Cancer Research

Penn State researchers develop novel bubble-based technique to watch immune cells at work

By Jamie Oberdick

Read more about Tiny bubbles could reveal immune cell secrets and improve treatments

Deb Kelly (left), professor of biomedical engineering, director of the Center for Structural Oncology and Huck Chair in Molecular Biophysics; and Maria Solares, doctoral student in molecular, cellular and integrative biosciences in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, stand next to the cryo-electron microscopy machine. Credit: Jeff Xu/Penn State.

By Mariah R. Lucas

UNIVERISTY PARK, Pa. — The tumor suppressor protein p53, known as "the guardian of the genome," protects the body’s DNA from daily stress or long-term damage by triggering the cells to make repairs or to self-destruct. But mutations in the p53 gene that codes for the protein can prevent it from performing its job, making errors accumulate in the genetic code and leading to diseases like cancer.

Read more about Guarding the genome: Researchers uncover full 3D structure of p53 protein

By Adrienne Berard

Researchers at Penn State have successfully 3D bioprinted breast cancer tumors and treated them in a breakthrough study to better understand the disease that is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide.

A scientific first, the achievement lays the foundation for precision fabrication of tumor models. The advancement will enable future study and development of anti-cancer therapies without the use of "in vivo" — or "in animal" — experimentation.