Advancing Against Metastasis

One hundred years after its invention, BCG has stood the test of time as a vaccine against tuberculosis.

Since Darwin published his landmark work on natural selection, we’ve understood that we’re animals. But that doesn’t mean we really believe it.

It’s now thought that in many cases, cancer cells disseminate from the primary tumor site early on and lie dormant for long periods rather than only venturing out from primary tumors at an advanced stage.

Synapses in the mouse neocortex can release multiple packages of neurotransmitters, suggesting that connection strength is more flexible than previously thought.

Researchers are uncovering how circular bits of DNA found in some cancer cells can help tumors evolve and kill.

From his student days in veterinary medicine in Ethiopia to running a lab on metastasis at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Debeb has a passion for understanding how living things work.

A mutant protein called Siglec-XII may promote carcinoma progression in humans, but inactivation of its gene seems to avoid the problem, according to a study.

Altered gut microbiome composition in obese mice and human patients is linked with severity of disease after bone marrow transplantation, a study found.

Neural connections in the mouse neocortex can release multiple packages of neurotransmitters per electrical impulse, a study finds.

Many major biopharmaceutical companies are developing or acquiring drugs that target the NLRP3 inflammasome, a large intracellular complex that researchers say can spark inflammation and stoke diseases of lifestyle and aging.

While machine learning could improve detection of tumors at their earliest stages, it also risks identifying malignancies that would never cause the patient any harm.

Researchers find that the animals can account for others’ behavior and circumstances in their strategies.

The G-baToN prototype transfers GFP between cells, illuminating cell-cell contacts.

As with the evolution of astronomy, new insights in biology beckon just beyond our conceptual and observational reach.

Meet some of the people featured in the April 2021 issue of The Scientist.

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.