February 15, 2013

Eric Feil ‘13Hamline UniversityBiology Senior SeminarAbstract:Cranial Mechanics and Feeding in Tyrannosaurus rexThe bite of a Tyrannosaurus rex is thought to be one of if not the most powerful bite in Earth’s history. However, the skulls of T. rex are usually found with bone sutures in the skull that are very loosely fused. Based on other animals with similar skull structures this would weaken the bite forces that the animal would be able to safely apply without risking damage to its skull. This study tested the whether having mobile bones in the skull would reduce bite stresses by using finite element analysis. Four different arrangements of bone mobility were tested. The maxilla-jugal suture was found to overall reduce stresses in the jaw but weakened the skull overall.

Bethany Hine ‘13Hamline UniversityBiology Senior SeminarAbstract:Sipuleucel-T: A Dendritic Cell Vaccine for Prostate Cancer*In the IMPACT (Immunotherapy for Prostate Adenocarcinoma Treatment) study, 521 men with prostate cancer underwent sipuleucel-T immunotherapy. This therapy involved the ex vivo loading of autologous dendritic cells with a recombinant fusion protein, PA2024, which in is part made of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). PSA is often elevated in the blood of men with prostate cancer and was a criterion for the men included in this phase III clinical trial. The trial consisted of receiving loaded dendritic cells (or unloaded dendritic cells as was the placebo group) twice a week for three weeks total. The group that received the immunotherapy showed immune response and experienced a 22% lower risk of death than the placebo group. The sipuleucel-T group also had a greater median survival rate of 4.1 months. These results were consistent with another large clinical trial performed by Small and Schellhammer in 2006.

*Article: Sipuleucel-T Immunotherapy for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (2010) Authors: Phillip W. Kantoff, et al.