Bugging Cancer: Daring to Dream

The 1980 Supreme Court case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty was transformative for the biotechnology industry. It saw the Supreme Court allow Ananda Chakrabarty’s patents on living organisms, and paved the way for commercial biotechnology. Decades later, Chakrabarty is still an active researcher, and he is now working to develop cancer therapeutics based on symbiotic bacteria. In Bugging Cancer, Chakrabarty and his colleagues at the Chicago Oncogroup have written a compelling dramatic thriller that portrays a fictional story based on this real-life work. Bugging Cancer is a fictional book, based on real scientific progress in using bacteria and bacterial proteins to attack malignant tumor cells. Scientific results are extended in a fictional way to describe the cancer-fighting power of an imaginary bacterial protein termed neelazin. The book also mirrors present-day issues, including international competition for scientific talent, issues in patent law, research ethics, and financing. Written by a team of seasoned scientific and business professionals, Bugging Cancer is sure to appeal to scientific researchers, patent attorneys, physicians, and any anyone else interested in healthcare and scientific innovation.