Research sheds light on interactions between drug molecules and water molecules surrounding DNA, offering insights for designing DNA-targeted drugs.
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Engineered nanoparticles could deliver better targeted cancer treatment to lymph nodes
Scientists at McGill University and the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute have developed a new way to deliver cancer immunotherapy that caused fewer side effects compared to standard treatment in a preclinical study. The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The experimental approach is designed to treat cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, a difficult-to-treat stage of the disease. Today, most immunotherapies are delivered by intravenous (IV) infusion and circulate throughout the body. This can trigger immune responses in healthy tissues, leading to serious side effects.
“Some immunotherapies cause such severe side effects that clinicians are forced to lower the dose, making treatment less effective,” said senior author Guojun Chen, Assistant Professor in McGill’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and member of the Goodman Cancer Institute. “Our approach could allow for higher, more effective doses while limiting toxicity, which is a major goal in cancer treatment.”
‘All-in-one,’ single-atom could power both sides of water splitting
Green hydrogen production technology, which utilizes renewable energy to produce eco-friendly hydrogen without carbon emissions, is gaining attention as a core technology for addressing global warming. Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, a process that separates hydrogen and oxygen by applying electrical energy to water, requiring low-cost, high-efficiency, high-performance catalysts.
A research team led by Dr. Na Jongbeom and Dr. Kim Jong Min from Korea Institute of Science and Technology’s Center for Extreme Materials Research has developed next-generation water electrolysis catalyst technology. This technology integrates a single-atom “All-in-one” catalyst precisely controlled down to the atomic level with binder-free electrode technology. The study is published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
A key feature of this technology is its ability to stably perform both hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions simultaneously on a single electrode.
Nanotubes unlock new wavelengths for smarter sensing
Sensors made of carbon nanotubes that can measure infrared and terahertz radiation are being tested for uses ranging from detecting damaged cables after earthquakes, to collecting health data via ultrathin wearable devices, and assisting with pharmaceutical quality control, say researchers in Japan.
“Accurately visualizing the internal structures of organisms and objects is integral to our daily lives, from medical imaging to security scanning in airports,” and terahertz sensors built from carbon nanotubes are uniquely suited to this purpose, says Yukio Kawano is a professor of engineering at Chuo University in Tokyo, and project leader at the Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (KISTEC) in Japan.
Compared with many sensor technologies that can only detect one part of the electromagnetic spectrum, Kawano’s team is working to create sensors that can detect terahertz and a broader range of radiation, and use them to produce high-resolution images.
Tailored COX-2 Inhibition for Precision Adjuvant Therapy of Localized Metastatic Colon Cancer
💬 Editorial: Precision adjuvant therapy for stage III ColonCancer may be enhanced through molecular profiling for ctDNA status and PIK3CA mutation, informing use of celecoxib or aspirin alongside standard treatment.
CALGB/SWOG 80,702 Alliance was a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) of daily celecoxib (400 mg/d vs placebo) as an adjuvant therapy to fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) toward improving disease-free survival (DFS) of minimal residual localized (stage III) metastatic colon cancer.1 The rationale for the trial was a preponderance of evidence from RCTs and observational studies showing that selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2 or prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 [PTGS2]) inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as celecoxib and rofecoxib, reduce the incidence of premalignant colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer (CRC). Although the primary trial results did not show daily celecoxib to be statistically significantly associated with improvement in DFS or overall survival (OS),1 the results raised the possibility that yet-to-be-determined subgroups may experience a significant benefit. Indeed, Nowak et al2 reported in 2024 that a significant protective effect was observed among patients with tumors harboring mutations to exons 9 or 20 of the PIK3CA gene within the subset of the Alliance trial population with available whole-exome tumor sequencing data.
The possibility for molecular selection for NSAID adjuvant therapy of CRC, specifically on the basis of PIK3CA mutation was first raised in a prospective observational study by Liao and colleagues3 in 2012 for aspirin—a less selective COX-2 inhibitor. This finding for aspirin was later corroborated with post hoc observational follow-up of the VICTOR RCT of daily rofecoxib (20 mg vs placebo),4 which, like the Alliance trial, did not demonstrate a significant protective benefit for rofecoxib among unselected patients.5 Most recently, 2 RCTs of daily low-dose aspirin, ALASSCA6 and SAKK41/13,7 showed that aspirin, among patients enrolled using molecular selection for tumor PIK3CA mutation, led to a similar survival benefit of approximately 50% compared to placebo.
Stick chemistry: High-throughput method for finding new molecular glues
Molecular glues are enjoying the spotlight, but discovering new ones is often a matter of luck. A new method, developed by Scripps Research chemist Michael Erb and colleagues, aims to discover new glues more intentionally with a “target-based” approach.
Click chemistry method opens up avenues for intentional glue discovery by Sarah Braner.
Future Day 2026
🛰️Future Day is coming soon ⚡️
Participants include: Anders Sandberg, Ben Goertzel, Hugo de Garis, Roman Yampolskiy, Lev Lafayette, Adam Ford, Christine Peterson, Robin Hanson, Aubrey de Grey, Joscha Bach, James Hughes and Danica Dillion.
Live from Australia! This time we have Future Day spanning 3 days – from March 2nd to March 4nd AEDT – from March 1st to March 5th PST.
Why not celebrate the amazing future we are collectively creating?
Future Day 2026 -> where the future isn’t just discussed, but actively shaped.
