News Releases from 2024
Nanoengineers receive $5M in funding to use plant viruses to fight cancer and save crops
Congratulations to UC San Diego chemical and nano engineering professor Nicole Steinmetz and her lab for bringing in over $5 million in new research funding this year to continue their work developing nanoparticles to fight cancer and save crops! These nanoparticles are engineered from a surprising ally: plant viruses. Full Story
Swimming Microrobots Deliver Cancer-fighting Drugs to Metastatic Lung Tumors in Mice
Engineers have developed microscopic robots, known as microrobots, capable of swimming through the lungs to deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to metastatic tumors. This approach has shown promise in mice, where it inhibited the growth and spread of tumors that had metastasized to the lungs, thereby boosting survival rates compared to control treatments. Full Story
Plant Virus Treatment Shows Promise in Fighting Metastatic Cancers in Mice
An experimental treatment made from a plant virus is effective at protecting against a broad range of metastatic cancers in mice, shows a new study from the University of California San Diego. The treatment, composed of nanoparticles fashioned from the cowpea mosaic virus—a virus that infects black-eyed pea plants—showed remarkable success in improving survival rates and suppressing the growth of metastatic tumors across various cancer models, including colon, ovarian, melanoma and breast cancer. Full Story