One in every two people will acquire cancer throughout their lifetime, making it one of the world's most common and dangerous diseases. To answer issues like "what is cancer?", "what causes cancer?" and "why do so many people still die of cancer?", The Francis Crick Institute has opened its doors to the UK's first exhibition dedicated to groundbreaking cancer research.
'Outwitting Cancer - Making Sense of Nature's Enigma' is a multimedia display interactive exhibition that explores the newest cancer research at The Francis Crick Institute, Europe's biggest biomedical research centre. The exhibition helps answer issues about cancer using engrossing videos and amazing microscopic visuals.
The show starts with an immersive cinematic display that takes you on a trip through the human body. An audiovisual display in a custom-built cinema, lets you see breathtaking microscopic pictures from Crick researchers using a specially commissioned soundscape by artist Mira Calix. Then, a dynamic schedule of events and discussions runs concurrently with the exhibition, as well as an in-depth digital experience with supplementary exhibition content.
To have an in-depth understanding of the world's most common and dangerous diseases, eight specifically commissioned videos document dialogues between cancer researchers, patients, and individuals wth unique personal insights on cancer, came together for the first time to address some of the major scientific concerns.
The collection of eight short films, which forms the exhibition's backbone, includes:
- Living with colon cancer, BBC journalist George Alagiah meets Vivian Li, a stem cell and cancer expert, as she creates mini-organs (organoids) in an attempt to personalize cancer therapies.
- Mariann Bienz, a renowned cell biologist who had a lung removed as part of her cancer treatment, joins Charlie Swanton, Chief Clinician and Crick group head at Cancer Research UK, to discuss the development of tumors.
- Adam Blain, a lawyer and brain cancer sufferer, talks with scientist Simon Boulton to discuss the importance of DNA in cancer and his own experience with a tumor discovered by his wife.
- Karen Vousden, Chief Scientist at Cancer Research UK, speaks with Alix Fox (broadcaster and sex educator) to debunk some cancer beliefs, including whether elephants get cancer and if cancer is 'contagious.'
- Erik Sahai, a Crick scientist, meets Dr. Georgette Oni, a pioneering plastic reconstructive surgeon, to talk about how cancer spreads.
- Dominique Bonnet, a Crick expert in Acute Myeloid Leukemia, offers journalist Tim Jonze a behind-the-scenes tour of her laboratories. Jonze is living with a rare blood condition.
The last two videos show the efforts of two pioneering biopharmaceutical businesses that are developing new cancer medicines based on research done at the Crick:
- Deborah Bowman MBE, a medical ethics expert, speaks with Iraj Ali of Achilles Therapeutics about customized treatment that uses the patient's own immune system to combat cancer.
- Professor Adrian Hayday and Dr. Oliver Nussbaumer of GammaDelta Therapeutics talk about their groundbreaking work in developing a novel cell treatment that might be provided in the same manner that blood is donated to blood banks.
Overall, the exhibition was quite instructive, and it is considered essential for anybody who has had contact with a cancer patient. It was a very well-organized exhibition, with film clips, books to read, and various stuff to view.
Right: A Sectional View of the Skin
There’s also an area for you to write about your cancer experience and hang it on a ribbon tree.
Since 50% of individuals will develop cancer at some time in their lives, everyone may learn about the latest treatments and prepare themselves for the world's most common and dangerous diseases. It's incredible to see the new research that's been done, the clinical trials that are taking place, and the new types of therapy that are being developed as a result of the new GammaDelta T-cell that's been formed as a result of the studies that have been done.
The exhibition was fascinating and educational, and I believe it is important for people to see, understand, and educate themselves on cancer. The entire experience was fascinating, powerful, and remarkable.
Outwitting Cancer - Making Sense of Nature's Enigma is at The Francis Crick Center, 1 Midland Road, London, NW1 1AT. The gallery opens from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Of importance to note for those planning to go to the exhibition in the future; there are boards outside the show that constitute another mini-exhibition. All of those bulletin boards cover a variety of themes and are fun to read, so don't miss it; it's on the side of the building.
To conclude, I believe that after seeing Outwitting Cancer, visitors would have a better understanding of what cancer is and why it is so difficult to cure. The highlight of the exhibition is to encourage visitors to have constructive conversations about cancer, to pique their interest, and provide them the opportunity to learn more.
