Cancer

A new study reveals that the MYC protein does more than drive tumor growth. It also repairs DNA damage in cancer cells, allowing some tumors to survive chemotherapy and radiation.

May 15, 2026 Reported by AI

Researchers have found that making cancer cells stiffer can enhance the effectiveness of car t-cell therapy against aggressive tumors. In experiments with mice, the approach led to complete tumor disappearance in some cases. The findings were presented recently at a conference in London.

Scientists at the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital have identified a previously unknown virus inside the common gut bacterium Bacteroides fragilis that appears more frequently in people with colorectal cancer. The finding, detailed by lead researcher Flemming Damgaard, resolves a long-standing paradox since the bacterium is also present in healthy individuals. While the link is strong, the virus's role in causing cancer remains unproven.

April 21, 2026 Reported by AI

Researchers at NYU Langone Health have identified the protein HOXD13 as a key driver of melanoma tumors, promoting blood vessel growth and blocking immune attacks. Disabling HOXD13 in experiments shrank tumors and allowed T cells to infiltrate more effectively. The findings suggest new combination treatments targeting angiogenesis and immune pathways.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) in Freiburg report that a key assumption behind widely used BET-inhibitor drug strategies may be wrong: the BET proteins BRD2 and BRD4 are not interchangeable. The team says BRD2 helps prepare genes for activation while BRD4 acts later to enable productive transcription—differences that could contribute to the modest and unpredictable results seen with drugs that inhibit BET proteins broadly.

April 08, 2026 Reported by AI Fact checked

An international research team has identified the human gene SLC35F2 as a transporter that enables cellular uptake of the micronutrients queuine and queuosine—compounds acquired from diet and gut bacteria. The work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, addresses a long-standing question about how these tRNA-related nutrients enter human cells.