#The Brighter Side

[whitedahlia13]

Besides those hours sharing the passenger’s seat, there were other moments. Like the two of them walking the streets of Mexico, his hand frequently brushing against hers or hovering at her back. Like when he stepped between her and a boy who almost knocked into her because he wasn’t looking where he was going. Like when he bought her the beaded bracelet with the tiny star charm she had been eyeing, handing the cash to the street vendor before she could protest and shoving the eight pesos change he received into his pocket with a crooked grin. She remembered those moments too, each of them like little rainbows in the midst of so much gloom.

Read more: ao3 & ffnet

[marrowsoup]

Ed Larson is such a real one for saying “joel osteen… die tomorrow”

[anxietyfrappuccino]

i sold two journals for $4. i got to drink coca-cola. i pet my grandma's neighbor's cat. her name is zoom. i saw one of my older cousins and her mom. i saw a woman wearing fuzzy zebra slides. my outfit was fire. flannel, my beloved. my socks have whiskers. i saw roof cat again. my tia said i could have the old shelf in the garage. i have tumblr. i have people who love me. i got to see my sister. spicy food. my family loves my photography. my grandma's dog is adorable and sweet. his name is gordo. these things are good, and i am grateful for them.

[tealeahcranston]

I try my hardest everyday to say things like “I can do this” but never have I ever cared about someone complementing me, why you ask?

Because when you’ve been through so much there is only a heart and mind that can take so much more, whether it’s nice or not.. we take it personally, and we don’t want you to take the fact that we don’t like it or we want it because we probably do but we don’t want too cause an argument by telling people how we feel!

[chimeride]

Grand Bailla, the 247th Known One.

[bastart13]

How do you imagine hybrids work in love and legends? We've seen elf/humans.

So there are 6 different species and aside from the mermaids, they're all compatable to have children.

I headcanon life expectancy, colouration, and the shape of facial or body features to be gradient traits, so they pretty much randomly combine between the two parents like any other child

Magical traits are probably more binary. So a fairy hybrid child could inherit the eyes, wings, and/or sparkles, or none, with no middle ground. A demon hybrid will usually inherit a faded form of the markings, but they won't always be able to transform or earn horns. Dwarf hybrids might inherit the ability to echolocate vs just having larger ears.

If two species with strong magic have a child, they're more likely to inherit magical traits (e.g. elves and fairies with strong magic vs humans and dwarves with low magic)

Considering the domains are all friendly with each other, I imagine it's fairly common to have mixed ancestry and there's no real taboo aside from the grief of lifespan differences

[fizzytoo]

ama and karlee's updated teen bedrooms!

amaya’s the first 3, and karlee’s the last 3!

[t3chborb]

Dude are you kidding me... Blizzard gave the Anubis mythic to REAPER? Okay yeah sure Anubis is the god of death, which is Reaper's entire image, and Ramattra highkey hates Anubis the AI, but... REALLY? Since when skins follow the personalities of the canonical characters??? And sure Ram may hate his creator but he's quite literally doing the EXACT same things Anubis did with all the stuff happening around Null Sector. Like that metaphor alone is a lit reason to give Ram the Anubis mythic, but noooooooo, let's give it to the local edge lord...

What, is Poseidon too much? Ramattra can't have two god-themed skins or some shit???

Aaaaand on a slightly different note, Venture the archeologist, omnic history enthusiastist and "discoverer" of Anubis the AI getting nothing in the season 12 trailer is also criminal-

[silvermeww]

okay, when was someone going to tell me that

oh, idk, steven started at 19, burgh has a younger sister, clay actually isn't born american, skyla's whole fam thing and ELESA IS 15???? (even younger than skyla like wtf???)

(also the 'alder' at the bottom is supposed to be drayden lol)

and that's not all

say hello to:

viola being 18??? 'black whirlwind' korrina, RAMOS MEETING AZ'S FLOETTE AS A KID, genderfluid and apparently also age-fluid olympia, CLEMONT?? AND HIS WHOLE THING DOWN TO BEING 12 OF ALL AGES???

(you know what, marlon being 30 definitely makes sense with the hippie vibes)

wikstrom SAYING that he only wears that suit in pokemon battles but i've never seen his casual wear, malva being pr for flare lol, drasna selling dragon merch + great family lore if you want to know, siebold having to third-wheel lysandre and sycamore while eating (move aside malva, you're not the only elite 4 dealing with this) and 20?? YEARS OLD?? DIANTHA????????????

(way too many men in kalos are getting ladies, c'mon)

ethan being into history is such a neat detail hmmm, idk much of the frontier brains ngl, and we've finally got the region for looker and it's... hoenn??? you know what, makes sense with his chaotic vibes so i'll take it (throws away unova taped to a rock behind my back). also he's abolsutely cheating we all see that he's just relying on knowing us as protags, should've known smh

(um i think someone said that 'caitlin' should've been anabel but idk)

oh and the last one is charon, if we care about how much of a loser he really is. forget about birch and the poochyena, this guy is the lowest heh. imagine being charon (please don't).

(when the protags of johto are the same age as clemont lol) (yeah i know there are years between those events just let me have this)

and last but not least:

aaron 🤝 valerie: wanting to be pokemon (and ig gotta toss in shauntal with the ao3 writer gift heh, don't know if they would commission her or stay away), bertha's description???? i love flint just saying, cynthia 👀👀 is absolutely doing something illegal 👀👀, roark is WHAT??? (child labour laws in sinnoh must be lax ngl), maylene as well???? fantina watching scary movies is something i'll have to incorporate into my worldview and bryon?? are you okay??

so yeah. credit goes to @/KuroBlitz96 on the twitter/x for having this up, i'm just here to project sheer surprise at this massive dump of ages... my thoughts on pokemon have completely turned on its head once more lol (this is fine)

[couldtheycatchkira]

i think the question that this blog asks often has a totally different answer depending on whether you choose to interpret it as either:

- if [character] was a detective in the death note universe, would they catch kira?

OR

- if kira was a villain (of the week, even) in [character]'s universe, would they catch him?

for example, if the icarly crew, behaving as they do on their own show, were transposed to the DN universe and tasked with finding kira, they'd probably fail. but if light yagami was dropped into the icarly universe they'd get him for sure. after like a few episodes where he's a recurring villain in a pathetic way. because that's the logic of the icarly universe.

(if you couldn't tell I've been thinking about the icarly gang catching kira since i saw the poll lmao)

((This is also a good take. Sometimes, you think to yourself - if the Death Note were somehow some sort of remotely-induced alchemical attack, would Scar be able to figure it out? Would Light, the adoptive son of Grumman (and therefore adoptive uncle of Riza Hawkeye), ever come to know who Scar was until it was too late? Or would his "in" with the Amestran military to come into multiple pieces of confidential information?

And sometimes, you think to yourself - if Scar was put into the Death Note universe he is going to be so busy turning other people into ragù that Kira is just not on his radar - until his older brother, notable medical malpractitioner, is almost killed in a freak accident. Then, Kira is now on Scar's hit list. Is Light able to find out that a deep-web hitman is after him, one who is methodically tracking down everyone who knows Light? (Also, the brother wasn't actually a target, word just spreads and Scar jumped to conclusions, like he always does.)

Much to think about!))

[casscainmainly]

Ship anon just voted and was pleasantly surprised to see StephCass rack up a 9-ish% lead. In other news, you are truly not wrong about Bruce starting out his Cass mentorship on a harmful foot by trying to prune any bits of femininity he noticed. That portion of their dynamic is uniquely fraught in ways unmatched by Batdad's friction with Dick, Damian, Timbo or even Jason-and in large part *because* Bruce was otherwise over the moon about her skillset & dedication. Crossed wires galore.

StephCass SWEEP they made it to the finals of the relationship bracket!! Unfortunately it's an all-Cass matchup between Babs + Cass and Steph + Cass, so vote whatever your heart desires (I did Babs + Cass but honestly either way Cass is a winner AS USUAL).

And yep absolutely about the Bruce-Cass femininity thing. I do think the sexism makes their dynamic super unique, because it's an exploration of Bruce's privilege in a way that's realistic (he's not trying to be sexist, but he can't shake his masculine gaze all the same).

I think Bruce-Damian has the potential to reach this kind of complexity too, if writers dug more into Bruce's race-based assumptions about Damian. People have written great metas about Bruce's fear of Damian being so like him, but I think a lot of his fear is also based on the ways Damian isn't like him, which is influenced by his Asian-Arab heritage. Idk more relationships should be as complex as Pucketts + Horrocks Bruce-Cass.

[xiakeik]

Redraw of an extremely old piece of art/my hella late gift for UT's 9th anniversary :]

⏬Older version under the cut! Probably somewhere from 2017ish⏬

Quality's pretty bad since I have NO idea where the original file is

[ronkeyroo]

🔸 Friend requested some more Raven emotes so...Here’s to your chaotic werewolf bimbo! ✨

[itsarandomblog]

I think, for a while, Camila would be really mad at Lilith. She left without a trace then she kissed sided with Adriel, and they lost Ava coz of it, resulting in Bea leaving the Order. And Lilith would feel... irredeemable and nothing really mattered but the Holy War but every time she flies over to OCS hq (coz she likes to check up on them if they're preparing), she'd see Camila training new recruits, and being ruthless, the way Lilith used to be on the woman, but then be a cinnamon roll after that, helping the one she just beat over the mat, and Lilith just, you know, wants to apologize. Make it right. Lilith doesn't really care about the others. Camila's forgiveness was all she needed wanted.

So one day, in the middle of the night, she teleports to Camila's room and comes face-to-face with an angry cinnamon roll with a divinium dagger in hand against her neck. Lilith didn't teleport away, she let the blade cut her neck, but her wings unfurled involuntarily.

And the scene might go like this:

Camila, with unshed tears, "Give me one valid reason not to slit your throat right here, right now."

Lilith, mustering up all the courage, knowing she would might die that night, "I'm sorry. For everything."

Then Lilith would fall on her knees, head bent down, neck exposed, while Camila would look down on her, blade on her hand. Slowly, she pointed it down at her neck and Lilith closed her eyes, waiting for the blade, believing she deserves whatever punishment Camila would give her.

Then she'd hear a clang beside her, the dagger near her knees.

Lilith, being all confused, would look up, and see a crying Camila, shaking. With anger or with sadness, she wasn't sure.

For a while, they stayed like that.

Lilith, wings unfurled on her side, kneeling in front of Camila.

[nerosdayinanime]

At the end of the world or the last thing I see You are never coming home, never coming home Never coming home, never coming home And all the things that you never ever told me And all the smiles that are ever going to haunt me

Never coming home, Never coming home

[thoughtportal]

mRNA vaccines have gained widespread attention for their crucial role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, even before the pandemic, researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center were investigating the potential of mRNA vaccine technology in the fight against cancer.

Leading this innovative research is Dr. Vinod Balachandran, a physician-scientist associated with the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Dr. Balachandran's groundbreaking efforts have paved the way for a clinical trial focused on using mRNA vaccines to treat pancreatic cancer, offering new hope to patients confronting this challenging disease.

Neoantigens in Pancreatic Tumors

At the heart of this innovative approach lies the concept of neoantigens, proteins found within pancreatic tumors that serve as alarm bells, alerting the immune system to the presence of cancer cells. These neoantigens play a pivotal role in rallying the immune response to keep pancreatic cancer at bay.

Unlike traditional vaccines, which are one-size-fits-all, these mRNA vaccines are tailored to each individual, with the aim of stimulating the production of specific immune cells known as T cells. These T cells are trained to recognize and target pancreatic cancer cells, reducing the risk of cancer recurrence following surgical removal of the primary tumor.

Intriguingly, the results of this groundbreaking research have shown remarkable promise. Among the 16 patients studied, eight experienced activation of T cells that recognized their own pancreatic cancers.

Importantly, these patients demonstrated delayed recurrence of their pancreatic cancers, providing tantalizing evidence that the T cells activated by the vaccines may be effectively holding the cancer at bay.

Dr. Balachandran's work in pioneering mRNA vaccines for pancreatic cancer received a significant boost through collaboration with BioNTech, the company responsible for developing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

When asked about the inspiration behind using a vaccine to combat pancreatic cancer, Dr. Balachandran explained, "There has been great interest in using immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer because nothing else has worked very well. We thought immunotherapy held promise because of research we began about seven years ago."

This research, spanning seven years, revealed that a select group of pancreatic cancer patients managed to defy the odds and survive after tumor removal surgery. Upon close examination, it was observed that these tumors harbored an unusually high number of immune cells, particularly T cells.

These immune cells were drawn to the tumors by signals emitted from within. These signals, as it turned out, were neoantigens—proteins that T cells recognize as foreign invaders, prompting an immune system assault on the cancer.

Even more intriguing was the discovery that T cells recognizing these neoantigens persisted in the bloodstream of these fortunate patients for up to 12 years after tumor removal.

This sustained immune response resembled an autovaccination, with T cells retaining a memory of the neoantigens as a threat, akin to the way vaccines confer long-term protection against pathogens. This finding sparked the idea of artificially inducing a similar effect in other pancreatic cancer patients.

Unlocking the Potential of mRNA Vaccines

To understand how mRNA vaccines can combat pancreatic cancer, one must delve into their intricate mechanisms. Dr. Balachandran and his team published their findings on immune protection in long-term pancreatic cancer survivors in the prestigious journal Nature in November 2017. During this time, they were also exploring methods to deliver neoantigens to patients in the form of vaccines, with a particular focus on mRNA vaccines.

Unlike traditional vaccines, which introduce weakened or inactivated pathogens into the body, mRNA vaccines leverage a piece of genetic code known as messenger RNA (mRNA).

This genetic code instructs cells in the body to produce a specific protein, thus triggering an immune response. Coincidentally, BioNTech's co-founder and CEO, Uğur Şahin, expressed interest in the research conducted by Dr. Balachandran's team, initiating a collaboration that would prove pivotal.

In late 2017, Dr. Balachandran and his team journeyed to Mainz, Germany, where BioNTech is headquartered. Over dinner, they discussed the potential of mRNA vaccines in the context of pancreatic cancer treatment. This marked the beginning of a journey that held immense promise for cancer patients worldwide.Scientist, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech Ugur Sahin. (CREDIT: BERND VON JUTRCZENKA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The intricacies of designing an effective cancer vaccine are manifold. Given that cancer arises from the body's own cells, distinguishing proteins in cancer cells as foreign entities is a formidable challenge for the immune system. Nevertheless, advances in cancer biology and genomic sequencing have paved the way for the design of vaccines capable of discerning the difference.

Dr. Balachandran's team, in conjunction with BioNTech and Genentech, capitalized on these advances, recognizing the critical role played by tumor mutations in triggering immune responses. Their optimism in the potential of mRNA vaccines for pancreatic cancer was well-founded, setting the stage for their groundbreaking research.

Personalized mRNA Vaccines: A Tailored Approach

The personalized nature of mRNA vaccines for pancreatic cancer is a testament to their efficacy. After a patient undergoes surgical removal of a pancreatic tumor, the tumor is genetically sequenced to identify mutations that generate optimal neoantigen proteins—those that appear most foreign to the immune system.

Subsequently, an mRNA vaccine is meticulously crafted, containing the genetic code specific to these neoantigens present in the individual's tumor.

During the vaccine production process, patients receive a single dose of a checkpoint inhibitor drug. This combination is intended to enhance the immune response to tumors. Once the mRNA vaccine is administered into the bloodstream, it prompts dendritic cells—an essential component of the immune system—to produce the neoantigen proteins.

These dendritic cells simultaneously educate other immune system components, including T cells, to recognize and attack tumor cells bearing the same neoantigen proteins. With T cells primed to seek out and destroy cells displaying these proteins, the chances of cancer recurrence are diminished.

Overcoming Challenges: The Road to Success

The road to realizing personalized mRNA vaccines for pancreatic cancer was fraught with challenges, not least of which was the complexity of the manufacturing process. Unlike mass-produced vaccines like those for COVID-19, the mRNA cancer vaccine had to be custom-made for each patient based on the unique characteristics of their tumor.Neoantigens are an important feature of cancer cells and help to stimulate anti-cancer immune responses. (CREDIT: Technology Networks)

This necessitated an intricate series of steps, including the surgical removal of the tumor, shipping the tumor sample to Germany for sequencing, manufacturing the vaccine, and returning it to New York—all within a tight timeframe.

Thankfully, Dr. Balachandran's team and their collaborators rose to the occasion, successfully enrolling the target total of 20 patients nearly a year ahead of schedule. Their unwavering dedication and meticulous planning ensured that the personalized mRNA vaccines could be provided to those in dire need.

As if the hurdles of personalized vaccine production weren't enough, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic added an unprecedented layer of complexity to the clinical trial. Dr. Balachandran and his team recognized the urgency of adapting swiftly to ensure that patients were not adversely affected.

Under the leadership of Cristina Olcese and with the unwavering support of individuals such as Department of Surgery Chair Jeffrey Drebin and Hepatopancreatobiliary Service Chief William Jarnagin, the team orchestrated the logistics required to maintain the trial's momentum.

Remarkably, what was initially estimated as a two-and-a-half-year trial was completed in a mere 18 months. The tireless efforts of Dr. Drebin, Medical Oncologist Eileen O'Reilly, Physician-Scientist Jedd Wolchok, Biologist Taha Merghoub, Computational Biologist Ben Greenbaum, and the support from Stand Up 2 Cancer/Lustgarten Foundation were instrumental in making this trial a reality amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic.

A Bright Future for mRNA Vaccines in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

The recent findings from this pioneering research offer a beacon of hope for patients grappling with pancreatic cancer. Dr. Balachandran affirms that "an mRNA vaccine can trigger the production of T cells that recognize pancreatic cancer cells."

The prospect of personalized vaccines enlisting the immune system in the fight against pancreatic cancer—a disease in dire need of improved treatments—holds tremendous promise. Moreover, these developments may extend their impact to other forms of cancer as well.

Looking ahead, Dr. Balachandran and his team are committed to further analyzing the data obtained from the clinical trial. This analysis will provide valuable insights into the factors that facilitate the vaccine's efficacy in patients. Armed with this knowledge, they aim to refine the vaccines to make them more effective and applicable to a broader spectrum of pancreatic cancer patients.

In a testament to the forward-thinking vision of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, this pioneering work exemplifies their commitment to bringing cutting-edge treatments to cancer patients.

Through their partnership with BioNTech and Genentech, and with the support of Stand Up 2 Cancer/Lustgarten Foundation, a larger study is already in the pipeline, aiming to test personalized mRNA vaccines in a more extensive cohort of pancreatic cancer patients.

As Dr. Balachandran notes, they were at the forefront of mRNA vaccines before their popularity surged, leveraging scientific discoveries to make a tangible impact on patients' lives. The future indeed looks brighter for those facing the formidable challenge of pancreatic cancer, thanks to the relentless pursuit of innovation in the field of mRNA vaccines.

Key Takeaways

Some people with pancreatic cancer survive many years after diagnosis.

In these patients, the immune system keeps the cancer from returning.

A messenger RNA vaccine based on this concept is being tested in combination with another type of immunotherapy.

Early results suggest the vaccine is having the desired effect on the immune system.