[quote=moneymaker]I think it is interesting that the cure for polio was found 64 years ago, a very specific disease, where the cure involved stimulating the immune system. Now today they are talking about stimulating the immune system in a more general way to fight cancer. It has taken science way too long to appreciate the immune system we each have within us. Have no idea what Theranos claims but since they are talking about a drop of blood or less I will guess it involves nano technology, which I hear is very hot in upstate New York.[/quote]

Modifying the activity of the immune system is a common strategy that has been extensively studied for a long time. Millstein and Kohler won the Nobel prize in the 1984 for discovering a method of making pure samples of antibodies. They fused antibody producing cells (which produce only one kind of antibody but do not divide) with cancerous cells (which provide the machinery for endless division). These were called hybridomas and they make “monoclonal” or pure samples of antibodies. Interferon, interleukins, all of the drugs that you see on TV that look like “Adilumimab” are all immune modulators. All of it has to do with activating (or deactivating) cellular processes by interacting with cell surface proteins. I hate to say this, but “new to you” isn’t necessarily new.

The problem with Theranos (to analogize) is that they hypothesized that because there are sharks in the ocean, you will find a shark in every gallon of ocean water you sample. Of course, that’s not the case. You need a lot of water to find one shark. And you need a lot of blood to get even a few molecules of certain proteins. More to get a statistically reliable reading.