An international team of researchers has created the most detailed model yet of how cells regulate traffic through the nuclear pore complex—the gateway between a cell’s nucleus and its cytoplasm. The study solves a decades-old puzzle about how these pores can rapidly and selectively transport molecules, revealing that flexible protein chains create a dynamic “entropic barrier” that admits only properly escorted cargo. This computational model not only clarifies how healthy cells maintain precise control but also provides insight into diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and ALS, where this transport system fails. It opens new avenues for medical and biotech innovation, including the design of artificial nanopores for targeted therapies and biosensing.

Researchers have discovered a protein system that helps explain why some colorectal cancer patients don’t respond to chemotherapy, offering hope for more effective and personalized treatments. The team found that tumors often rely on the cystine/glutamate transporter (Xc-) to survive stress and resist cell death. When this system was blocked in lab models, the cancer became more sensitive to treatment. Importantly, the scientists also identified a unique protein “signature” that could predict which patients are likely to resist standard therapies, paving the way for doctors to tailor treatments more precisely. Beyond colorectal cancer, the findings may also shed light on other cancers and even neurological conditions, making this a promising step toward smarter, more targeted medicine.

Clinical Trial Led by Cedars-Sinai Identifies Drug Combination Treatment That Reduced Deaths in Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients.

Patients with an aggressive form of breast cancer who are not candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy showed significantly improved progression-free survival when treated with the antibody drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan compared to standard chemotherapy. These findings, which stem from the ASCENT-03 trial in triple-negative breast cancer co-led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, are presented today at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2025 in Berlin, Germany. They are also published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A multicenter Phase II clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated significant tumor shrinkage and disease control in patients with advanced pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL), two rare and potentially life-threatening neuroendocrine tumors.

Results from a trial led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that a targeted therapy combination improved outcomes for patients with metastatic clear-cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) – a type of kidney cancer – whose disease progressed following immunotherapy.