A team of researchers has developed cancer-targeting peptides that could be used as “guided missiles” to treat various cancers and cancer stem cells without harming normal cells.
The research team last year won the National Innovation Award for its Fn cancer-targeting peptide technology, Chang Gung University Institute of Stem Cell and Translational Cancer Research director John Yu (游正博) told a news conference at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei yesterday.
The team used computer-aided methods and novel scoring algorithms to design cancer-targeting peptides, which can guide various types of therapeutics to cancer cells, said Yu, an expert on stem cells and regenerative medicine.
Some cancer drugs are inefficient and cause painful side effects, because they cannot precisely target cancer cells, he said.
While other patented cancer-targeting peptides can only target a single cancer type, the team’s peptides can identify at least 11, including ovarian, gastric, lung, liver, breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, as demonstrated by laboratory and animal tests, Yu said.
The team’s peptides do not bind to healthy breast, peripheral blood, vascular endothelial cells or dermal fibroblasts, he said.
Instead of developing a drug for a specific cancer type — which can be a fairly time-consuming process — the team’s technology would help facilitate treatment for a variety of cancers, Yu said.
While there might be a long way to go before the technology could be used in clinical treatment, the team hopes that clinical experiments would start soon with advanced ovarian and gastric cancers, he said.
With the help of the ministry, the university and the government-funded Development Center for Biotechnology, the team last year established a start-up, UCT Bioscience, Yu said, adding that as he is focused on academic research, he did not take up a post at the firm.
Yu was last year a member of a delegation led by Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) to a conference in Washington between the ministry and the US National Institutes of Health.
Following the conference, Yu said that he is now working on new cancer therapeutics using the proprietary platform and the US agency’s technology.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS