The five-year relative survival rate for US cancer patients rose from 49% for patients diagnosed in 1975–1979 to 71% for those diagnosed in 2016–2022

Good news! Impressive! Cancer is history (soon)!

Keep in mind: With every extra year, a cancer patient has the chance to receive the latest new cancer treatments as they become available possibly extending the life even further. Every extra year matters a lot.

"The five-year relative survival rate for US cancer patients rose from 49 percent for patients diagnosed in 1975–1979 to 71 percent for those diagnosed in 2016–2022, according to a recent report from the American Association for Cancer Research. Relative survival adjusts for deaths from causes other than cancer by comparing patients with the general population."

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup - by Malcolm Cochran

AACR Cancer Progress Report 2026: Executive Summary

Immune cell map uncovers markers how individual aging trajectories diverge between healthy and pathologic

Good news!

"... researchers have found that a ratio between two immune cell types can reveal whether someone stays healthy or may face a higher risk of future disease.

They found that having more granzyme K-producing white blood cells tipped the scale toward healthy aging, while having more granzyme B-producing cells was associated with chronic disease and even death. ...

a map of human immune aging that helps decode these different trajectories.

The findings, published in Immunity, show that a ratio between two immune cell types can reveal whether someone stays healthy or may face a risk of future disease. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• 8 PBMC datasets, 2,609 individuals, 12 M cells, and harmonized annotation of 59 cell types

• Thymic involution defines biological age in PBMCs, marked by RTE and CD8+ TN loss

• CD8+ Tem GZMK+/GZMB+ ratio stratifies human health trajectories

• Tem GZMB+ plasma protein signature links to inflammation and is predictive of mortality

Summary

Human immune aging is heterogeneous, with immune responses becoming increasingly variable over the lifespan.

Here, we integrated seven large-scale public single-cell peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) datasets and a newly generated cohort, encompassing 2,609 ostensibly healthy individuals across diverse ages, ancestries, and biological sexes.

We identified both conserved and cohort-associated age-associated remodeling across 59 immune populations, together with sex- and ancestry-dependent immune differences.

CD8+ T cells emerged as major drivers of aging heterogeneity, with the GZMK+/GZMB+ effector memory ratio distinguishing healthy and pathology-associated aging trajectories.

This ratio reflected immune remodeling driven by chronic viral exposure, including CMV, and disease-associated immune dysregulation, with the dominant driver varying across populations.

Proteomic profiling across four cohorts revealed a Tem GZMB+ plasma signature associated with inflammaging, poor self-reported health, all-cause mortality, and increased risk of immune-related, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. Together, these findings define clinically relevant immune determinants for monitoring and guiding healthy aging interventions."

Immune cell map uncovers how individual aging trajectories diverge

Single-cell analyses of global cohorts outline determinants of immune aging and link the ratio of GZMK+ to GZMB+ Tem cells to health trajectories (open access)

Graphical abstract

Figure 1 Overview of study design and cohort characteristics

Lubricin-inspired polymer to treat osteoarthritis enters two in human trials

Good news! However, this replacement was already discovered in 2019/2020!

"The two ... engineers set out to recreate lubricin, a slippery glycoprotein that keeps healthy knees, hips and shoulders gliding smoothly against each other for a lifetime. When joints are injured or aged, lubricin production drops, friction rises and cartilage begins to wear away, a process that can end in osteoarthritis, a disease affecting more than 32 million adults in the United States.

Now their discovery of a lubricin-inspired polymer has not only resulted in a start-up ... but is also entering into two separate first-in-human trials. The team aims to give patients a synthetic stand-in for a natural lubricant when the body stops making enough on its own.  ...

The researchers designed and synthesized a new polymer that matches lubricin’s natural lubricating power on cartilage, and follow-up studies mapped out exactly which parts of the molecule make that possible. ..."

A synthetic answer to the squeak in aging joints | Cornell Chronicle

Double edged lipids: How routine cellular stress can fuel chronic inflammation

This could be an interesting review article (unfortunately no public access)!

"Oxidized lipids—fats structurally altered by enzymes, oxygen or free radicals—are double-edged swords that can both quell and ignite systemic inflammation, according to a new comprehensive review aimed at sharpening the overall understanding of an intricate class of highly reactive molecules. ...

The research joins a growing body of analyses that have zeroed in on the impact of oxidized lipids in disorders marked by chronic inflammation. Lipids undergoing enzymatic or nonenzymatic oxidation play critical roles in regulating inflammation ...

Historically, oxPLs were viewed merely as benign byproducts of oxidative stress. But, as the two scientists underscore, oxPLs are now regarded as potent, bioactive molecules that can bind to specific receptors on immune cells, triggering intracellular signaling pathways.

This, in turn, disrupts cellular homeostasis, promotes chronic inflammation and actively drives the progression of various physiological conditions, such as aging, and—of greater concern—certain life-threatening disease processes. ..."

From the abstract:

"Host-derived lipids undergoing enzymatic or nonenzymatic oxidation play critical roles in regulating inflammation.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and cholesterol intermediates can be enzymatically oxidized and serve as signaling mediators controlling tissue homeostasis and immunity.

Spontaneously generated oxidized lipids, including nonenzymatically oxidized phospholipids (oxPLs), result from oxidative stress and accumulate during inflammation, affecting cellular metabolism, immune cell functions, and cell fate. These distinct classes of oxidized lipids not only share overlapping inflammatory roles but also exhibit divergent effects depending on their molecular structures and cellular targets.

This Review highlights the double-edged nature of oxPLs: Although their transient production triggers protective responses, their accumulation sustains inflammation, contributing to tissue damage.

We also discuss the emerging roles of oxPLs in cell death programs, immune cell activation, and stromal cell functions, which are critical processes favoring tumor growth. Overall, we highlight how oxidized lipids orchestrate immune responses and explore their contribution to infectious diseases and cancer."

Rogue lipids: How routine cellular stress can fuel chronic inflammation

Regulation of inflammation by oxidized lipids (review article, no public access)

The Viral Tipping Point of Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection

Amazing stuff!

"scientists ... have discovered that the fate of an individual infected cell, too, depends on the number of virions that enter it. ...

the researchers reveal that the cellular infectious dose determines whether a virus will become active in the cell or enter a dormant state. These findings pave the way for therapies that could control the outcome of infection. ...

While most viruses invade a living cell and immediately exploit its machinery to replicate, herpesviruses and HIV have another option: They can wait patiently in a dormant state inside the cell until conditions become favorable. For example, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a member of the herpesvirus family, infects most of the world’s population, usually without causing disease, but when the immune system is weakened, the dormant virus can reawaken and cause severe infections. Moreover, HCMV is one of the most common infections passed from mother to fetus, and in a minority of cases it can cause serious harm, including developmental delays and hearing loss.

Among the hiding places for dormant cytomegalovirus in the body are blood-system cells called monocytes. ..."

From the abstract:

"Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection results in either productive or latent infection, the latter enabling life-long viral persistence. Monocytes support latent infection but become permissive to productive infection upon differentiation into macrophages.

These differentiation-driven differences have been largely attributed to chromatin-mediated repression of the viral genome. Using metabolic labeling of newly synthesized RNA, we observe markedly lower viral transcription at early stages of infection in monocytes compared to macrophages.

Unbiased comparison reveals that this difference is partly explained by inefficient viral entry in monocytes: fewer viruses enter, and correspondingly, fewer genomes reach the nucleus. Indeed, ectopic expression of known HCMV entry receptors in monocytes enhances viral entry and enables productive infection, demonstrating that these cells can support full lytic replication if entry is efficient. We further identify integrin β3 as a differentiation-induced surface protein playing an important role in HCMV entry into macrophages, partially accounting for the observed differences in entry efficiency.

Finally, we show that cells receiving fewer viral genomes are the ones that establish latent infection and have the capacity to reactivate. Overall, our findings reveal that entry is a previously unrecognized factor contributing to latent infection in monocytes, adding a critical layer to the paradigm of HCMV latency."

The Viral Tipping Point | Weizmann Institute of Science "How many viruses does it take to launch an infection? Scientists have discovered the cellular threshold that can determine whether a herpesvirus becomes active or lies dormant"

Viral entry shapes HCMV latency establishment (open access)

Monocytes (left) and macrophages (right) one hour after exposure to cytomegalovirus virions (green), showing only a few individual virions in monocytes versus extensive viral entry into macrophages. Cell boundaries are shown in red and nuclei in blue

Fig. 1: HCMV infection and viral gene expression in monocytes and macrophages.

First Fully Implantable Cochlear Implant Launches allows hearing 24 hours a day

Good news!

"... A new, fully implanted cochlear implant from Austrian company Med-El now offers the prospect of round-the-clock hearing without any visible sign. ...

The device has received European regulatory approval and the first four commercial implantations were carried out on the morning of the announcement, though it’s not yet available in the United States. ..."

"

• The world's first and only commercially available cochlear implant with all components, including the microphone, implanted beneath the skin
• Provides people with severe-to-profound hearing loss with continuous access to sound throughout daily life, including during sleep
• Combines complete invisibility with hearing performance designed to be comparable to established cochlear implant solutions

"

First Fully Implantable Cochlear Implant Launches - IEEE Spectrum "Users get round-the-clock hearing with no visible external hardware"

MED-EL Launches TICI UNICO, the World's First and Only Totally Invisible Cochlear Implant (original news release)

Med-El’s new cochlear implant places its microphone, sound processor, rechargeable battery, and receiver coil beneath the scalp.

Uncovering 76 environmental exposures linked with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Really!

Why not 100 exposures? Is such a large number of exposures even useful?

"... The study identified 76 exposures significantly linked with ADRD and 34 linked with Alzheimer’s disease specifically. ..."

From the abstract:

"INTRODUCTION

Environmental exposures contribute substantially to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), yet comprehensive exposome-wide investigations systematically evaluating multi-domain environmental factors remain limited and lacking utility for precision medicine.

METHODS

We conducted an exposome-wide association study (ExWAS) among 499,992 UK Biobank participants, examining 193 exposures across five domains (social, physical, chemical, lifestyle, and ecosystems).

Cox proportional hazard models with Bonferroni correction identified ADRD-associated exposures. We used the XGBoost classifier to build a predictive model and further developed an exposomic risk score (ERS) for risk stratification.

RESULTS

During a 15.3-year median follow-up, 8881 participants (1.77%) developed ADRD, including 4000 with Alzheimer's disease.

ExWAS identified 76 exposures after Bonferroni correction. The prediction model achieved area under the curve (AUC) = 0.718, outperforming demographics+apolipoprotein E (APOE) status alone (AUC = 0.678). The ERS stratified ADRD risk (highest vs lowest quartile hazard ratio [HR] = 2.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.59–3.41).

DISCUSSION

The ERS has the potential to contribute to clinically relevant prevention strategies for ADRD."

Uncovering environmental exposures linked with Alzheimer’s and related dementias | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Exposome-wide association study and predictive risk score for incident Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Fig. 1 Analytic workflow of the study.

Always-On Experimentation (for medical treatments/pharmaceuticals)

This could be an interesting new research paper by Michael I. Jordan and his team!

From the abstract:

"Generative AI has dramatically accelerated the rate at which new treatments---from novel pharmaceuticals to online marketing campaigns---can be conceived and deployed. As a result, modern experimentation platforms often run continuously, with treatments added as they are ready and removed when they underperform.

We formalize this "Always-On" experimental setting, in which treatments can be dynamically generated, added to, and removed from a running experiment, and study the statistical problem of deciding whether to accept or reject each treatment while controlling for the false discovery rate.

We develop sequential tests that achieve time-uniform Type-I error control under arbitrary stopping times and "predictable" treatment schedules. Our approach builds on the testing-by-betting framework: we construct test supermartingales for testing the average treatment effect of each treatment, and show that the construction of these test supermartingales is growth-rate optimal in an almost-sure sense."

[2609.38695] Always-On Experimentation (preprint, open access)

How sex chromosomes influence lifelong health beyond determining biological sex

Amazing stuff!

"A new review published in Science brings together growing evidence that the X and Y chromosomes do more than determine biological sex. They also shape how cells function, age and respond to disease.

Differences in health between men and women have long been attributed mainly to sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. However, genes on the X and Y chromosomes also play a direct role, working both on their own and alongside hormones. ..."

From the abstract:

"Sex differences have traditionally been attributed to gonadal hormones, but accumulating evidence shows that sex chromosomes exert distinct, cell-autonomous effects on health, aging, and disease.

XX and XY complements alter gene dosage, epigenetic programming, immune signaling, metabolism, and cellular stress responses, which shape aging and disease trajectories in women and men.

This Review integrates mechanistic advances in sex chromosome biology—including escape from X chromosome inactivation, X reactivation, parent-of-X-origin, X-skew, X- and Y-linked gene functions, and Y loss—with aging, neurologic disease, immunity, cancer, and cardiometabolic disease. We highlight insights from mouse models, human studies, and emerging technologies that disentangle hormone-driven effects from chromosome-mediated effects and discuss translational implications for diagnostics, biomarkers, therapeutics, and clinical trial design, emphasizing the integration of sex chromosome biology into precision medicine."

How sex chromosomes influence lifelong health beyond determining biological sex

X and Y chromosomes as determinants of aging and disease (open access, a special issue review)

Fig. 1. Mechanisms of two X chromosomes.

Fig. 2. The Y chromosome in human health and disease.

Fig. 3. Clinical and translational implications of sex chromosome biology.

Bio Drucktinten für die Herstellung von funktionellen Organen

Gute Nachrichten!

Randbemerkung: Der anscheinend dämliche Journalist konnte es sich nicht verkneifen das Modewort "nachhaltig" für den Schlagzeile seines Artikels zu verwenden. Ziemlich unangebracht!

"... Für erste Druckversuche verdruckten die Forschenden die Kollagen Typ I-Tinte mit drei, fünf und sieben Prozent mit verschiedenen Druckdüsen und untersuchten dabei die Strukturstabilität sowie die Zellvitalität. Während bei drei Prozent Kollagenanteil nach dem Druck bzw. während der Gelierung die Tinte noch verläuft, zeigte sich bei den beiden höheren Konzentrationen, dass ein freistehender Druck möglich ist.

Erste Hautgewebemodelle wurden bereits erfolgreich gedruckt, die die Anwendbarkeit der Kollagen Typ I-Tinte demonstrieren. Eine Echtzeitüberwachung des Stoffwechsels der humanen Zellen ermöglicht zudem die kontinuierliche Kontrolle der Nährstoffversorgung des Zellgewebes. Auf diese Weise kann die Qualität der gedruckten Gewebestrukturen bewertet und deren Architektur gezielt optimiert werden. ..."

Nachhaltige Drucktinten für die Herstellung von funktionellen Organen "Der 3D-Biodruck eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten für die Herstellung von Organen und Geweben, die beispielsweise in der Organtransplantation und der Wirkstoffentwicklung benötigt werden. Allerdings sind bisherige Biotinten zwar zellverträglich und druckbar, bilden die physiologische Struktur und Zusammensetzung von Geweben jedoch nicht ausreichend nach.

Im Projekt PhysioINK entwickeln Fraunhofer-Forschende Bio-Drucktinten aus den gängigsten Gewebeproteinen, mit denen sich ohne chemische Modifikation physiologische Gewebestrukturen nachbilden lassen."

Prozessoptimierte Biotinten für den praxistauglichen 3D-Biodruck (Projekt website)

3D-Druck freistehender Gitterstrukturen

How stoned are older Americans?

Serious stuff! Cause for concern! About 1% of older Americans are addicted to Cannabis.

"One in Nine Older Adults Who Use Cannabis Meet Criteria for Cannabis Use Disorder"

"Key Takeaways

• An estimated 8.9% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older used cannabis in the past year.
• Among older adults who used cannabis in the past year, 11.4% met criteria for cannabis use disorder, most with mild severity.
• More frequent cannabis use was associated with a greater likelihood of cannabis use disorder.

..."

From the abstract:

"Background and aims

Cannabis use is increasing among older adults in the United States (US); however, little is known regarding details of use or cannabis use disorder (CUD) in this population. This study aimed to describe cannabis use and CUD among older adults in the US.

Design

Secondary analysis of the 2021–2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual cross-sectional nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized people aged ≥12 living in the US.

Setting

United States.

Participants

Noninstitutionalized individuals age ≥65 years (unweighted N = 21 189).

Measurements

We estimated the prevalence of cannabis use by recency (any past 12-month use and past 30-day use), meeting two or more Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 CUD criteria, as well as CUD severity and individual CUD criteria among adults age ≥65 years who used cannabis in the past 12 months. Cannabis use and CUD were compared across sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, modality of use (2022–2024 only), and individual CUD criteria. Bivariable generalized linear regression models estimated the relative risk (RR) of CUD for older adults with each characteristic and modality of cannabis use.

Results

An estimated 8.9% of older adults used cannabis in the past 12 months, and among them, 11.4% met criteria for CUD (76.0% mild, 20.1% moderate, and 3.9% severe CUD).

Smoking was the most common modality of past 12-month use (65.8%), followed by eating or drinking (40.5%), and vaping (15.4%); 19.9% had a doctor recommend any cannabis use.

Among older adults with CUD, the most common CUD criteria met were spending time obtaining, using, and recovering from the drug's effects (74.4%) and craving (67.5%).

Male older adults were at higher risk for CUD than their female counterparts [RR = 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12–2.55], as were those ever arrested and booked (RR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.07–2.37), with past-year mental illness (RR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.85–4.65), past-year tobacco use (RR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.04–2.20) or drug use other than cannabis (RR = 3.22, 95% CI: 2.15–4.84), smoking as a mode of cannabis use (RR = 4.94, 95% CI: 2.39–10.23), and frequent cannabis use (e.g., ≥300 days vs. <300 days per year, RR = 3.70, 95% CI: 2.30–5.96).

Summary

One in nine older adults in the United States who have used cannabis in the past 12 months meet criteria for cannabis use disorder. Cannabis use screening, cannabis use disorder treatment, and additional intervention to prevent worsening severity are needed to minimize cannabis-related harms among older US adults."

Global Health NOW: Fighting Fuels Yemen’s Health Crisis; and Bolstering Menopause Care Behind Bars

One in Nine Older Adults Who Use Cannabis Meet Criteria for Cannabis Use Disorder

Cannabis use and cannabis use disorder among older adults in the USA (open access)

Lack of Menopause Care Behind Bars

Bad news!

"As more incarcerated women enter menopause, advocates say prisons are failing to provide adequate care.

Women ages 50+ now make up 18% of U.S. prison populations, up from 8% in 2008.

Yet only five states explicitly mention menopause in prison policies ..."

Global Health NOW: Fighting Fuels Yemen’s Health Crisis; and Bolstering Menopause Care Behind Bars

1 in 8 cancer cases worldwide are caused by viral and bacterial infections

Serious stuff! Cancer is history (soon)!

"... These viruses, bacteria and other microbes are the focus of a new paper published Monday in The Lancet Oncology that linked an estimated 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024 — 12 per cent of all new cases —  to these infectious agents.

A team of researchers at The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization, conducted the study. They found the largest number of cancer cases attributed to infections globally were caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which can increase the risk of stomach cancer and accounted for 760,000 cases, predominantly in eastern Asia. ...

For the first time, researchers linked even more cancers to infections, expanding their list to include 16 additional ones. ..."

From the abstract:

"Background

Infectious agents are an important preventable cause of cancer globally. To inform prevention efforts, we provide a comprehensive picture of cancer burden attributable to infections, including newly established, carcinogenic infectious agents and latest global cancer incidence estimates.

Methods

In this worldwide incidence analysis, we used data from the Global Cancer Observatory's Cancer Today (GLOBOCAN) database of cancer incidence in 2024 to estimate population-attributable fractions (PAFs), absolute numbers, and age-standardised incidence rates (ASIRs) of new cancer cases attributable to 12 infectious agents classified as Group 1 carcinogens by the IARC Monographs Programme:

Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C viruses (HCV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, Schistosoma haematobium, human T-cell lymphotropic virus, Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis, Merkel cell polyomavirus, and HIV. Estimates stratified by sex, country, and age group were aggregated by UN geographical subregion and World Bank income group.

Findings

An estimated 2·3 million new cancer cases were attributable to infections globally in 2024, which is equivalent to 12% of all cancer cases.

The largest number of cases was attributable to 

H pylori (n=760 000, PAF 4%), followed by 

HPV (n=750 000, 4%), HBV (n=360 000, 2%), 

EBV (n=260 000, 1%), and 

HCV (n=160 000, <1%).

The largest burden of infection-attributable cancer was in eastern Asia, with 990 000 cases (42% of the global total, ASIR 31·9 per 100 000 cases). ASIRs were also higher than the global average (22·7) in sub-Saharan Africa (28·5), central and eastern Europe (24·3), and southeastern Asia (23·1).

Focused analysis of EBV-attributable cancers revealed regional variation in the distribution of cancer types."

Global Health NOW: Fighting Fuels Yemen’s Health Crisis; and Bolstering Menopause Care Behind Bars

1 in 8 cancer cases worldwide is caused by infections, study suggests "Researchers estimate infections caused 2.3 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2024"

Global burden of cancer attributable to infections in 2024: a worldwide incidence analysis

Figure 1 ASIR of infection-attributable cancers per 100 000 person-years in 2024 for the six infectious agents with the most attributable cases

Osteoporosis R&D and treatment revival

Good news!

This is another nice example how government intervention did more harm than good!

"Pharma, biotechnology companies and investors are renewing their interest in osteoporosis treatments, incentivized by a regulatory change that makes bone health trials easier to run, at least in the United States.

Drug developers can now seek regulatory approval for a drug that increases bone density, rather than needing to prove the drug reduces bone breakages. Companies are aiming for drugs devoid of the fracture risk that historically plagued the field, with biotechs such as Skeletalis, EnteraBio and Angitia entering the osteoporosis field. ..."

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Drugmakers, biotech VCs show ‘reinvigorated’ interest in osteoporosis treatments "Shift by the FDA and frustration with existing therapies have created new opportunities"

Scientists Identify Connection Between Nervous System and Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Good news! Cancer is history (soon)!

You wonder whether other cancers also manipulate the nervous system!

"A new study ... has found a link between the nervous system and the rapid development of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), an aggressive form of the disease. ... the study found high levels of neuromedin U (NMU), a kind of neurotransmitter, present in prostate cells at the very early phase of NEPC formation, which support tumor progression by blocking the immune response. These findings could present a target for therapy for what is now a virtually untreatable disease. ..."

From the abstract:

"Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is an increasingly recognized, highly aggressive disease variant with no actionable therapeutic targets and a life expectancy of 7 months or less.

Using a transgenic mouse model, we now show that early stages of NEPC are associated with increased intraprostatic recruitment of Ly6G+ polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and reduced infiltration of CD8+ T cells. This coincided with expansive transcriptional changes of increased cell viability and cell migration, as well as upregulation of multiple neuronal mediators with the neuropeptide, Neuromedin U (NMU) as the top hit (Z score = 4.34; FDR < 5%; p = 3.62 × 10−9). Analysis of a large cohort of human patient samples revealed that NMU was highly expressed in early and late stage prostate cancer, preferentially segregating with AR-/NE+ metastases. Exposure of PMN to recombinant NMU was sufficient to stimulate cell migration, inflammatory gene expression with increased levels of the cytokine-like alarmin, S100A9 and suppression of T cell proliferation.

Genetic or pharmacological targeting of NMU/S100A9 signaling inhibited NEPC growth, reinvigorated an intratumoral immune microenvironment via recruitment of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells with ‘stem-like’ (TCF1+/PD1+) and cytotoxic (GrzB+/KLRG1+) properties and enhanced the activity of therapeutic immune checkpoint inhibition, in vivo.

Therefore, NMU ‘innervation’ drives myeloid immunosuppression in NEPC and provides a therapeutic target to restore sensitivity to immunotherapy in this highly refractory malignancy."

Wistar Scientists Identify Connection Between Nervous System and Aggressive Prostate Cancer - The Wistar Institute

Neuromedin U ‘innervation’ reprograms myeloid immunosuppression in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (no public access)

Treating Cystic Fibrosis during pregnancy Before Birth with Trikafta

Very recommendable!

(252) CF Before Birth: The Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis | NOVA | PBS - YouTube

New formulation helps RNA vaccines withstand high temperatures like room temperature for up to a year

Good news!

"RNA vaccines, which have been proven effective against Covid-19, are now being developed for many other diseases, including cancer. One of the drawbacks to these vaccines is that they require ultracold storage, but researchers from MIT have found a promising way to overcome that limitation.

With help from an AI algorithm, the researchers tweaked the formulation surrounding the lipid nanoparticles that are typically used to deliver mRNA vaccines, making the vaccines more heat-resistant. Using this approach, they formulated vaccines that could remain stable even when stored at room temperature for up to a year, or at nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit for two months. ..."

From the abstract:

"The instability of mRNA−lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) necessitates ultra-cold storage, limiting global distribution and their broader application in advanced delivery systems.

Solid-state, water-free formulations enhance thermostability and enable integration into emerging delivery modalities such as microneedle patches.

Previous efforts to stabilize mRNA−LNPs have been constrained by narrow formulation scope and low-throughput screening methods.

Here we introduce Algorithm-Guided Experimental design for lipid Nanoparticle Thermostabilization (AGENT), an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven framework that couples high-throughput experimentation with Bayesian optimization to identify thermostable mRNA−LNP formulations.

AGENT extracts maximal information from sparse experimental datasets, enabling efficient formulation optimization in six iterations completed within 1 month.

We stabilized mRNA vaccines with two clinically relevant LNPs representative of the Moderna (SM-102-based) and Pfizer-BioNTech (ALC-0315-based) compositions into solid-state formulations that retained 100% bioactivity after storage at 37 °C for more than 2 months.

In rodents and non-human primates, thermostable, solid-state vaccine formulations induced antigen-specific immune responses non-inferior to those elicited by intramuscular delivery of freshly prepared soluble vaccines."

New formulation helps RNA vaccines withstand high temperatures | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "MIT engineers have found a way to stabilize the lipid nanoparticles used to deliver RNA vaccines, which could allow the vaccines to be more widely distributed."

Accelerated discovery of thermostable mRNA–lipid nanoparticle vaccines using data-efficient AI (no public access)

Accelerated discovery of thermostable vaccines using data-efficient AI (preprint, open access)

Fig. 1 Exploration of the design space for solid-state mRNA-LNPs formulated via vacuum drying.

New Male Contraceptives by 2029

Good news!

"... But several promising new male contraceptive candidates are in advanced clinical trials and could reach pharmacies by 2029, WHO officials say—signaling growing demand for male-centric options beyond condoms and vasectomy ...

New approaches include a daily sperm-suppressing hormonal gel called NES/T, injectable sperm-blocking hydrogels, and YCT-529, a non-hormonal daily pill. ..."

"... At the moment, the most advanced new product is called NES/T. It is a daily hormonal gel that is applied to the shoulders and upper arms, and suppresses sperm production without affecting testosterone levels. ..."

Global Health NOW: New Male Contraceptives on the Horizon; and Rethinking Suicide Prevention Strategies

Male contraceptives could hit pharmacies in ‘three to five years’, says WHO "The UN agency unveiled guidelines for new products, as trials ramp up and stigma shifts"

‘Gamechanging’ Brain Tumour Test: Rapid Genomic Test Identifies Brain Cancer While Surgeons Operate

Good news! Cancer is history (soon)!

(234) ‘Gamechanging’ Brain Tumour Test: Rapid Genomic Test Identifies Brain Cancer While Surgeons Operate - YouTube

These biomedical advances will help people live longer, healthier lives

Recommendable overview article!

These biomedical advances will help people live longer, healthier lives "Getting older makes you more prone to all kinds of maladies. So why not become younger?"