Plastics were detected in 7 of 10 green sea turtles migrating to Japan’s Ogasawara Islands, dominated by meso- and macroplastics rather than microplastics. Green turtles likely ingested plastics through two distinct pathways: non-selective ingestion of plastics associated with large and drifting seaweeds, and selective ingestion of plastics resembling gelatinous plankton such as jellyfish and salpas. The ingested plastics originated beyond the turtles’ migratory range, highlighting the transboundary nature of marine plastic pollution.

For the first time, researchers at UBC have demonstrated how to reliably produce an important type of human immune cell—known as helper T cells—from stem cells in a laboratory setting. The findings, published Jan. 8 in Cell Stem Cell, overcome a major hurdle that has limited the development, affordability and large-scale manufacturing of cell therapies. The discovery could pave the way for more accessible and effective off-the-shelf treatments for a wide range of conditions like cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and more.

The human brain is not a fast-healing organ. Normally it doesn’t need to be as adult brain cells are stable and last for a lifetime. When trauma or disease such as a stroke occurs, the brain struggles to bounce back because it has a limited ability to regenerate lost cells.

Stem cell therapy is a promising method for boosting regeneration in the brain, but transplanted cells have struggled to replace damaged tissue and reestablish broken circuits. In a new study of a therapy derived from human stem cells and transplanted into mice, the cells matured, integrated into existing circuits and restored function. By tracing the cells and sequencing their gene expression patterns, the researchers also revealed how transplanted cells find where they need to go and form connections with the nervous system.

City of Hope®, a leading cancer research and treatment organization, and Cellares, the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), announce a collaboration focused on the City of Hope-developed IL13RA2-EGFR CAR T cell program addressing glioblastoma multiforme. City of Hope licensed this technology to Mustang Bio Inc. Under the collaboration, City of Hope will evaluate Cellares’ Cell Shuttle™ automated manufacturing platform and Cell Q™ automated quality control system to enable reliable, high-throughput manufacturing and quality control of its CARpool program. By engaging at the preclinical stage, the collaboration will establish platform processes and analytics purpose-built for solid tumor CAR T programs, accelerating advancement into clinical trials while enabling scalable manufacturing to meet global patient demand.

The Krainer lab discovered a three-oncogene circuit that helps drive the aggressive progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Using antisense oligonucleotide technology, the team developed a potential RNA therapy. In lab tests, the new treatment broke the cancerous circuit, reduced tumor viability, and triggered a type of programmed cell death.