Innovations for life
IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS often come to the public's attention in a flood of media hype and incomplete information that can make a discovery seem like an overnight success story. But the truth is new scientific insights are nearly always a result of years of laborious trial and error, and the long path to success is littered with a plethora of failures.
In this issue of Quest, you'll read about two truly remarkable innovations by Hutchinson Center researchers that promise to make significant contributions to biomedical science.
The cover story on Dr. Jim Olson's development of tumor paint shows in compelling detail how Jim's breakthrough was separated by 20 years from his initial idea for it. Years of study by his team, including building upon other researchers findings, eventually led to Jim's discovery that a compound derived from scorpion venom could illuminate brain tumors in mice in startling detail. This discovery — which could be tested in operating rooms within the next two years — will help surgeons be more precise when removing tumors, sparing healthy tissue and reducing the likelihood of leaving cancer cells behind. It's important to point out that Jim's cutting-edge research was driven by private donations from people like you. As Jim said, "Without the private funding, we might not have tumor paint."
No less remarkable are the developments in Dr. Mark Roth's laboratory. He has pioneered the first process to induce hibernation in a mammal on demand. Using mice as a model organism, Mark has found a way to temporarily suppress the metabolism, thereby reducing the need for oxygen. Put simply, this technique could one day be used to buy time for trauma patients, such as those injured in automobile accidents who need to be rushed to surgery or patients waiting for organ transplants. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recognized the importance of Mark's inventive work this fall with one of its prestigious MacArthur Fellowship "genius grants."
It's this kind of creative research by many extraordinary scientists that makes it so rewarding to be at the Hutchinson Center. With your continued financial support, we will have the opportunity to see more of their wild ideas come to fruition, and together we can continue to stretch the boundaries of lifesaving biomedical science.
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