Tag Archives: Cancer Immunity

Research Preview: Science Magazine – June 14, 2024

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Science Magazine – June 13, 2024: The new issue features ‘Follow The Leader’ – A surface layer ensures photoactive perovskite growth….

Hubble telescope down to last gyroscopes, limiting science

Despite failing hardware, NASA has no plans to pursue a servicing mission to the aging, iconic instrument

Astronauts face health risks—even on short trips in space

New studies include health data collected from space tourists on first privately funded orbital mission

Sacrificed Maya boys tied to myth of ‘Hero Twins’

Ancient DNA shows continuity between living and ancient Maya communities

Research Preview: Science Magazine – June 7, 2024

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Science Magazine – June 6, 2024: The new issue features ‘Cellular Deformation’ – Rapidly stretching Protists snag a snack…

Little-known virus is on the rise in South America

Deforestation and climate change may be helping Oropouche virus spread far beyond the Amazon Basin

‘Google for DNA’ indexes 10% of world’s known sequence data

Achievement demonstrates feasibility of making all of life’s code easily searchable, researchers say

The evolution of thermogenesis in mammals

Comparative genomics elucidates the steps enabling heat production in fat tissue

Research Preview: Science Magazine – May 31, 2024

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Science Magazine – May 230, 2024: The new issue features ‘Cuckoo Coevolution’ – Host matching drives lineage divergence…

After crisis in interstellar space, stream of Voyager 1 data resumes

Before its computer crashed, venerable NASA probe may have entered mysterious new region beyond the Solar System

Theory of sleep as a brain cleanser challenged

Mouse study contradicts landmark finding, but some question its methodology

Mysterious sea urchin plague is spreading rapidly

Pathogen that kills victims within days leaps from Caribbean to Red Sea

Research Preview: Science Magazine – May 24, 2024

Science Magazine – May 23, 2024: The new issue features ‘Decoding the Brain’ – A cell-by-cell exploration of neuropsychiatry; Does a breakdown in the body’s internal chatter drive aging…

Decoding the Brain

A cell-by-cell look at neuropsychiatric diseases

Mapping the brain’s gene-regulatory maze

DNA sequences are connected to genes and functions in the developing and adult brain

How the German cockroach conquered the world

DNA study implicates medieval warfare and colonial trade

Research Preview: Science Magazine – May 10, 2024

Science Magazine – May 9, 2024: The new issue features ‘Volcanic Moon’ – Billions of years of activity on Jupiter’s moon Io…

Australia bets big on optical quantum computing

In AU$940 million deal, PsiQuantum will build “utility scale” facility

Report offers harsh verdict on global polio vaccine switch

Draft evaluation calls 2016 decision to change oral vaccines a “failure”

To probe outbreak, BSL-3 labs plan to infect cows with flu virus

Novel effort comes as study finds key receptor for avian flu virus in udders, where the virus flourishes

Research Preview: Science Magazine – May 3, 2024

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Science Magazine – May 2, 2024: The new issue features ‘Superspreading Seeds’ – Influencers spread health messages across remote villages; making sense of evidence on early childhood education; Brain and muscle clocks cooperate to resist aging…

A scientist is likely to win Mexico’s presidency. Not all researchers are rejoicing

A helicopter in midair with three bighorn sheep suspended from it.

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo would be first researcher to lead the country, but critics worry she’ll be as hostile to science as her predecessor

Which wild animals carry the COVID-19 virus? An ambitious U.S. project aims to find out

Scientists test bighorn sheep, bears, moose, rats, and dozens of other species to track how SARS-CoV-2 moves between humans and wildlife

Research Preview: Science Magazine – April 26, 2024

Science Magazine – April 25, 2024: The new issue features ‘Born to Explore’ – Exploratory tendency leads to diversification; Can science address loneliness?; Vitamin D, microbiota, and cancer immunity; A safer version of a 140-year-old chemical reaction…

Microbes and vitamin D aid immunotherapy

Vitamin D modulates intestinal epithelial cell function to enhance antitumor microbes

The gut microbiome has been shown to modulate the response of cancer patients to therapy, but precisely how microbiota affect anticancer immunity is still being elucidated. Giampazolias et al. report that vitamin D bioavailability in mice influences the composition of the gut microbiome (see the Perspective by Franco and McCoy). After dietary manipulation, vitamin D levels were observed to affect gut bacteria, which in turn improved cancer immunotherapy and antitumor immunity. In humans, low vitamin D levels were correlated with tumor development, and gene signatures of vitamin D activity were associated with improved patient responses to immunotherapy. These findings highlight the connection between vitamin D and the immune system through gut bacteria and may have applications for improving cancer therapies.

The power of curiosity

Lake Tanganyika contains one of the most impressive adaptive radiations, with about 250 species of cichlid occupying a variety of niches. Much research has focused on understanding the drivers of this and other adaptive radiations. Trembo et al. looked in depth at 57 of these cichlid species with regard to their behavior, ecomorphology, and genomics. They found that one behavior in particular, a tendency to explore, was related to niche adaptation, and they identified a regulatory gene that is highly associated with this behavior. These findings suggest the existence of an adaptive syndrome driven in part by a tendency to explore what is new.