Computers vs cancer

Cancer therapy can be notoriously hit-and-miss — you can’t always know what drug will affect which tumor. Now British researchers have sicced artificial intelligence on the problem and come up with “a prototype test that they think could be used to predict which combinations are likely to work in cancer patients within two days.”

Using a sample taken from a tumor, the AI can suggest which drugs or drug combinations are likely to have an effect. But unlike boring ol’ genetic analysis, this technique adds protein analysis to the mix, making it more accurate.

For example, it suggested dual therapy with Roche’s BRAF inhibitor Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and AstraZeneca’s experimental AKT inhibitor capivasertib be effective against NSCLC cell lines with no mutations in EGFR or KRAS.

When Snoop Dogg visits the pharmacy

Imagine he’s not just picking up some Corona or Tostitos, but also has some meds waiting. Now there’s a new tool you’ll want to check out first.

Penn State’s new CANN-DIR Web-based app — that’s “CANNabinoid Drug Interaction Review” — will warn you of potential interactions between cannabinoids (THC & CBD) and “concomitantly prescribed medications.”

It lets you select the type of cannabinoid, then choose any other drugs the patient is taking to give you any applicable warnings.

Today’s hot new potential Covid treatment

The latest Covid drug is both a preventative and a treatment! It’s a “newly discovered small molecule” that Cornell microbiologists named “N-0385” and put into a nasal spray. Using very, very steady hands, they tested the spray on mice.

N-0385 was shown to protect mice from infection prior to exposure, while also providing effective treatment when administered up to 12 hours after exposure.

It works on all Covid-19 strains through Delta, but they’re confident it’ll work against Omicron, too. They’re hoping they can raise money for human trials soon, and even fantasize about getting FDA emergency-use approval within six months.

Keeping prostate cancer at bay

Austrian pathologists have figured out why some (about 20% of) prostate cancers metastasize, turning a usually-curable condition into a deadly one.

It’s all about a regular protein called KMT2C. When it’s mutated by the cancer, it turns in its badge and gun and stops doing its job; the cancer spreads.

Good news:

KMT2C mutation status can be measured via a blood test, allowing early diagnosis of potentially aggressive progression in prostate cancers.

Even better, new drugs — MYC inhibitors — might be able to pick up the slack.

Violet Beauregarde would approve

If you have wounded rats, a extract from wild blueberries can help them heal faster. That’s what clinical nutritionists at the University of Maine discovered after testing a topical gel containing a wild blueberry phenolic extract.

Compared to animals that were treated with a base gel that did not contain the phenolic extract and a control group that received no treatment, the treated group showed improved migration of endothelial cells to the wound site and a 12% increase in wound closure.

Today’s odd non-pharma story

Science marches on: An international group of researchers, led by a Swede and publishing in Cell’s Current Biology, reports that all cultures share a common taste in odors.

Individuals might have different preferences, but in general, whether you’re in America or Africa or Asia, vanilla gets a thumbs-up. (So does ethyl butyrate — aka pineapple/fruit.)

And what does everyone hate? Isovaleric acid — “a cheesy or sweaty smell.”