Press Clips from 2023
October 20, 2023
Curbing Lung Cancer Metastasis with Nanoparticle Vaccine
Scientists at the University of California San Diego, have developed an experimental vaccine that could curb the spread of metastatic cancers to the lungs. The key ingredients of the vaccine are nanoparticles that have been engineered to target a protein known to play a central role in cancer growth and spread. The vaccine significantly reduced the spread of metastatic breast and skin cancers to the lungs in mice. It also improved the survival rate in mice with metastatic breast cancer after surgical removal of the primary tumor. Full Story
October 9, 2023
UCSD Researchers Develop Spherical Nanoparticles from Plant Viruses to Treat Pests
Researchers at Dr. Nicole Steinmetz's lab at UC San Diego have found that viral-derived spherical nanoparticles can serve as a successful pesticide delivery system. Specifically, researchers built this system to treat nematode pests. To treat these pests, farmers often use pesticides like ivermectin. Unfortunately, ivermectin does not penetrate soil very well, so farmers often resort to over-application of this pesticide to get it down to the plant roots where the nematodes are. One option to mitigate these effects could be to deliver a smaller amount of pesticides directly to the pest. Full Story
September 22, 2023
Plant virus recruited to save crops from root-eating nematodes
Plant parasitic nematodes are microscopic soil-dwelling creatures that damage crops by feeding on their roots. Scientists have now developed a greener and more efficient means of eradicating them, using a modified plant virus. Instead of washing down large amounts of pesticides into the soil, Prof. Nicole Steinmetz and colleagues at the University of California-San Diego looked to the tobacco mild green mosaic virus. Unlike pesticides, it's naturally adept at making its way down through the soil. Full Story