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NYU Abu Dhabi Develops Cancer-Fighting Nanospheres
The biotech breakthrough promises safer and more effective treatments using photodynamic and photothermal therapies.
A Research team from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Magzoub lab has made considerable advances in the fight against cancer using biocompatible nanospheres that have the potential to replace traditional forms of treatment.
The experiments trialed photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), which use non-invasive light waves to destroy cancers, avoiding the well-known side effects of chemo and radiotherapy.
Photodynamic therapy works by releasing a torrent of reactive oxygen species (ROS) onto cancer cells, whereas photothermal therapy converts light into searing heat, destroying tumor tissues through hyperthermia.
The research team has detailed their findings in a paper entitled “pH-Responsive Upconversion Mesoporous Silica Nanospheres for Combined Multimodal Diagnostic Imaging and Targeted Photodynamic and Photothermal Cancer Therapy”. The literature goes on to explain how the nanospheres are able to protect encapsulated photosensitizers and photothermal agents from degrading, enabling them to be delivered directly to cancer cells.
Alongside thermal and fluorescent imaging, traditional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is also used for tumor detection and monitoring. Once cancer is detected, the PDT and PTT can kill tumors without leaving toxic traces in the body.
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Loganathan Palanikumar, a senior researcher in the NYUAD Magzoub lab, explained the process, “To make PDT effective, we need enough photosensitizer in the tumor tissue, while PTT requires a substantial accumulation of photothermal agents within tumors”.
Mazin Magzoub, NYUAD associate professor of biology and Magzoub lab leader, added, “New therapeutic approaches are desperately needed to enhance the existing arsenal of cancer-fighting treatments”.
Magzoub lab’s new treatments offer real hope that cancers could soon be treated with minimal stress and danger to patients, leading to a brighter future free from one of the world’s most feared and destructive diseases.
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Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform
Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.
Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.
The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.
Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.
Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.
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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.
“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.
Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.
Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform
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