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Credit: DR P. MARAZZI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images University of Virginia (UVA) Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have developed a small-molecule compound that targets advillin, or AVIL, an oncogene that drives the growth and survival of glioblastoma (GBM) cells. In a report published in Science Translational Medicine, the UVA team showed that inhibiting AVIL curbed tumor growth in cell models and in mouse models by blocking the gene’s activity without evidence of harmful side effects, providing a new avenue to potentially treat a form of cancer that has limited treatment options. “Glioblastoma is a devastating disease. Essentially no effective therapy exists,” said…

An artistic interpretation of a spherical nucleic acid (SNA) nanoparticle carrying HPV antigen (E7₁₁–₁₉) and CpG adjuvant DNA interacting with scavenger receptor A to facilitate cellular internalization. Display and N-terminal orientation of the HPV antigen on N-HSNAs enhance antigen-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses and anti-tumor activity. [Connor Forsyth and Jake Cohen / Mirkin Research Group / Northwestern University] Biologists often say that structure determines function. In a new study, Northwestern University researchers show that this principle applies not only to proteins but may also to cancer vaccines—where the nanoscale arrangement of a single peptide can dramatically alter therapeutic potency. By re‑engineering…

Credit: Han Zhang, Shenzhen University Researchers have engineered a new type of light-based nanosensors that can be programmed to detect extremely low concentrations of a wide range of biomarkers. In a study published today in the Optica journal, the sensors were capable of spotting a lung cancer biomarker in blood samples even when only a few molecules are present, showing promise for early cancer detection when biomarker levels are too low to be found using conventional methods.  “Our sensor combines nanostructures made of DNA with quantum dots and CRISPR gene editing technology to detect faint biomarker signals using a light-based…

Source: JamesBrey/Getty Images Researchers headed by a team at the University of Pennsylvania have found that exercise does more than strengthen muscles, it also rewires the brain. Studying mice, the investigators discovered that the lasting gain in endurance from repeated exercise—such as the ability to run farther and faster over time—involves changes in brain activity that help muscles and hearts to become stronger.  Their results linked the metabolic adaptations that boost endurance to the activity of a group of neurons known as SF1 neurons, in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). “When we lift weights, we think we are just building muscle,” says J. Nicholas Betley,…

Credit: Pallava Bagla/Getty Images Researchers from the University of Michigan researchers have identified the metabolite itaconate as a potential therapeutic target for ZFTA–RELA+ ependymomas, a rare type of pediatric brain tumor. In a study published in Nature, the team showed how tumor cells produce the metabolite itaconate to sustain the cancer-driving fusion protein ZFTA–RELA that helps promote tumor growth. “We were surprised that a brain tumor produces a metabolite that is usually made by immune cells,” said first author Siva Kumar Natarajan, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Venneti lab at the University of Michigan. “We wanted to find…

Targeting Microbes to Fight Prostate Cancer: Emerging Insights Prostate cancer (PC)—a major global health challenge— presents a wide spectrum of outcomes, from slow-growing tumors to aggressive metastatic disease. Despite advances in screening and treatment, age-related risk, persistent inflammation,… December 5, 2025 See more

Credit: DavidBGray/Getty Images BOSTON—The ongoing integration of AI and automation was a central theme at this year’s convening of the Society for Lab Automation and Screening (SLAS) in Boston. And that was evident from several talks, exhibits, and product announcements made at the meeting. One such announcement came from Atinary, a company that claims to have coined the phrase “self-driving labs” and aims to solve scientists’ reproducibility problems. As Atinary co-founder and CEO, Hermann Tribukait, PhD, explained during a press conference, “we augment human [scientists] with these tools to address key bottlenecks that are limiting innovation and progress.” Atinary announced…

Credit: wildpixel/Getty Images A genetic test developed by researchers at Broad Clinical Labs and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is now being tested in a large, nationwide clinical trial aimed at improving detection of prostate cancer. The low-cost method could potentially identify men at high risk who may benefit from earlier prostate cancer screening. The trial is called the Prostate Cancer, Genetic Risk, and Equitable Screening Study (ProGRESS).  “If the ProGRESS and other trials are successful, primary care doctors will be able to quickly and objectively measure each patient’s prostate cancer risk. This information will empower them to…

Jacob Berlin, PhD, CEO of Terray Therapeutics, explains that the critical element to “get right” for a preclinical drug discovery campaign is identifying molecules that rank best among the candidate set.   The AI drug discovery company is building an end-to-end pipeline to bring novel small molecule drugs from unseen chemical space to the clinic. Designing these therapeutics from scratch, without patent information or public datasets, will require evaluating thousands to millions of molecules across the discovery process, from hit identification to lead optimization.   To support this goal, Terray has unveiled TerraBind, a small molecule potency prediction model that demonstrates an approximately 20% increase in accuracy and 26 times more…

Credit: ChatGPT A polygenic risk score (PRS) created using genetic information from more than 35,000 women of African ancestry more accurately predicts breast cancer risk in these women than standard models that typically use data from women of European descent. “The developed PRS models for overall breast cancer and its subtypes are robust for predicting breast cancer risk in women of African ancestry,” said Dezheng Huo, PhD, professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago and senior author of the study. “These models could support more precise risk assessment and tailored breast cancer screening, which may help reduce…