In a unique finding, researchers discovered that when pancreatic cancer cells send out tiny particles that are packed with certain microRNA molecules, nearby immune cells called macrophages are reprogrammed to help the tumor grow instead of engaging in their regular role of fighting the tumor. This insight from cell and mouse experiments helped the scientists outline a potential way to reverse the process and possibly improve outcomes in pancreatic cancer.

In a proof-of-concept study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have shown that an innovative, noninvasive technique can be used to quickly collect 3D images of the human body, from head to foot. The technology combines ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, which detects sound waves generated by light, to simultaneously collect images of both tissue and blood vessels. For the first time in humans, the research team combined two imaging methods, rotational ultrasound tomography (RUST) and photoacoustic tomography (PAT), to create what they call RUS-PAT. To show how broadly the technology can be applied, the researchers used the system to image multiple regions of the human body: the brain, breast, hand and foot. Brain imaging was done in patients with traumatic brain injury undergoing surgery, who had portions of their skull temporarily removed. The results show that the technology can capture both tissue structure and blood vessels across a region up to 10 centimeters wide, all in about 10 seconds. The findings have the potential to address current gaps in medical imaging.