Since the time of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, cancer has been recognized as being sensitive to heat. Today, this principle forms the basis of hyperthermia treatment—a promising cancer therapy that uses controlled heat to kill tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.

Unlike chemotherapy or radiation, hyperthermia works by heating cancerous tissue to temperatures around 50°C, causing cancer cell death while simultaneously activating the body’s immune system against the tumor. This approach holds particular promise when combined with immunotherapy, as heat-killed cancer cells can trigger a stronger anti-tumor immune response.

However, a few major challenges have limited hyperthermia’s clinical success. One of the main hurdles is the limited understanding of the biological mechanisms behind heat sensitivity in cancer cells. Researchers have discovered that some cancer cells—even those from the same organ—react differently to heat shock, with some surprisingly more heat-resistant than others.

Making a discovery with the potential for innovative applications in pharmaceutical development, a West Virginia University microbiology student has found a long sought-after fungus that produces effects similar to the semisynthetic drug LSD, which is used to treat conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.

Corinne Hazel, of Delaware, Ohio, an environmental microbiology major and Goldwater Scholar, discovered the new species of fungus growing in morning glory plants and named it Periglandula clandestina.

Hazel made the discovery while working in the lab with Daniel Panaccione, Davis-Michael Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at the WVU Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She was studying how morning glories disperse protective chemicals called “ergot alkaloids” through their roots when she saw evidence of a fungus.

(Philadelphia, PA) – A single injection of a novel CRISPR gene-editing treatment safely and efficiently removes SIV – a virus related to the AIDS-causing agent HIV – from the genomes of non-human primates, scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University now report. The groundbreaking work complements previous experiments as the basis for the first-ever clinical trial of an HIV gene-editing technology in human patients, which was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022.

The preclinical study, published online in the journal Gene Therapy, tested EBT-001, an SIV-specific CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing therapy, in rhesus macaques. The study shows that EBT-001 effectively excises SIV from reservoirs – cells and tissues where viruses like SIV and HIV integrate into host DNA and hide for years – without any detectable off-target effects in animals. The work is a significant advance in the generation of a cure for HIV/AIDS in humans.

“Our study supports safety and demonstrates evidence of in vivo SIV editing of a CRISPR gene-editing technology aimed at the permanent inactivation of virus in a broad range of tissues in a large, preclinical animal model, using a one-time injection of the treatment,” said Kamel Khalili, PhD, Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation, Director of the Center for Neurovirology and Gene Editing, Director of the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and senior investigator on the new study.

The world is ending and only the whales know. At least, that’s one explanation. Humpback whales are normally pretty solitary—scientists used to call groups of 10 to 20 “large.” Now they’re congregating in groups of 20 to 200 off the coast of South Africa. Something is definitely going on here, but so far experts are stumped.

In fact, Humpback whales aren’t supposed to be hanging out in that region in the first place. Humpbacks migrate up to tropical waters to breed, but they typically feed down south in the icy waters of Antarctica this time of year. Yet scientific expeditions keep seeing these super-pods (not to be confused with super PACs, which are equally giant but much more dangerous), which were finally compiled and published at the beginning of March in the journal PLOSone. The researchers have a few ideas about why the humpbacks are organizing, but no clear answers yet. So far the consensus seems to be: this is pretty freakin’ weird.

Most of the whales seem to be young, begging the question of whether the western coast of South Africa is like the humpback version of the local mall for tween whales. They’re just looking for a fishy Orange Julius, or perhaps a krill-based Panda Express to hang out at on a Saturday afternoon. Because it’s not like 200 whales—each weighing about 65,000 pounds —can feed just anywhere.

Scientists analyzing pulverized rock onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest organic compounds on the red planet to date. The finding, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests prebiotic chemistry may have advanced further on Mars than previously observed.

Scientists probed an existing rock sample inside Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) mini-lab and found the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These compounds, which are made up of 10, 11, and 12 carbons, respectively, are thought to be the fragments of fatty acids that were preserved in the sample. Fatty acids are among the organic molecules that on Earth are chemical building blocks of life.

Living things produce fatty acids to help form cell membranes and perform various other functions. But fatty acids also can be made without life, through chemical reactions triggered by various geological processes, including the interaction of water with minerals in hydrothermal vents.

Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho’s research team has recently been highlighted for their work on developing an original technology for cancer reversal treatment that does not kill cancer cells but only changes their characteristics to reverse them to a state similar to normal cells. This time, they have succeeded in revealing for the first time that a molecular switch that can induce cancer reversal at the moment when normal cells change into cancer cells is hidden in the genetic network.

KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on the 5th of February that Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho’s research team of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has succeeded in developing a fundamental technology to capture the critical transition phenomenon at the moment when normal cells change into cancer cells and analyze it to discover a molecular switch that can revert cancer cells back into normal cells.

A critical transition is a phenomenon in which a sudden change in state occurs at a specific point in time, like water changing into steam at 100℃. This critical transition phenomenon also occurs in the process in which normal cells change into cancer cells at a specific point in time due to the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes.

The Giza Pyramids have long been icons of ancient Egypt, but what's hiding beneath them might just turn history upside down. Recent archaeological finds are unearthing secrets that

Scientists Develop Hydrogel That Heals Wounds in Just 24 Hours! Researchers at UCLA have created a groundbreaking human skin-like hydrogel that repairs wounds 90% in just 12 hours and fully heals them within 24 hours! This futuristic material mimics real skin, speeding up tissue regeneration like never before. While still in testing, this could revolutionize wound care, making slow healing a thing of the past. #wounds #superskin #skin #Health #healthylifestyle

Virtual reality could get more realistic thanks to scientists inventing an artificial tongue that can taste flavours, such as sourness and umami.

By Alex Wilkins

A team of scientists in France sustained an artificial sun for 22 minutes, which in the future could potentially provide unlimited clean energy.