Category Health/Medical

How cancer hijacks the immune system by draining T cells’ energy

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Research into immunotherapy against cancer typically focuses on better recognition of cancer cells by the body’s own immune system. Researchers at Amsterdam UMC and Moffitt Cancer Center have taken a different approach.

They investigated how cancer affects the energy management of a patient’s T cells and showed for the first time that contact with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells leads to a serious energy crisis in these cells.

These findings are published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, building on a publication in the Blood Journal.

CLL is the most common type of leukemia in the Western world and mainly affects the elderly. Despite new therapies, the disease remains incurable, and treatments are becoming increasingly expensive.

Some c...

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Cell-permeable peptide shows promise in nerve cell regeneration

Research team unlocks clues to repairing damaged nerves
Expression of G3BP1 acidic domain in CNS neurons facilitates axon regeneration. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2411811122

Each year, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), millions of people in the U.S. are affected by spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, along with neuro-developmental and degenerative diseases such as ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

Assistant Professor Pabitra Sahoo, of Rutgers University-Newark’s Department of Biological Sciences, has made it his life’s work to understand how our neurological system becomes damaged by these injuries and conditions, and when and how neurons in our central and peripheral nervous systems re...

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Magnetic microrobots remove blood clots from sheep iliac artery

Magnetic microrobots remove blood clots from sheep iliac artery
The engagement with the blood clot for volume reduction and revascularization of blood flow is achieved through three methods: mechanical fragmentation using an untethered magnetic robot (UMR), chemical lysis employing fibrinolytics, and a hybrid approach that combines both fragmentation and chemical lysis to mitigate the risk of peripheral emboli or hemolysis. Credit: Applied Physics Reviews (2025). DOI: 10.1063/5.0233677

Researchers at the TechMed Center of the University of Twente and Radboud University Medical Center have removed blood clots with wireless magnetic robots. This innovation promises to transform treatment for life-threatening vascular conditions like thrombosis.

Cardiovascular diseases such as thrombosis are a major global health challenge...

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New study identifies unique white matter astrocytes with regenerative potential

New study identifies unique white matter astrocytes with regenerative potential
Characterization of proliferative white matter astrocytes. Credit: Nature Neuroscience (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-01878-6

A research team has identified different subtypes of white matter (WM) astrocytes, including a unique type with the ability to multiply and potentially aid in brain repair. Using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, the scientists mapped astrocyte diversity across different brain regions and species, providing the first detailed molecular profile of WM astrocytes.

The team was led by Dr. Judith Fischer-Sternjak from Helmholtz Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, alongside Prof. Magdalena Götz from Helmholtz Munich, LMU and the Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)...

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