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Scientists finally solved the mystery of why this wasp's venom can target and kill cancer cells
Business Insider ^ | 09/03/2015 | Caroline Reid, IFL Science

Posted on 09/03/2015 8:09:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Wasps get their fair share of bad press.

They have painful stingers, and they're not as useful to us (or as cute) as bees. Their time to step in the spotlight, however, may be just around the corner: Their venom has been shown to attack cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.

The cancer-targeting toxin in the wasp is called MP1 (Polybia-MP1), and until now, how it selectively eliminates cancer cells was unknown.

According to new research, it exploits the atypical arrangement of fats, or lipids, in cancer-cell membranes. Their abnormal distribution creates weak points where the toxin can interact with the lipids, which ultimately pokes gaping holes in the membrane.

These are sufficiently large for essential molecules to start leaking out, including proteins, which the cell cannot function without.

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: cancer; scientists
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1 posted on 09/03/2015 8:09:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

You can see the team's research results in the Biophysical Journal.


2 posted on 09/03/2015 8:10:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (What is the difference between Obama and government bonds? Government bonds will mature someday)
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To: SeekAndFind

So if you have cancer go out and kick a wasp nest?


3 posted on 09/03/2015 8:13:08 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: SeekAndFind

Just a year ago, when my wife was still on this planet, she said when she meets God, she is going to beg Him to send us a cure for this horrible disease.


4 posted on 09/03/2015 8:14:10 AM PDT by envisio (I ain't here long... I'm out of napalm and .22 bullets.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I never kill wasps that are not attacking me and don’t pose a significant risk to others. I guess I suspected that they had such a profoundly important use (other than as very effective insect control.)


5 posted on 09/03/2015 8:14:56 AM PDT by fwdude (The last time the GOP ran an "extremist," Reagan won 44 states.)
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To: Boogieman

It’s a pretty specific wasp and it works for pretty specific cancers [prostate and bladder.]


6 posted on 09/03/2015 8:15:01 AM PDT by FredZarguna ( "I pulled the lever on the machine, but the Clark Bar didn't COME OUT!!!")
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To: FredZarguna

Well, that they KNOW OF....

either we can mess around with scientific studies for a couple decades or we can start kicking wasp nests and find out real quick if this stuff works in general :)


7 posted on 09/03/2015 8:17:25 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Boogieman
Why not it can't be worse then Chemo, slightly more painful but you would get over it much quicker.

 

/s
 
 
 
 
 
 

8 posted on 09/03/2015 8:18:04 AM PDT by PoloSec ( Believe the Gospel: how that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again)
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To: SeekAndFind

i believe the natural state of the universe is nil and stasis. Therefore, every energy has a damper; every planet has an orbit or path; every problem has an answer; every poison has an antidote; every disease has a cure. I believe Everything that can exist-—exists. Ergo, cancer has a cure; wasp stings have their cure too. I know tnis intuitively because it’s been incorporated into my “feelings,” or “intuition” by Whatever Created the universe. We are supposed to know certain things....

See? You feel it-—everybody does-—that there’s Something More, Something Greater, Out There, right? It does not have to be a god or a goddess. It’s Creation. Carry on; as you were; at ease, troopers.


9 posted on 09/03/2015 8:19:56 AM PDT by Reverend Saltine (Don't say, "the administration," or "the EPA"--say "OBAMA." Give him full credit)
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To: Drumbo

FYI


10 posted on 09/03/2015 8:23:03 AM PDT by DLfromthedesert (www.ouramericanrevival.com)
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To: Reverend Saltine

Wow... that was beautiful. seriously beautiful and poetic. hope to read more from you.


11 posted on 09/03/2015 8:34:03 AM PDT by Chuzzlewit
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To: Boogieman

Wrong wasp or wrong cancer and nothing happens except to get all stung.

Same reason why theories of (unplanned) biological evolution are so dicey. The circumstances are too unlikely to get progress.


12 posted on 09/03/2015 8:37:54 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Reverend Saltine

Be careful of sights that are too low. What happens here is a feeble faint image of what goes on at an eternal scale.


13 posted on 09/03/2015 8:39:07 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Maybe more people are getting cancer due to fewer stings....

A sting every few months could have kept cancer cells at bay. But today most people are indoors and sedentary. They can go a lifetime without one.


14 posted on 09/03/2015 8:43:03 AM PDT by varyouga
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To: HiTech RedNeck

“Wrong wasp or wrong cancer and nothing happens except to get all stung.”

Sure, but then we can cross them off the list, a lot faster than the doctors will :)


15 posted on 09/03/2015 8:44:27 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Reverend Saltine

Can I buy some pot from you? ;o)~


16 posted on 09/03/2015 8:45:57 AM PDT by ResponseAbility (The truth of liberalism is the stupid can feel smart, the lazy entitled, and the immoral unashamed)
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To: Boogieman

In practice people are always glad to offer their desperate cases to experimental treatments, which will surely be less hazardous than that; also there is no excuse for not consulting the scientific papers for the information which already exist.


17 posted on 09/03/2015 8:48:00 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Boogieman
The dose makes the poison
18 posted on 09/03/2015 8:49:10 AM PDT by pa_dweller (But 'twould be an ill world for weaponless dreamers if evil men were not now and then slain - JRK)
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To: varyouga

For other diseases the lack of exposure to common outdoor factors has been shown to aggravate their likelihood.

But balancing that is the boon of not needing to be UV exposed in modern times.


19 posted on 09/03/2015 8:49:57 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: envisio

So sorry for your loss. My husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2013 and since then he has undergone two major surgeries and had pleural effusions handled at least seven times, plus chemo and immunotherapy and experimental medicines. My dream is that 1) asbestos is banned everywhere, 2) the VA awards him his deserved 100% disability before he dies, and 3) that medical scientists develop nanobots that can be injected into anyone who has asbestos in their body to attack and capture the microscopic asbestos fibers and escort them out of the body thru urine or fecal matter. When anyone has this type of cancer they are never in remission, never going to get better. The asbestos fibers continue to attack the cells and cause the cancer to grow. We know that metastasized cancer is now the worst enemy to wait for. My husband’s faith, optimism and wonderful sense of humor to keep us both going. My faith sustains me nwhen I cry in the shower so he can’t know my sad moments. We have had our share of crying and we keep each other strong. We are strong Christians and keep ourselves going without family ( especially grandkids) and friends and church. My prayers will include you today as well. God bless you and give you peace.


20 posted on 09/03/2015 8:50:03 AM PDT by sassy steel magnolia
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