Battle cancer at the I Love Science Festival!

03 October '23

Experiments, laboratories, events, workshops and exhibitions will immerse you in the world of science and technology. This fifth edition of the I Love Science Festival will be packed with interactive stands, presenting everything from chemistry to coding, via space, artificial intelligence, robots and environmental experiments. It is a unique opportunity for young and old to learn while having fun and to awaken the scientist in everyone.

... And SCK CEN will also be there! Come quickly to our stand on the weekend of 13-15 October! [Tip: stand number VB15].

What to pack for hiking at the I Love Science Festival?

Nothing! We have already prepared your backpack! In that backpack is a life-saving radioisotope. This is a radioactive substance that we can use to fight cancer. After a while, the backpack is only half full... The substance needs to get to the cancer cell as soon as possible, before it wears off. And you are the courier on duty! Put on the backpack and brace yourself. When the clock starts, run as fast as you can to the other side. Simple, isn't it? Not so fast! The room is scattered with laser beams. Dodge them like a pro, because hitting them will cost you time. The faster you are, the better the treatment.

What’s the science behind it?

This laser maze is a playful way of illustrating how targeted cancer therapies work. In targeted cancer therapies, we insert a radioisotope into the ‘backpack’ of a molecule. That molecule rushes through the bloodstream and targets the cancer cell to drop off the radioisotope. The radioisotope emits radiation, which kills the cancer cell. It has to do this very precisely because the cancer cells are surrounded by healthy cells, which should be affected as little as possible. Just like you should not hit the laser beams!

2023_SCKCEN_Nuclear-medicine_Radiolabeling

Our cancer research

We study which molecules can carry a radioisotope and whether those molecules can find their destination. So we are researching which 'backpack' to use to treat specific cancer types and what to fill the backpack with.

Three specific cancers

Commissioned by clinical and industrial partners, we do this for numerous cancers. We also have our own line of research on cancer. That line of research will focus on innovative treatments for three specific cancers:

glioblastoma (brain cancer);
colon cancer;
and ovarian cancer.

Today, many of these cancers are still untreatable. We want to change that.

🔗 How do we fight against these cancers? Read more here.

Virtual dive in a reactor vessel

These radioactive substances don't just happen! We produce them in our BR2 research reactor. At the I Love Science Festival, you can virtually dive into the reactor vessel. Wow, if that's not lit!