A transparent chip no larger than a stick of gum is helping scientists at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, an R1 research institution, transform the way researchers study the human brain and develop treatments for some of the world’s deadliest viruses.

Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have discovered why a powerful cancer-causing gene mutation rarely appears in pancreatic tumors. The study, published in Cancer Research Communications, showed that a rare version of the KRAS gene hyperactivates a key cancer-driving pathway so intensely that pancreatic cells self-destruct – essentially burning out before becoming cancerous. The findings shed light on new ways KRAS might be targeted in cancer and could guide the development of new cancer therapies.