This discovery by Whitehead Institute Member Ankur Jain and colleagues points toward new combination strategies against cancer, and offers a possible explanation for the iron buildup seen in disorders such as early-onset Parkinson’s disease.

The foundation DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden has opened the new application round for the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant. Up to four outstanding projects by early-career researchers worldwide will be funded, with each receiving up to €240,000 over a three-year period. The focus is on research projects related to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cell therapy for hematological diseases. Applications for the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant 2027 can be submitted through November 16, 2026.

One of the major challenges in glioma surgery is that tumor boundaries are often difficult to define. Diffuse gliomas can infiltrate surrounding brain tissue beyond what surgeons can see directly or what conventional imaging can fully resolve. During surgery, neurosurgeons must remove as much tumor as possible while preserving critical brain functions. This makes accurate intraoperative assessment of tumor infiltration essential for more precise surgical decision-making.  A study published in Cell now reports a new platform called ULTRA, short for ultrarapid cleared stimulated Raman with AI, designed to address this gap. Developed by researchers from Fudan University, Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, and collaborators, ULTRA combines rapid tissue clearing, stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, and AI-based virtual staining to perform deep 3D histological imaging of surgical tissue without conventional staining or sectioning.

A research team at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a patient-centric “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Virtual Patient Simulation System”, overcoming the limitations of conventional static diagnosis. By dynamically integrating multimodal patient data, including genomic data, medical imaging and clinical records, the system creates a continuously updated “digital twin” model. It can not only track changes in a patient’s condition in real time, but also predict the potential effectiveness of different cancer treatment options, helping healthcare teams formulate more precise and personalised medical solutions.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most common and lethal malignancies worldwide, with metastatic disease accounting for the majority of cancer-related deaths. Although advances in screening and targeted therapies have improved patient outcomes, the prognosis for recurrent and metastatic CRC remains poor. Increasing evidence suggests that inflammatory signaling within the tumor microenvironment plays a pivotal role in cancer progression, yet the molecular mechanisms linking immune cell-derived cytokines to CRC metastasis remain incompletely understood.

A new University of Kent spin-out has been launched to commercialise biotechnology that could make it cheaper and easier to produce proteins used in cancer treatments, vaccines and diagnostics tests.