In California’s Death Valley, where summer temperatures regularly soar above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, life seems almost impossible. Yet among the cracked earth and blinding sunlight, one native plant not only survives — it thrives. That plant, Tidestromia oblongifolia, has helped Michigan State University scientists uncover how life can flourish in extreme heat, revealing a potential blueprint for engineering crops that can adapt to our changing climate. In a new paper published in Current Biology, Research Foundation Professor Seung Yon “Sue” Rhee and Research Specialist Karine Prado report that T. oblongifolia grows faster in Death Valley’s summer conditions by rapidly adjusting its photosynthetic system to withstand the heat. 

FAU’s “Art of Science” contest turns research into stunning visual stories. The top image, “First Selfie … Cephie,” shows an octopus seemingly posing for a camera, showcasing its incredible dexterity. Other top winners are the “Sea Turtle Beginning,” capturing embryonic development inside an egg, and “Journey to Space,” a high-altitude balloon bursting nearly 100,000 feet above Earth. The contest celebrates creativity across science, art, and the community, revealing the hidden beauty and wonder of discovery.

Glycans are important complex carbohydrates found on cell surfaces that serve crucial roles in cell-to-cell communication, structure, and protection. They are attached to many proteins in the body, and their attachment differs protein to protein. Researchers aimed to investigate the selectivity of a specific, cancer-related enzyme, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-V (GnT-V or MGAT5). GnT-V is often abnormally upregulated and can be an indicator of a poor prognosis in cancer diagnoses, with N-glycans individually associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's, emphysema, diabetes and cancer. Understanding why and how GnT-V selects substrates may offer therapeutic solutions for diseases involving this enzyme.

Cervical cancer, one of the most common malignancies in women worldwide, is primarily driven by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Researchers from China have identified a new subtype of keratinocytes, designated as PI3+S100A7+ cells, that appear early in HPV-positive cervical cancer and interact closely with immune cells to promote tumor progression. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, the team discovered how these cells alter the tumor environment and predict poor patient outcomes.