It is the genome of an oncolytic virus, it is 34,000 base pairs long, and it is 100% artificial. It’s important because it not only has immediate application in studies of canine cancer, it also promises to inform the development of human therapies. In these human therapies, artificial viruses could be customized to such an extent, that they could qualify as personalized anticancer therapeutics. It is not the first time that oncolytic viruses has engineered but earlier virus like Herpes simplex and Oncorine(H101) are also being used. The virus in question in sCAV2, a conditionally replicative adenovirus (CRAd) that can target and kill tumor cells while sparing healthy cells. It was synthesized by scientists affiliated with Gen9, who worked in concert with scientists representing Autodesk and Auburn University. At Auburn, scientists led by Bruce Smith, V.M.D., Ph.D., intend to use the synthetic virus to evaluate therapeutic treatments in dogs with osteosarcoma, a
Introduction The word autophagy is derived from Greek words “auto” meaning self and “phagy” meaning eating. Autophagy is a normal physiological process in the body that deals with destruction of cells in the body. It maintains homeostasis or normal functioning by protein degradation and turnover of the destroyed cell organelles for new cell formation. During cellular stress the process of Autophagy is upscaled and increased. Cellular stress is caused when there is deprivation of nutrients and/or growth factors. Thus Autophagy may provide an alternate source of intracellular building blocks and substrates that may generate energy to enable continuous cell survival. History Autophagy has been known for over 50 years but its fundamental importance in physiology and medicine was only recognized after Yoshinori Ohsumi's paradigm-shifting research in the 1990's. For his discoveries, he is awarded this year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.