TITANIUM PROFESSIONALS

Penn-led researchers have turned a deadly fungus into a potent cancer-fighting compound. After isolating a new class of molecules from Aspergillus flavus, a toxic crop fungus linked to deaths in the excavations of ancient tombs, the researchers modified the chemicals and tested them against leukemia cells. The result? A promising cancer-killing compound that rivals FDA-approved drugs and opens up new frontiers in the discovery of more fungal medicines.

Lower blood sugar and increased fat burning - without negatively affecting appetite or muscle mass. These are some of the most promising effects of a new potential drug treatment for people with type 2 diabetes and obesity, according to a new study published in the journal Cell by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University.

An article published in the journal Nature Metabolism presents an experimental drug that stimulates adipose tissue cells to produce heat through a process known as thermogenesis, thereby promoting weight loss. In animal tests, the compound prevented fat accumulation in response to a high-fat diet, treated existing obesity, and reversed associated metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance.

A new clinical trial found that taking a popular diabetes and weight-loss drug once weekly significantly improves blood sugar and leads to substantial weight loss in adults with Type 1 diabetes who use automated insulin delivery systems.

The results were published in the journal NEJM Evidence.

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today report the identification of a novel combination therapy approach to treat pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Standard treatment is often ineffective against AML, a cancer that commonly relapses with poor prognosis, particularly when the disease is fueled by fusion proteins involving NUP98.

In a study published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, Sheffield computer scientists in collaboration with AstraZeneca and the University of Southampton have developed a new machine learning framework that has shown the potential to be more accurate at inverse protein folding than existing state-of-the-art methods.

AstraZeneca has entered a strategic research collaboration with Shijiazhuang City-based CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group Limited. Working together on high priority targets, the collaboration aims to advance the discovery and development of novel oral candidates, with the potential to treat diseases across multiple indications.

Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are increasingly present in the population. Brown adipose tissue has a protective function against these prevalent diseases, as it burns calories and can produce body heat from fat. But as the body ages, the activity of brown adipose tissue decreases. This inactivation of brown adipose tissue - also typical of obese people - remains poorly studied in the scientific literature.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden have identified a new treatment strategy for neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer. By combining two antioxidant enzyme inhibitors, they have converted cancer cells in mice into healthy nerve cells. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a novel algorithm that could provide a revolutionary tool for determining the best options for patients - both in the treatment of cancer and in the prescription of medicines. As recently published in Nature Communications, Jinze Liu, Ph.D., and Kevin Byrd, D.D.S., Ph.D., created Threshold-based Assignment of Cell Types from Multiplexed Imaging Data (TACIT), which assigns cell identities based on cell-marker expression profiles.

A series of digital tests, carried out via a smartphone app, could enhance the detection of disease progression in Huntington's disease and improve the efficiency of clinical trials, finds research led by scientists at University College London (UCL) and Roche.

The research, published in Brain, highlights how digitising tests designed to measure the progression of motor symptoms in people with Huntington's disease can provide a sensitive and reliable way to track changes in the function of patients.

Vividion Therapeutics, Inc. (Vividion), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, announced it has secured exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the clinical-stage Werner helicase (WRN) covalent inhibitor VVD-214 (RO7589831), strengthening and complementing its innovative oncology development pipeline. VVD-214 was discovered and developed under an exclusive worldwide collaboration and license agreement initiated between Vividion and Roche in 2020.

We have all heard of antibodies - proteins produced by our bodies to bind to viruses or bacteria, marking them for elimination by the immune system. But not all of us are familiar with aptamers: short segments of DNA or RNA that are designed to bind, like antibodies, to specific targets. Synthetic and inexpensive to produce, aptamers are attractive alternatives to antibodies for biomedical diagnostics and therapeutics.

Food scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identified the optimal fermentation conditions for pulses - the dried edible seeds of legumes - that increased their antioxidant and antidiabetic properties and their soluble protein content.

Using the bacteria Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v as the microorganism, the team fermented pulses obtained from varying concentrations of black bean, black-eyed pea, green split pea, red lentil and pinto bean flours.

In the quest to design vaccines that better help the body's immune system fight disease, scientists are always looking for more tools for their arsenal. The strong antibody responses generated by vaccines provide an important first round of defense, but "you always want to have a backup plan," says Biomedical Graduate Studies Ph.D. student Emily A. Aunins, considering viruses mutate to evade antibody responses that become widespread in a population.

New data from 18 abstracts, including five oral presentations, will be presented at the 33rd congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) in Washington D.C., US from June 21 to 25, 2025, highlighting Sanofi as a leader in hemophilia committed to rare blood diseases. Data to be presented expand on the potential of rilzabrutinib to address the underlying immune dysregulation of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and strengthen Sanofi as a leader in hemophilia with ALTUVIIIO and the newly launched Qfitlia, aimed at providing more treatment options to help improve patients' lives.

Results from a new clinical trial suggest that a high-fiber plant-based diet could benefit patients at risk for developing multiple myeloma, the second most common type of blood cancer. The study showed that the diet was not only feasible and well-received but also improved several factors that could potentially delay the progression of precancerous conditions that can lead to multiple myeloma.

University of Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researchers have been part of two groundbreaking studies in the battle against drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the cause of tuberculosis.

Co-author on both studies, Dr Matthew McNeil, of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, describes tuberculosis as a "massive public health problem" that is challenging to solve.

New research has found that those who consume a diverse range of foods rich in flavonoids, such as tea, berries, dark chocolate, and apples, could lower their risk of developing serious health conditions and have the potential to live longer.

The study was led by a team of researchers from Queen's University Belfast, Edith Cowan University Perth (ECU), and the Medical University of Vienna.

Understanding and preventing drug side effects holds a profound influence on drug development and utilization, profoundly impacting patients' physical and mental well-being. Traditional artificial drug experimentation methods are not only expensive but also time-consuming, rendering comprehensive testing a challenging task.