Monthly Archives: March 2017

Cancer is a collection of over 200 diseases where the only common denominator is rogue cells^1,2.  The ways in which a cell can go rogue is so varied that cancer has its own separate biology where order and normalcy are not readily apparent.  Cancer does not even have to be solid.  Indeed, blood cancers like leukemia and lymphomas account for about 10% of new cancer diagnoses in the US³.  Our understanding of cancer is continually being refined, and in preparation for our visit to the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference, this blog post will give a brief overview of human history with cancer, highlight some accomplishments in cancer research, and discuss two future directions for cancer therapy research.

Fossilized bones and mummies of ancient Egypt provide some of the earliest evidence of cancer, and the first recorded description of cancer dates back to circa 3000 BC characterizing breast tumors as a disease for which “there is no treatment⁵.”

Hello fellow cell enthusiasts! We at team ScienCell just got back from Baltimore, MD, where we attended ToxExpo 2017, the Society of Toxicology’s annual conference. While the cold weather was quite a shock to us Californians, it was such a treat getting to experience what Baltimore had to offer. After finishing the initial set up down at the convention center, we set off to explore the city, where we had the chance to admire the scenic view of Baltimore’s beautiful harbor.

Of course, we couldn’t resist sampling the local cuisine. Everything we had was fabulous, from the $10 gyros offered right next to our booth to the seafood served at the restaurants across the harbor. Bubba Gump’s is famous for their shrimp, and this plate was as delicious as it looks:

We also couldn’t miss out on popping over to the aquarium to see some really cool jellyfish…

…and we even had snow during our visit!