Author: Buddhini Samarasinghe

  • The Hallmarks of Cancer: Fighting Back

    The Hallmarks of Cancer: Fighting Back

    Fighting back How can we use our knowledge about growth factors (detailed in the previous articles here and here) to fight back against cancer? This is where the magic words ‘targeted therapies’ come in. Since cancer cells hijack normal growth factor response pathways to become self sufficient, it is logical for us to target these…

  • A Tale of Two STEM Women

    A Tale of Two STEM Women

    Ada Lovelace Day is a day for celebrating the achievements of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Recently, the New York Times published a fantastic article by Eileen Pollack, “Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science”. Women were leaving the profession not because they weren’t gifted but because of the…

  • The Hallmarks of Cancer: Becoming Independent

    The Hallmarks of Cancer: Becoming Independent

    This article originally appeared on Know The Cosmos. I will be re-posting excerpts here for Australian Science with added commentary over the coming weeks! “The Hallmarks of Cancer” are ten anti-cancer defense mechanisms that are hardwired into our cells, that must be breached by a cell on the path towards cancer. The First Hallmark of…

  • The Hallmarks of Cancer: Growth Factors and Cell Signaling

    The Hallmarks of Cancer: Growth Factors and Cell Signaling

    This article originally appeared on Know The Cosmos. I will be re-posting excerpts here for Australian Science with added commentary over the coming weeks! “The Hallmarks of Cancer” are ten anti-cancer defense mechanisms that are hardwired into our cells, that must be breached by a cell on the path towards cancer. The First Hallmark of…

  • The Ten Hallmarks of Cancer

    The Ten Hallmarks of Cancer

    This series of articles originally appeared on Know The Cosmos. I will be reposting the articles here for AusSci with added commentary over the coming weeks! In 2002, Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan published a review article in the journal Cell titled “The Hallmarks of Cancer”. It was a seminal paper in every sense of the word; downloaded 20,000…

  • Tear Down These Walls

    Tear Down These Walls

    This article originally appeared on the Nature Soapbox Science blog. I am excited to be joining the Australian Science team, and wanted to re-post this article here as it encompasses my approach to science communication, and will set the tone for future posts from me.  On a cold weeknight in late November, 1660, a dozen…