Just a short entry out of sleeplessness. Went to bed and could not sleep. For the last six weeks my girlfriend has been here with me, now she is back in San Diego. A good reason for a sleepless night? Actually, thinking of work. How boring, you could say, but not if you think about that I am working in science. The bad (and also good) thing about this line of work: it eats you alive, you can think about the story you are working on 24/7. It never stops being interesting. And there is always the hope it might lead to something really useful. Something like: Find the key factor in cancer, the "magic vulnerability". Off note, all current science points to the fact this might not exist. Every cancer we look at is different, and will probably need its unique treatment.
Every time science comes up with something novel, exciting and hopeful, in clinical trials it does not work that well. Last keywords: angiogenesis inhibitors, Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (some of which actually do work very well, but they do not cure, just keep growth of cells in check-> Gleevec, the blockbuster drug for CML, chronic myeloid leukemia).
My current new favorite toy/focus of interest: "Histone Chaperones" These are factors which regulate chromatin, which is the form how our DNA is packaged, and plays a critical role in how genes are turned on and off. And those Histone chaperones regulate the incorporation of histone variants into regions of chromatin, thereby regulating whole genomic regions, rather than individual genes. Unfortunately, I do not see, how these factors will be "Druggable". But now I do feel tired. Goodnight. Sorry, not a very revealing entry.
Every time science comes up with something novel, exciting and hopeful, in clinical trials it does not work that well. Last keywords: angiogenesis inhibitors, Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (some of which actually do work very well, but they do not cure, just keep growth of cells in check-> Gleevec, the blockbuster drug for CML, chronic myeloid leukemia).
My current new favorite toy/focus of interest: "Histone Chaperones" These are factors which regulate chromatin, which is the form how our DNA is packaged, and plays a critical role in how genes are turned on and off. And those Histone chaperones regulate the incorporation of histone variants into regions of chromatin, thereby regulating whole genomic regions, rather than individual genes. Unfortunately, I do not see, how these factors will be "Druggable". But now I do feel tired. Goodnight. Sorry, not a very revealing entry.
