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Modifiable Risk Factors Suggest Potential for Improving Cancer Prevention

Approximately 4 of 10 cancer cases in 2022 may have been averted by avoiding exposure to key preventable risk factors, according to findings from a global analysis study published in Nature Medicine.1

Of 18.7 million cancer cases recorded in 2022, approximately 7.1 million (37.8%) were linked to modifiable risk factors. Cancer cases due to modifiable risk factors were reported in 29.7% of women with cancer compared with 45.4% of men. The highest cancer burden for female populations was observed in sub-Saharan Africa, where 38.2% of cases were linked to modifiable risk factors; male populations experienced the highest burden in East Asia, where 57.2% of cases were associated with such risk factors.

Across the world, new cancer cases in women were typically linked to infections (11.5%), smoking (6.3%), and high body mass index (BMI; 3.4%). Among men, the most common risk factors associated with cancer cases included smoking (23.1%), infections (9.1%), and alcohol consumption (4.6%).

Hair-thin silica fiber microphone detects ultrasound from 40 kHz to 1.6 MHz

Researchers have fabricated a hair-thin microphone made entirely of silica fiber that can detect a large range of ultrasound frequencies beyond the reach of the human ear. Able to withstand temperatures up to 1,000°C, the device could eventually be used inside high-voltage transformers to detect early signs of failure before power outages occur.

“Conventional electronic sensors often fail under thermal stress or suffer from severe signal interference,” said Xiaobei Zhang, a member of the research team from Shanghai University. “Our all-fiber microphone can survive in hazardous environments and is completely immune to electromagnetic interference while remaining sensitive enough to hear the subtle early warning signals of equipment failure.”

In an article published in Optics Express, the researchers describe their new microphone, which is sensitive to frequencies from 40 kHz to 1.6 MHz. Unlike traditional microphones that rely on bulky housing, the new microphone is entirely integrated within a fiber just 125 microns in diameter.

Light-based Ising computer runs at room temperature and stays stable for hours

A team of researchers at Queen’s University has developed a powerful new kind of computing machine that uses light to take on complex problems such as protein folding (for drug discovery) and number partitioning (for cryptography). Built from off-the-shelf components, it also operates at room temperature and remains remarkably stable while performing billions of operations per second. The research was published in Nature.

The breakthrough shows that it is possible to build a practical and scalable machine that can tackle extremely difficult problems.

The project, led by Bhavin Shastri, Canada Research Chair in Neuromorphic Photonic Computing and professor in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy, with a team of his graduate students including Nayem Al Kayed and Hugh Morison, uses commercially available lasers, fiber optics, and modulators—the same technology that powers today’s internet infrastructure. The team partnered with McGill University researcher David Plant and his graduate student Charles St-Arnault.

Supermassive black hole at heart of the Milky Way is approaching the cosmic speed limit

“Discovering that Sgr A is rotating at its maximum speed has far-reaching implications for our understanding of black hole formation and the astrophysical processes associated with these fascinating cosmic objects,” Xavier Calmet, a theoretical physicist at the University of Sussex who was not involved in the research, told Live Science in an email.

Related: Black holes: Everything you need to know

A black hole’s spin is different from those of other cosmic objects. Whereas planets, stars and asteroids are solid bodies with physical surfaces, black holes are actually regions of space-time bounded by an outer nonphysical surface called the event horizon, beyond which no light can escape.

Novel electronic structures and magnetic properties in twisted two-dimensional graphene/Janus 2H–VSeTe heterostructures

In the experiments, the stacking of other layers can be stacked layer by layer by using the method of direct growth, such as chemical bath deposition [17] and chemical vapor deposition [18]. To date, many vertical stacking structures based on graphene have been explored, such as graphene/Janus 2H-VSeTe [19], graphene/Janus 2H-VSeX (X = S, Te) [20], graphene/WTe2, etc. Scientists have done a lot of research on heterostructures, from the aspects of spin-orbital coupling [21], strains, applied electric field and Lattice mismatch, etc.

Show abstract.

Uncovering hidden quantum landscapes

Imagine trying to read Braille while wearing thick winter gloves; you might feel the general shape of the book, but the story remains a mystery. For decades, this has been the reality for physicists trying to “feel” the invisible energy landscapes that govern how electrons move in quantum materials. Now, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have taken the gloves off.

A single atomic defect acts as a new type of microscope to reveal the electrostatic potential landscape steering the behavior of electrons in quantum materials. (Image: Weizmann Institute of Science)

Hubble Captures a Wild Stellar Nursery Glowing With Newborn Stars

Hubble captures a dazzling stellar nursery where newborn stars light up and carve their way through glowing clouds in a nearby galaxy.

This striking image from the Hubble Space Telescope offers a fresh perspective on a faraway region where stars are actively forming. The view was captured alongside a recently released image and focuses on a nearby section of the N159 star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud, located about 160,000 light-years from Earth.

Glowing Gas and Emerging Stars.

The STAT3-VDAC1 axis modulates mitochondrial function and plays a critical role in the survival of acute myeloid leukemia cells

New insights into the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3 in regulating mitochondrial function in acute myeloid leukemia (AML): by linking STAT3 signaling to mitochondrial metabolism and apoptosis control, this study provides new mechanistic insight into how AML cells maintain their energy balance and resist cell death. These findings highlight mitochondrial regulation as a potential therapeutic vulnerability in AML.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a well-described transcription factor that mediates oxidative phosphorylation and glutamine uptake in bulk acute myeloid leukemia cells and leukemic stem cells. STAT3 has also been shown to translocate to the mitochondria in acute myeloid leukemia cells, and phosphorylation at the serine 727 (pSTAT3 S727) residue has been shown to be especially important for the mitochondrial functions of STAT3. We demonstrate that inhibition of STAT3 results in impaired mitochondrial function and decreased leukemia cell viability. We discovered a novel interaction of STAT3 with voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) in the mitochondria which provides a mechanism through which STAT3 modulates mitochondrial function and cell survival. Through VDAC1, STAT3 regulates calcium and oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria. STAT3 and VDAC1 inhibition also results in significantly reduced engraftment potential of leukemia stem cells, including primary samples resistant to venetoclax. These results implicate STAT3 as a therapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a genetically heterogenous and highly aggressive myeloid neoplasm with poor prognosis.1,2 Standard therapy for AML has historically consisted of induction chemotherapy with an anthracycline and cytarabine, followed by consolidation with either hematopoietic stem cell transplant or high-dose cytarabine.3 Recently, therapeutic options have broadened with the advent of novel targeted therapies.4–7 However, despite high response rates, relapse is common.6 Relapsed disease is believed to originate from a quiescent subpopulation of therapy-resistant leukemic stem cells (LSC)8 which are found in greater abundance at the time of relapse than at diagnosis,9–12 and negatively correlate with survival.10,11 LSC demonstrate a unique vulnerability in their preferential reliance on mitochondrial activity and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).12–14 While Bcl-2 inhibition with venetoclax in combination with the hypomethylating agent azacitidine has demonstrated selectivity for LSC through inhibition of OXPHOS,13 resistance frequently develops via alterations in mitochondrial metabolism or activation of alternative anti-apoptotic pathways.15–19 Furthermore, prior studies of patients who progress after frontline hypomethylating agent/venetoclax have shown very poor outcomes, with a median survival following failure of this combination of 3 months or less.20–22 New strategies targeting LSC via their reliance on OXPHOS are of significant interest and have been described in several reports,7,13,23 however, further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the observations.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) has been shown to be important for leukemogenesis and is known to be highly expressed in many AML patients’ samples and cell lines.24–27 Canonically, STAT3 is known to undergo phosphorylation at residue Tyr705 leading to dimerization and translocation to the nucleus where it functions as a transcription factor regulating cell development, renewal, proliferation, and cell death.25,28–30 Our previous work additionally established that the transcriptional activity of STAT3 regulates mitochondrial function via a MYC-SLC1A5-mediated pathway.27 Despite its well-described nuclear role as a transcription factor, STAT3 has also been discovered to localize to the mitochondria.31,32 Prior work has suggested a variety of functions in the mitochondria, including modulation of electron transport chain activity,31–33 regulation of mitochondrial genes,34 and regulation of mitochondrial calcium flux.35,36 While phosphorylation of STAT3 at both Tyr705 (pSTAT3 Y705) and Ser727 (pSTAT3 S727) sites have been found in the mitochondria,31–33,36,37 Ser727 phosphorylation is critical for modulation of mitochondrial functions such as electron transport chain activities.31,32 These data suggest that STAT3 plays a critical role in mitochondria, although this role in AML is not well characterized.

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