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Cancer cells can use backup routes to fuel their growth

When it comes to their survival, cancer cells have a host of backup plans.

This is especially true of the nutrients that cancers use to grow and spread. In addition to relying on sugars like glucose to power their proliferation, some cancer cells also use ketones — metabolites produced from fats when the body is fasting or on a low carb diet — as an alternate fuel source.

Now, a new study scientists suggest that the routes cancer cells use to process these different nutrients deeply influence cell behavior. They discovered an alternate, or non-canonical, path by which cancer cells convert a ketone called β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) into acetyl-CoA, an essential metabolic building block for fatty acids and cholesterol that supports cell proliferation.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, could reshape how the relationship between diet and cancer is viewed.

The authors also found that cancer cells can leverage this alternative β-OHB pathway even when glucose, the body’s main source of energy, is plentiful. This suggests that, depending on the circumstances, glucose may not always be the nutrient of choice for cells.

Stem cell models show epilepsy genes disrupt different brain regions

Using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, the researchers generated advanced models known as 3D assembloids of two key brain areas: the cortex, which is essential for movement and higher-order thinking, and the hippocampus, which supports learning and memory. The results revealed strikingly different effects depending on the brain region.

In cortical models, the SCN8A variants made neurons hyperactive, mimicking seizure activity. In hippocampal models, however, the variants disrupted the brain rhythms associated with learning and memory. This disruption stemmed from a selective loss of specific hippocampal inhibitory neurons — the brain’s traffic cops that regulate neural activity.

These findings may help explain why patients with epilepsy often struggle with symptoms beyond seizures.

To confirm their findings, the researchers compared brain recordings from people with epilepsy to stem cell-derived hippocampal assembloids. They looked at seizure-prone regions of the patients’ hippocampi as well as regions unaffected by seizures. Abnormal brain rhythms appeared in both the patients’ seizure “hot spots” and in assembloids carrying SCN8A variants. In contrast, seizure-free brain regions and assembloids without the variants showed normal activity.

For families of children with severe epilepsy, controlling seizures is often just the beginning of their challenges. Even in cases where powerful medications can reduce seizures, many children continue to face difficulties with learning, behavior and sleep that can be just as disruptive to daily life.

New stem cell-based research published in Cell Reports, provides an early step toward understanding why current treatments often fall short, pointing to the distinct effects that single disease-causing gene variants can have across different regions of the brain.

Continue reading “Stem cell models show epilepsy genes disrupt different brain regions” | >

A deep look into the unique structure and behavior of confined water

Despite being one of the most familiar substances on Earth, water holds many secrets that scientists are still working to understand. When confined to extremely small spaces—such as within certain proteins, minerals, or artificial nanomaterials—water behaves in ways that are drastically different from its bulk liquid form.

These confinement effects are critical for many natural and technological processes, including regulating the flow of ions through cell membranes and the properties of nanofluidic systems.

One intriguing yet poorly understood state of confined water is called the “premelting state.” In this unique phase, water behaves as if it were on the cusp of freezing and melting at the same time, thus defying simple liquid or solid classifications. However, it has proven difficult to study the premelting state and other confined water dynamics in detail.

Engineered gut bacteria improve survival outcomes in colorectal cancer tumors

In a new study that combines synthetic biology with cancer immunotherapy, researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) and Central South University in China have developed an engineered strain of gut-homing bacteria that stimulates potent antitumor immune responses against colorectal cancer (CRC).

Antitumor immune responses refer to the actions taken by the body’s immune system to recognize, attack, and destroy . It operates like the body’s internal surveillance system, spotting rogue cells (like ) and activating its defense forces to eliminate them.

Harnessing the immune system to fight cancer offers a powerful and precise approach to disease control. Unlike traditional treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation, which can harm healthy cells, immune responses can selectively target and destroy cancer cells with high specificity.

Single drug provides first evidence of ‘nearly universal’ pharmacological chaperone for rare disease

A study published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology is the first time researchers have shown evidence that a single drug, already licensed for medical use, can stabilize nearly all mutated versions of a human protein, regardless of where the mutation is in the sequence.

The researchers engineered seven thousand versions of the vasopressin V2 receptor (V2R), which is critical for normal kidney function, creating all possible mutated variants in the lab.

Faulty mutations in V2R prevent from responding to the hormone vasopressin, leading to the inability to concentrate urine and resulting in excessive thirst and large volumes of dilute urine, causing nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), also known as arginine vasopressin resistance, a rare disease affecting roughly one in 25,000 people.

Stem Cells Repair Brain Damage Caused by Stroke in Mice

Brain damage caused by blocked blood vessels may be treatable using injections of stem cells, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Zurich and the University of Southern California.

The results could one day help patients who have experienced some forms of stroke recover lost functions.

Using mice with stroke-induced brain damage, the researchers found that injections of human stem cells could successfully develop into immature brain cells. The results were dramatic: most of the implanted cells remained in place, developing features of fully functioning neurons and communicating with surrounding cells.

Rare-earth tritellurides reveal a hidden ferroaxial order of electronic origin

The discovery of “hidden orders,” organization patterns in materials that cannot be detected using conventional measurement tools, can yield valuable insight, which can in turn support the design of new materials with advantageous properties and characteristics. The hidden orders that condensed matter physicists hope to uncover lie within so-called charge density waves (CDWs).

CDWs are periodic wave-like modulations of the electronic charge inside a crystal. CDWs in rare-earth tellurides, compounds containing tellurium and other rare-earth elements, have been found to sometimes give rise to unusual physical phenomena that are not observed in the absence of these wave-like states of matter.

Researchers at Boston College, Cornell University and other institutes recently observed a ferroaxial order in rare-earth tellurides that appears to originate from a combination of coupled orbital and charge patterns.

Robotaxi Wars Just Got BLOODY

Waymo’s partnership with Lyft in Nashville highlights advancements in robo-taxi safety, but the company faces significant challenges from Tesla’s established infrastructure and competitive landscape in the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle market ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Tesla’s Robotaxi Advantage.

🚗 Q: How does Tesla’s manufacturing efficiency give it an edge in the robotaxi market? A: Tesla can build cars for one-third the price of competitors, with built-in Shepherds and the ability to manufacture at cost for FSD or robotaxi network use.

🌐 Q: What makes Tesla’s global expansion strategy unique? A: Tesla’s global approach and rapid execution allow it to go anywhere once FSD works, making it difficult for competitors to match its scale and speed.

🧠 Q: How significant is Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology? A: Tesla’s FSD is a gigantic advantage, with take rates tripling to double digits and expected to triple again, making it hard for others to compete.

Waymo’s Progress and Challenges.

Continue reading “Robotaxi Wars Just Got BLOODY” | >
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