund, is the person who first engineered this self-assembly technique
called DNA origami. In his cover article in Nature (2006), where it was first
published, you can get a sense of how intricate the folding technique is just
by looking at the cover picture of the smiley face he made using DNA
([http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7082/index.html](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7082/index.html),
the diameter of the smiley face shown here is roughly 100 nm wide).

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nicwilson
I wonder how much thrombin you need in order to overcome the negative feedback
loop before you get the positive feedback loop of the blood clotting cascade?

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z3t4
Like other nano robots, does this use outside source to control it ? like
magnetic signals when they pass the tumor.

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hughes
Not sure which other nano robots you're referring to, but this is more like a
custom-built protein that falls apart when it's near specific types of
molecules.

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LinuxBender
When will people be able to buy these?

