Gallium in the detection and localization of tumours

The use of Gallium c:trate and gamma-imaging with a gamma camera as a diagnostic procedure for the detection and localization of malignant disease has been evaluated in 64 patients with malignant disease. From the results obtained it can be concluded that Gallium citrate can play an extremely useful diagnostic role as a tumour scanning agent. 'Best results are obtained in patients with sarcomata of any type and lymphomata. The procedure is less useful for the detection of carcinoma although diagnostically valuable information may be obtained with primary carcinoma of the maxillary antrum, breast and lung and in the case of metastatic carcinoma involving bone.S. Afr. Med. J., 45, 1351 (1971)

Predictive biology: modelling, understanding and harnessing microbial complexity

Predictive biology is the next great chapter in synthetic and systems biology, particularly for microorganisms. Tasks that once seemed infeasible are increasingly being realized such as designing and implementing intricate synthetic gene circuits that perform complex sensing and actuation functions, and assembling multi-species bacterial communities with specific, predefined compositions. These achievements have been made possible by the integration of diverse expertise across biology, physics and engineering, resulting in an emerging, quantitative understanding of biological design. As ever-expanding multi-omic data sets become available, their potential utility in transforming theory into practice remains firmly rooted in the underlying quantitative principles that govern biological systems. In this Review, we discuss key areas of predictive biology that are of growing interest to microbiology, the challenges associated with the innate complexity of microorganisms and the value of quantitative methods in making microbiology more predictable.Defence Threat Reduction Agency (Grant HDTRA1-15-1-0051