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Two classes of FOXA1 mutations found to drive prostate cancer and therapy resistance

A new study from the University of Michigan Rogel Health Cancer Center, published in Science, sheds light on how two distinct classes of mutations in the FOXA1 gene—commonly altered in prostate cancer—drive tumor initiation formation and therapeutic resistance.

FOXA1, a key transcription factor that facilitates binding to DNA, is mutated in 10–40% of hormone-dependent prostate cancers. While common, the exact ways these mutations alter cancer cells have remained elusive—until now.

Rogel researchers, including Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology and Urology, and Abhijit Parolia, Ph.D., Rogel Fellow and Assistant Professor of Pathology, used mouse models to understand the mechanisms underlying two major classes of FOXA1 mutations.

Dyson engineers boost strawberry yields by 250% in technology breakthrough

Dyson Farming’s 26-acre glasshouse in Lincolnshire is already home to 1,225,000 strawberry plants, which are grown all year round, to produce over 1,250 tonnes of high-quality British strawberries.

Dyson is always looking to maximise efficiency of the farms and the quality of their produce. The most recent development in the glasshouse is Dyson’s Hybrid Vertical Growing System, the trial of which has just finished. It exceeded all expectations, boosting yields by 250% whilst optimising the quality of the fruit.

The ‘mind-bending’ bionic arm powered by AI

I was born without lower arms and legs, so I’ve been around prosthetics of all shapes and sizes for as long as I can remember.

I’ve actively avoided those designed for upper arms for most of my adult life, so have never used a bionic hand before.

But when I visited a company in California, which is seeking to take the technology to the next level, I was intrigued enough to try one out — and the results were, frankly, mind-bending.

Prosthetic limbs have come a long way since the early days when they were fashioned out of wood, tin and leather.

Modern-day replacement arms and legs are made of silicone and carbon fibre, and increasingly they are bionic, meaning they have various electronically controlled moving parts to make them more useful to the user. (Feb 2024)


BBC Click reporter Paul Carter tries out a high-tech prosthetic promising a ‘full range of human motion’

Scientists Finally “See” Key Protein That Controls Inflammation

Researchers used advanced microscopy to uncover important protein structures. For the first time, two important protein structures in the human body are being visualized, thanks in part to cutting-edge technology at the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Advanced Structural Biology. This break