Lifeboat Foundation

A powerful new analytical tool offers a closer look at how tumor cells “shape-shift” to become more aggressive and untreatable, as shown in a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center.

A tumor cell shape-shifts by changing its cell type or state, thus altering its basic pattern of activity and perhaps even its appearance. This changeability or “plasticity” is a characteristic of cancer that leads to diverse tumor-cell populations and ultimately the emergence of cell types enabling treatment resistance and metastatic spread.

The new tool, described Sept. 24 in a paper in Nature Genetics, can be used to quantify this plasticity in samples of tumor cells. The researchers demonstrated it with analyses of tumor samples from animal models and human patients, identifying, for example, a key transitional cell state in glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer.

The FDA has approved a new targeted drug specifically for brain tumors called low-grade gliomas. The drug, vorasidenib, was shown in clinical trials to delay progression of low-grade gliomas that had mutations in the IDH1 or IDH2 genes.

“Although there have been other targeted therapies for the treatment of brain tumors with the IDH mutation, [this one] has been one of the most successful in survival prolongation of brain tumor patients,” said Darell Bigner, MD, PhD, the E. L. and Lucille F. Jones Cancer Distinguished Research Professor and founding director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.

In clinical trials, progression-free survival was estimated to be 27.7 months for people in the vorasidenib group versus 11.1 months for those in the placebo group.

University of Maryland scientists uncovered evidence of an ancient seafloor that sank deep into Earth during the age of dinosaurs, challenging existing theories about Earth’s interior structure.

UMD geologists discover a mysterious subduction zone deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, reshaping our understanding.

Does nature have to do everything itself?

An international cohort of marine scientists discovered an ocean-borne fungus chomping through plastic trash suspended in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as detailed in a new study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Dubbed Parengyodontium album, the fungus was discovered among the thin layers of other microbes that live in and around the floating plastic pile in the North Pacific.

Clearly customers are voicing their concerns about the ongoing Verizon outage. In fact, there has already been over 2,900 replies to Verizon’s post on X. Many of the responders still claim they are unable to make phone calls.

2024–09-30T17:22:33.585Z

O.o!!!

The strike is set to significantly disrupt trade, creating uncertainty ahead of the US election.

New device boosts hydroponic farming for efficient, eco-friendly food production:

A new water purification device offers a cost-effective solution for hydroponic farming, supporting more sustainable food production.

Continue reading “New water purifier could drive sustainable farming in changing climate” »

Join our in-depth exploration of telomeres and their incredible potential in reversing aging! Discover the science behind telomere enhancement and how it can slow down the aging process. Featuring expert insights from Dr. Michael Roizen, this video unveils cutting-edge research that could change the way we view longevity. #AgingReversal #Telomeres #LongevityScience #DrMichaelRoizen #HealthInnovation #StemCellResearch #AntiAging #YouthfulLiving #Biotechnology #TelomerePharmaceuticals

A team of engineers and scientists from Caltech and the Keck School of Medicine at USC has created a noninvasive, headset-based device that can assess a patient’s stroke risk by monitoring blood flow and volume changes during a breath-holding test.

The device uses a laser-based system and has demonstrated promising results in distinguishing between individuals with low and high stroke risk.

“With this device, for the first time, we are going to have a way of knowing if the risk of someone having a stroke in the future is significant or not based on a physiological measurement,” says Simon Mahler, a co-lead author of the study.