New magnetic nanoparticles in the shape of a cube sandwiched between two pyramids represent a breakthrough for treating ovarian tumors and possibly other types of cancer.

A leaping robot could have application in search and rescue, construction, even forest monitoring. But how do you design a robot to stick a landing on a branch or pipe? Biologists at UC Berkeley worked with robot designers to discover how squirrels do it, and used what they learned to design a one-legged robot with the balancing ability and leg biomechanics to correct for over- and undershooting and land successfully on a narrow perch.

St. Jude researchers identified a protein, voltage-dependent anion channel 2 (VDAC2), that tumors use as a “signal jammer” to prevent cancer cell death and evade the immune system’s functioning.