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Scientists in the UK have developed a super-strong antibody that could dramatically improve how the immune system attacks cancer cells by boosting its activation power.
Researchers at the University of Southampton have designed a new type of antibody that could strengthen the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. The team, supported by Cancer Research UK, discovered that by increasing the rigidity of antibodies - tiny proteins produced by white blood cells - they could trigger a much stronger immune response.
Antibodies work by attaching to harmful cells like bacteria, viruses, or cancer cells, marking them for attack by the immune system. The new prototype, which features extra structural bonds to stiffen its Y-shaped form, was found to outperform naturally occurring antibodies in lab tests.
“The concept of using immuno-stimulation for cancer treatment is very exciting,” said Professor Mark Cragg of the Centre for Cancer Immunology. “Even small increases in rigidity significantly improve how well antibodies can activate the immune system.”
Using supercomputers, the team visualized antibodies at atomic detail to precisely insert additional disulfide bonds—tiny bridges that stabilize the structure. This made the antibodies more rigid, allowing them to hold immune receptors closer together and produce a stronger activation signal.
PhD student Isabel Elliott explained: “Floppier antibodies are less effective at triggering immune cells. Rigid ones seem to organize the receptors better, leading to a more powerful response.”
Dr. Ivo Tews, Professor in Structural Biology, added that this strategy could be applied to a wide range of immune-related molecules, not just those used in cancer therapy.
Dr. Iain Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, emphasized the potential impact of the findings: “Refining how we harness the immune system is a vital step forward. These super-strong antibodies could empower new, more effective treatments for patients undergoing immunotherapy.”
The research is published in the journal Nature Communications, marking a promising step toward next-generation cancer treatments designed to supercharge the body’s natural defenses.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
From Sunday, all non-EU citizens, including British visitors, will face new biometric checks when entering and exiting the European Union under its long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES).
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, and Omar Yaghi of the University of California.
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their groundbreaking discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits.
United States chipmaker AMD will supply artificial intelligence chips to OpenAI in a multi-year agreement that could generate tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue and give the ChatGPT maker the option to acquire up to 10% of the company.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their ground breaking discoveries on peripheral immune tolerance.
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