The Earth's Hidden Force Field, Two major Cancer Breakthroughs and a solution to our Nanoplastics problem
September 5
This week we discover the hidden force field that is protecting the earth. We investigate two new major breakthroughs in difficult to treat cancers and we find a solution to the nanoplastics problem. That is one of the great things about our species. When we find and acknowledge a problem, we invent a way to fix it.
The Hidden Force Field that Protects the Earth
About 60 years ago it was hypothesized that there was a hidden force field around the earth that was protecting us from particles coming from outer space. NASA has finally detected this force field!
The Endurance space mission was launched from Ny-Alesund in Svalbard, Norway in May 2022. The mission was named after Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship “Endurance” that sank in 1914 after being stuck in Antarctic ice. Coincidently (if you believe in such things) Shackleton’s Endurance was discovered at the bottom of the Waddell Sea in 2022.
The rocket range at Svalbard allowed the rocket to fly through the polar winds and make the measurements needed to prove the hidden force field theory. Endurance flew to a height of 768 kilometers before crashing into the Greenland Sea where, like the ship it was named after, it is now sitting on the bottom of the ocean. Maybe NASA should name the next rocket after a ship that made it back to shore.
Endurance measured a change in electric potential of just 0.55 volts on its tip during its assent, indicating a weak electric field. This electric field is thought to be responsible for the polar winds that lead to an outflow of particles from Earth’s atmosphere into space. Half a volt is the power of a watch battery however it is the correct strength to explain the polar winds.
The electric field is ambipolar meaning the tugging between electrons and ions is going both ways. The inference is that the field increases the supply of O+ ions in the magnetosphere by 3,800%. Combined with other particle interactions this allows the particles from space to accelerate and achieve escape velocity. This newly discovered electric field is a key driver in propelling ions out of the earth’s atmosphere and into space.
Speculation is that this electric field was important in planetary evolution and may help explain why life evolved here and not on our near neighbors, Venus and Mars. Both planets were once like Earth. Maybe this electric field kept the Earth hospitable and allowed us to evolve.
Cancer Breakthroughs
Two deadly cancers, glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer have just had major breakthroughs. Both are difficult to treat with very low survival rates.
Glioblastoma
A team at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne have identified a promising two in one treatment that tears and destroys glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Additionally it helps the immune system develop a lasting defense against future attacks.
In Australia one person is diagnosed with brain cancer every 5 hours. There is currently no cure and current therapies are largely ineffective with most patients dying within a year of diagnosis. The new approach uses CAR T cell therapy which isolates a patients immune cells and engineers them into “super killer cells”. The cells are then re-infused into the body.
CAR T has held promise for some time in brain cancer treatment however the difficulty was finding the right protein to target and deliver the treatment to the brain cells. The WEHI study identified a protein called EphA3 found on the surface of high grade glioma cells. The EphA3 targeted CAR T cells can effectively seek out and eliminate glioma cells. It also triggered a long lasting immune response preventing future tumor growth.
Pancreatic Cancer
A team at the University of Massachusetts have demonstrated a new method to combat pancreatic cancer. The novel nanoparticle drug delivery system activates an immune pathway in combination with tumor targeting agents.
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common form of pancreatic cancer with a 13%, 5 year survival rate. It is the third leading cause of cancer deaths. The big issue is drug delivery. It is a huge challenge due to the architecture of these tumors and their environment. The environment blocks the activation of the body’s immune cells and their penetration into the tumor. Pancreatic cancer does not respond to most conventional therapies like chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
The team’s previous research demonstrated that two cancer drugs could promote blood vessel development enabling greater T cell and chemo delivery into the tumor. The cancer however can trick the T cells into thinking it is a healthy clump of cells.
The breakthrough was tricking the immune system into thinking that the tumor is a viral-type infection using a pathway called stimulator of interferon genes (STING). This generates a robust anti-tumor response. Additionally the TRL4 pathway (a key activator of immune responses) is activated boosting the effects of the immune response. By encapsulating the agonists (chemicals that trigger specific biological responses) for both pathways into one lipid based nanoparticle they created a highly effective way to reach the target cells.
In a study on mice 8 of the 9 mice with pancreatic tumors had their tumors shrink and 2 of those had their tumors disappear completely. There is potential for this type of treatment to be used with colon cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer and cancer of the bile ducts.
Solving the Nanoplastics Problem
We have spent the past few weeks talking about the problems with nanoplastics. Well where there is a problem, there is an opportunity for an enterprising solution. A team at the University of Missouri have developed a method to eliminate 98% of nanoplastics from water.
This new approach uses water repelling solvents made from natural ingredients. The solvents act like plastic magnets, absorbing the nanoplastics from significant volumes of water. The solvent initially sits on the water’s surface in a similar way to oil floating on water. As the solvent mixes with water it slowly absorbs the nanoplastics. Once the plastics have been absorbed the solvent floats again where it and the nanoplastics are separated. In a lab a simple pipette is used to remove the nanoplastic carrying solvent leaving clean plastic free water.
The method works with fresh water and salt water. The solvent is safe and non-toxic. As the components repel water they prevent any further contamination of the water. The method also works with a range of different sizes of nanoplastics.
The team is now trying to determine the maximum carrying capacity of the solvent and developing ways to reuse the solvent multiple times. Next steps will include determining if the system can be used in municipal water treatment plants and other water treatment settings.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.
If you have any questions or comments please comment below.
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.
Till next week.