01-14-2021, 06:45 AM
Its 35 right now in Philadelphia, I've actually been at work since 6 AM, with a super fun high tech experiment.
We are going to be performing a process called "Single Cell Sequencing". Essentially, we will be individually sequencing the "RNA Transcriptome" of a few thousand cancer cells being treated by a chemotherapeutic drug we're researching. If your DNA is your Genome, the "RNA Transcriptome" is what a cell is doing with that DNA. Previously, we tried regular bulk RNA sequencing, but the event we were looking for appears to be timed based on the cell cycle, and trying to get a culture of cancer cells to synchronize is like trying to get 2 million cats to all sit still at the same time.
We know that the treatment works, and clinical trials against other cancer types have shown that there are far fewer side effects with the drug, but its not actually clear what the mechanism of action is, and no one has been able to figure it out yet. This is important so that we don't have to find out the old-fashioned way which patients won't respond well to it (by giving it to them and getting a bad reaction).
Because of the timing involved, the experiment needed to be started much earlier in the morning in order for there to be enough time to get it started and prepped.
Its a pain, and its expensive, but if it works, we'll be on our way to understanding this drug and helping it move forward through future approval processes.
We are going to be performing a process called "Single Cell Sequencing". Essentially, we will be individually sequencing the "RNA Transcriptome" of a few thousand cancer cells being treated by a chemotherapeutic drug we're researching. If your DNA is your Genome, the "RNA Transcriptome" is what a cell is doing with that DNA. Previously, we tried regular bulk RNA sequencing, but the event we were looking for appears to be timed based on the cell cycle, and trying to get a culture of cancer cells to synchronize is like trying to get 2 million cats to all sit still at the same time.
We know that the treatment works, and clinical trials against other cancer types have shown that there are far fewer side effects with the drug, but its not actually clear what the mechanism of action is, and no one has been able to figure it out yet. This is important so that we don't have to find out the old-fashioned way which patients won't respond well to it (by giving it to them and getting a bad reaction).
Because of the timing involved, the experiment needed to be started much earlier in the morning in order for there to be enough time to get it started and prepped.
Its a pain, and its expensive, but if it works, we'll be on our way to understanding this drug and helping it move forward through future approval processes.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.
![[Image: logosmall.png]](http://i543.photobucket.com/albums/gg445/CAB_IV/Model%20Trains%202013/logosmall.png)