K-SEC

Meeting Summary

May 1, 2017

Here is a summary of the materials we read at the K-SEC meeting on May 1, 2017.

A.  Attendees (in ABC order):

Kanzawa, Kotake, Nishimura, Nishiwaki, Sadayasu, Sekiguchi, Shirashouji, Tomozawa, Tsurumoto, Umemoto (Total of 10)

B.  Materials read:

1.  Protocols for an ETI Signal Detection – Kanzawa

For over thirty years, humans have used radio technology to conduct searches for

evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). Collectively, these efforts are known as

the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). If SETI is successful in detecting an

extraterrestrial civilization, it will raise the question of whether and how humanity should

attempt to communicate with the other civilization; 1) how should that decision be made,

2) what should be the content of such a message and 3) who should decide?

This position paper was made by The SETI Institute*（March 22, 1996）to

outline an approach to an international process for deciding whether and how to send a

communication to an extraterrestrial civilization. * The SETI Institute is a private,

nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research, education, and public outreach

located at CA, founded in November 1984, and has the mission is to explore,

understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to apply the

knowledge gained to inspire and guide present and future generations.

Fundamental rule : No response to a signal or other evidence of extraterrestrial

intelligence should be sent until appropriate international consultations have taken place.

The paper then lists the principles and steps to be followed by member organizations in

disseminating information about the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence.

2.  Spotlight on New Cancer Immunotherapy - Shirashoji

Immunotherapy has been a very active area of cancer research in these days. In 2014 a drug based on a new approach to cancer treatment came out in Japan. Hopes are high for Nivolumab, sold by Ono Pharmaceutical under the tradename Opdivo as a breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy.


Its development was spearheaded by Honjo Tasuku of Kyoto University. Cancer cells are atypical cells that have formed from what were once normal cells. Part of the difficulty of treating cancer lies in the fact that cancer cells get to dodge attacks from the body’s innate immune system and gradually multiply, eventually threatening the very life of their host, and the prolonged battle with cancer drains(brake) the immune system over time.


In the early 1990s Ishida Yasumasa, at the Honjo Lab at Kyoto University was searching for molecules that initiate programmed cell death (apoptosis) in immune cells. The first molecule that he discovered in 1992 was named programmed cell death 1, or PD-1. PD-1 was shown to be widely expressed on activated immune cells, such as T cells and B cells, and to function as brakes on the immune system, effectively inhibiting the body’s immune response. Molecules that behave like this are known as immune checkpoints.


Honjo reported the findings in 1999. He knew then that this mechanism could be applied

to treat infections and cancer. The test results of his idea were reported in 2012 in the New England Journal of Medicine,and an editorial noted that the drug had yielded the highest response rate among the many cancer immunotherapies that have been tried out over the past three decades. Some of the patients stayed in remission for longer than a year

after treatment.

Meanwhile, in Japan Ono Pharmaceutical conducted a phase I trial on patients with

non-small-cell lung cancer and renal cell cancer, among other tumors, to determine the

drug’s safety and observed significant responses in several cases. Ono prioritized

development of the drug for melanoma, which has the worst prognosis among the

cancers tested. It was the first time in two decades that a phase II trial was conducted in

Japan for melanoma. That drug was “Opdivo® (nivolumab)” first approved in Japan 2014.

Honjo appealed “We need a system that funnels the profits made by pharmaceutical

companies back to universities. Only then can there be a virtuous cycle in which people

grow and the seeds of new research are sown.”

C. Role assignment for May 15, 2017 Tomozawa and Umemura

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