Closer look at cancer cells’ ability to rewire, thrive, survive

Insights into how cancer cells adapt and rewire their metabolism to achieve growth and survive were accompanied by a call for tools to study this on a nearly single-cell level, according to a new paper in Nature Communications. In the 1920s, Otto Warburg observed that cancer cells metabolically adapt their glucose pathway in unusual ways. […]

Harvard Gazette • harvard
March 24, 2022 ~5 min

Can a stem cell patch treat macular degeneration?

"If the goal is to treat blindness, we want to make sure that the retinal pigment epithelium cells... are still doing the job they're supposed to."

Sonia Fernandez-UCSB • futurity
March 17, 2022 ~9 min


Lungs have their own microbiome – and these microbes affect the success of bone marrow transplants in kids

Disruptions to the lung microbiome are linked to a number of respiratory conditions in both children and adults.

Matt Zinter, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco • conversation
March 9, 2022 ~5 min

How long does protective immunity against COVID-19 last after infection or vaccination? Two immunologists explain

Because COVID-19 is a relatively new virus, researchers still aren’t sure exactly how long vaccines and prior infections provide protection.

Mitzi Nagarkatti, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina • conversation
Feb. 25, 2022 ~11 min

What is 3G and why is it being shut down? An electrical engineer explains

As the wireless telecommunications companies ramp up their 5G rollouts, they are beginning to pull the plug on their 3G networks. 2022 is the end of the line for the venerable cellphone service.

Mai Vu, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University • conversation
Feb. 22, 2022 ~8 min

This robot fish is made of human heart cells

The "biohybrid" fish swim by recreating the muscle contractions of a pumping heart. The work could be a step toward creating artificial hearts.

Quinn Eastmann-Emory • futurity
Feb. 17, 2022 ~6 min

Findings link migraine pain to Schwann cells

Migraines affect more than 15% of adults. A new study shows how pain signals are generated and finds several ways to block the signaling.

Rachel Harrison-NYU • futurity
Feb. 4, 2022 ~7 min

New computational tool predicts cell fates and genetic perturbations

The technique can help predict a cell’s path over time, such as what type of cell it will become.

Greta Friar | Whitehead Institute • mit
Feb. 3, 2022 ~9 min


Heading into the third year of the pandemic, the US blood supply is at a 10-year low

Life-saving blood is needed for everything from treating cancers and chronic conditions to helping trauma victims. But blood donations have dropped to crisis levels during the pandemic.

Anna Nagurney, Professor and Chair in Integrative Studies, UMass Amherst • conversation
Feb. 3, 2022 ~9 min

‘BioDome’ filled with 5-drug cocktail regrows lost frog leg

Frogs briefly treated with a five-drug cocktail administered by a wearable bioreactor were able to regrow a functional, nearly complete limb.

Mike Silver-Tufts • futurity
Feb. 2, 2022 ~8 min

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