A fundamental discovery by University of Missouri scientists could help solve one of the most frustrating challenges in treating lung cancer: Why do some patients initially respond to drug treatment, only for it to stop working 18 months later?

The team, led by Dhananjay Suresh, Anandhi Upendran and Raghuraman Kannan at Mizzou’s School of Medicine, identified a hidden molecular “seesaw” involving two proteins inside cancer cells — AXL and FN14. When investigators try to block one protein to stop the cancer, the other one takes over, helping the tumor survive. To fix this, the team developed a new solution: a gelatin-based nanoparticle that can shut down both proteins at the same time.

Breast cancer progression is driven by a complex ecosystem where cancer cells and their microenvironment communicate extensively. A recent Perspective article in Science Bulletin from a team led by Dr. Wenqian Wang (The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University), Professor Min Wu (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou Institute), and Associate Professor Chunyan Hua (Wenzhou Medical University) reveals the crucial crosstalk between exosomes—small messengers released by cells—and metabolic reprogramming in breast cancer. This interaction influences tumor growth, resistance to therapy, and cancer stem cell survival. The study proposes innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies targeting this “exosome-metabolism axis”, offering new hope for more effective patient management.

New University of Cincinnati Cancer Center research published in the journal Nature Communications traced the evolutionary origins of the PRPS enzyme complex and learned more about how this complex functions and influences cellular biochemistry.

A new study combining two powerful, non-invasive cancer treatments offers new hope for less harmful breast cancer therapy.  

Dr. Michael C. Oldham's innovative gene coexpression analysis methods have transformed our understanding of brain cell diversity. His work spans from mapping cellular signatures in healthy brains to identifying therapeutic targets in gliomas, while addressing critical challenges in research reproducibility.

Dr. Jin Wang from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences/ State University of New York at Stony Brook and Dr. Xiaona Fang from Northeast Normal University published an article titled “Identifying early warning signals of cancer formation” in the journal Quantitative Biology. Using theories of nonequilibrium potential landscape and steady-state probability flux, and indicators such as entropy production rate and mean flux derived from time-series gene expression data, they identified early warning signals during gastric cancer development, providing theoretical basis for early diagnosis.