Category: 7. Science

A hormone-receptor interaction weakens immunity. Targeting it could fight cancer.

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified how a hormone binds to a receptor on immune cells, allowing cancer cells to evade the body’s defenses. The study, published in Nature Immunology, points to potential new directions in cancer immunotherapy and may also open avenues for treating inflammatory and neurological conditions.

“Myeloid cells are among the first group of immune cells recruited to tumors, but very quickly these tumor-fighting cells turn into tumor-supporting cells. Our study suggests that receptors on these myeloid cells get stimulated by this hormone and end up suppressing the immune system,” said Cheng Cheng “Alec” Zhang, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology and a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern. Dr. Zhang co-led the study with first author Xing Yang, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the Zhang Lab.

Dr. Zhang noted that current immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, only benefit about 20%-30% of patients. This limited success suggests that cancer uses multiple strategies to escape detection and destruction by the immune system.

Discovery of LILRB4 receptor

Several years ago, researchers in the Zhang Lab examined how myeloid cells, a type of immune cell that normally attacks cancer, could be suppressed. They identified an inhibitory receptor called LILRB4, and when this receptor was activated, the myeloid cells lost their ability to target tumors.

Building on that discovery, Dr. Zhang, Dr. Yang, and their team conducted a genome-wide search for proteins that interact with LILRB4. One strong candidate was a hormone known as SCG2. While earlier studies hinted that SCG2 might influence immune activity, its precise role and receptor were not established. Laboratory tests confirmed that SCG2 binds directly to LILRB4, triggering a signaling cascade that shut down the tumor-fighting function of myeloid cells and prevented them from recruiting T cells to attack tumors.

In mice genetically altered to express the human form of LILRB4, injected cancer cells that produced SCG2 grew rapidly as tumors. Treating these mice with an antibody that blocks LILRB4 significantly slowed cancer growth, as did artificially ridding the animals’ bodies of SCG2.

Together, these experiments suggest that interactions between LILRB4 and SCG2 allow cancer to grow unchecked by myeloid cells, T cells, and potentially other immune cell types. Dr. Zhang suggested that disrupting this interaction could someday offer a new immunotherapy option to treat cancer. Conversely, because this interaction neutralizes myeloid cells’ immune activity, delivering extra SCG2 could be a promising treatment for autoimmune or inflammatory disorders spurred by myeloid cells. Dr. Zhang and his colleagues plan to investigate both ideas in future studies.

Reference: “Secretogranin 2 binds LILRB4 resulting in immunosuppression” by Xing Yang, Ryan Huang, Meng Fang, Yubo He, Jingjing Xie, Xiaoye Liu, Chengcheng Zhang, Qi Lou, Mi Deng, Wei Xiong, Cheryl Lewis, Zade Sadek, Ankit Gupta, Lianqi Chen, Xuewu Zhang, Lei Guo, Lin Xu, Ningyan Zhang, Zhiqiang An and Cheng Cheng Zhang, 24 July 2025, Nature Immunology.
DOI: 10.1038/s41590-025-02233-4

This study was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (R01CA248736, R01CA263079, and Lung Cancer 779 SPORE Development Research Program), the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RP220032, RP15150551, RP190561), The Welch Foundation (AU-0042-20030616, I-1702), Immune-Onc Therapeutics Inc. (Sponsored Research Grant No. 111077), the National Institutes of Health (R35GM130289), and NCI Cancer Center Support Grant (P30CA142543).

The University of Texas has a financial interest in Immune-Onc in the form of equity and licensing. Dr. Alec Zhang holds equity in and had sponsored research agreements with Immune-Onc.

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Following a successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 33rd commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and cargo for the agency are bound for the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying more than 5,000 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, lifted off at 2:45 a.m. EDT on Sunday, on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

“Commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station deliver science that helps prove technologies for Artemis lunar missions and beyond,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “This flight will test 3D printing metal parts and bioprinting tissue in microgravity – technology that could give astronauts tools and medical support on future Moon and Mars missions.”

Live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival will begin at 6 a.m., Monday, Aug. 25, on NASA+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock autonomously at approximately 7:30 a.m. to the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module.

In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Dragon will deliver several experiments, including bone-forming stem cells for studying bone loss prevention and materials, to 3D print medical implants that could advance treatments for nerve damage on Earth. Dragon also will deliver bioprinted liver tissue to study blood vessel development in microgravity, as well as supplies to 3D print metal cubes in space.

These are just a sample of the hundreds of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, Earth and space science investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory. This research benefits people on Earth while laying the groundwork for other agency deep space missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars, inspiring the world through discovery in a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.

During the mission, Dragon also will perform a reboost demonstration of station to maintain its current altitude. The hardware, located in the trunk of Dragon, contains an independent propellant system separate from the spacecraft to fuel two Draco engines using existing hardware and propellant system design. The boost kit will help sustain the orbiting lab’s altitude starting in September with a series of burns planned periodically throughout the fall of 2025. During NASA’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission on Nov. 8, 2024, the Dragon spacecraft performed its first demonstration of these capabilities.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until December, when it will depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.

Astronomers have discovered the brightest and closest fast radio burst ever observed, shedding new light on one of the Universe’s greatest enigmas.

For over a decade, fast radio bursts (FRBs) have baffled astronomers. These fleeting but immensely powerful flashes of radio energy last just milliseconds yet can briefly outshine entire galaxies.

Now, scientists have captured an FRB unlike any seen before – an ultrabright signal from a nearby galaxy 130 million light-years away.

Nicknamed “RBFLOAT” (Radio Brightest Flash of All Time), this extraordinary event is not only the brightest FRB on record but also one of the closest ever detected.

Its intensity and proximity are giving researchers the clearest view yet into the origins and environments of these mysterious cosmic phenomena.

What are fast radio bursts?

Fast radio bursts are intense radio pulses that appear randomly across the sky, each lasting no more than a blink of an eye.

In that instant, they unleash as much energy as our Sun produces in an entire year. First identified in 2007, FRBs quickly became one of astrophysics’ most puzzling discoveries.

Because they can be seen billions of light-years away, FRBs offer a unique tool for probing the structure of the Universe. Yet, their origins remain uncertain.

Leading theories suggest that magnetars — neutron stars with extreme magnetic fields — may be behind at least some of these bursts.

The brightest burst ever seen

On March 16, 2025, astronomers monitoring the sky with the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) witnessed a radio flash so strong it initially seemed too bright to be real.

At first, researchers suspected interference from Earth-based signals. But within hours, confirmation arrived from CHIME’s newly expanded Outrigger system: this was no mistake, but the brightest fast radio burst ever detected.

The source was traced to NGC 4141, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. At just 130 million light-years away, this FRB is a rare cosmic neighbour. Its remarkable clarity offers scientists a once-in-a-generation chance to probe the phenomenon in detail.

How CHIME found it

CHIME, located in British Columbia, is made up of four giant halfpipe-shaped antennas. Originally designed to map cosmic hydrogen, it has become one of the most prolific FRB detectors, logging over 4,000 bursts since 2018.

Until recently, though, CHIME lacked the precision to pinpoint exactly where these bursts originated. That changed with the deployment of CHIME Outriggers – smaller companion telescopes stationed across North America. Acting as a continent-wide observatory, they allow astronomers to triangulate FRB signals with extraordinary accuracy.

This event marks the first major discovery using the fully operational CHIME-Outrigger system, proving its power to not only detect bursts but also map them to their host galaxies and specific regions within.

Where the burst came from

Analysis revealed that the fast radio burst originated at the outer edge of NGC 4141, just beyond a zone of active star formation.

This location is particularly intriguing. Magnetars are thought to form in the hearts of such regions, where massive young stars collapse.

The position of this burst suggests it may have come from a slightly older magnetar that has since migrated outward.

This finding adds weight to the idea that FRBs can occur in a variety of galactic environments, reflecting the diversity of their possible sources.

One-off or part of a pattern?

Another major question about fast radio bursts is whether all of them behave the same way. Most appear only once, while a few are repeaters, flashing sporadically or even rhythmically like a heartbeat.

To test whether RBFLOAT might belong to this rarer category, astronomers combed through six years of CHIME data. No other signals were found from the same location, suggesting that this burst is a one-off – at least for now.

Whether repeaters and non-repeaters represent the same underlying phenomenon or entirely different astrophysical events remains an open question. The discovery of RBFLOAT provides an important new data point in this ongoing debate.

A window into the Universe

Because it is both bright and nearby, RBFLOAT is a goldmine for astronomers. By studying how its radio waves travelled through space, scientists can learn about the intergalactic medium, magnetic fields, and even test models of fundamental physics.

The upgraded CHIME-Outrigger system is expected to localise hundreds of bursts every year. As the catalogue of precisely mapped FRBs grows, researchers hope to untangle whether these spectacular events come from a single type of source or represent a family of distinct cosmic explosions.

The discovery of the brightest fast radio burst to date marks a milestone in our quest to understand these mysterious flashes.

For now, the true source of fast radio bursts remains hidden. But with detections like RBFLOAT, astronomers are closer than ever to unlocking the secrets behind these cosmic fireworks.

Researchers at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a novel MnCoO_x catalyst capable of effectively breaking down hazardous industrial pollutants benzene and toluene. The breakthrough, recently published in Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, highlights a promising method for addressing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial emissions.

Volatile organic compounds like benzene and toluene are prevalent in industrial emissions and pose significant health and environmental risks. Current methods for their removal often struggle with efficiency, particularly when multiple VOCs are present simultaneously. This study addresses a critical gap in the effective and efficient degradation of these compounds.

The research team synthesized MnCoO_x catalysts with varying manganese to cobalt ratios and evaluated their performance in degrading benzene and toluene. Notably, the MnCoO_x and MnCo₂O_x variants demonstrated superior catalytic efficiency, achieving 90% conversion of benzene and toluene at 290 ℃ and 248 ℃, respectively, with complete degradation observed at higher temperatures (300–350 ℃). The catalysts also exhibited excellent CO₂ selectivity, underscoring their potential for environmentally friendly applications.

The team prepared a series of MnCoO_x catalysts by adjusting the ratios of manganese to cobalt (1:2, 1:1, and 2:1). They conducted experiments under both single and binary VOC conditions to analyze catalytic performance. Advanced characterization techniques were used to understand the relationship between catalyst structure, redox properties, and catalytic activity.

This study provides a significant contribution to the field of VOC treatment, offering a feasible solution for the simultaneous degradation of benzene and toluene. The findings could lead to improvements in industrial pollutant management systems and promote the development of more efficient, cleaner technologies for air purification.

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 22206146, U21A20524) and other key funding bodies. For more detailed insights, the full study is available in Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering: https://journal.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-025-1942-6. Future research will explore scaling the catalyst for industrial applications and examining its efficacy with other VOCs.

The US military’s Boeing-built X-37B spaceplane is in space again for its eighth mission.

The X-37B is an uncrewed craft that, just like the USA’s retired Space Shuttle, launches on a rocket and after re-entry makes an unpowered landing on a terrestrial runway. The vehicle has engines it can use to maneuver in space, but in 2024 deliberately grazed Earth’s atmosphere by “aerobraking” to make a significant change to its orbit.

It’s thought the spaceplane has other means to change its orbit – a move that requires a lot of energy – and is therefore the subject of occasional criticism from China on grounds it could be a weapons platform.

Little is known about the missions flown by the X-37B, save that they sometimes last for more than a year and nearly always involve experiments with new space technologies.

The craft launched again last week, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9, and this time Boeing had a a little to say about the mission, namely that on this flight the spaceplane:

• Includes a Boeing integrated service module to increase payload capacity for experimentation activities on orbit; >
• Is hosting several technology demonstrations from government partners on this mission, include laser communications and a quantum inertial sensor designed to support navigation when GPS is unavailable.

Boeing tested that quantum GPS tech in March 2025, when it described it as involving a “using a six-axis quantum inertial measurement unit (IMU” that use “a quantum-sensing technique called atom interferometry to detect rotation and acceleration using atoms.”

The USA’s Sandia National Laboratories have described atom interferometry as “an ultra-precise way of measuring acceleration” and built a “high-performance silicon photonic modulator — a device that controls light on a microchip” to put it to work.

The nub of the matter is that atom interferometry can be used to measure position – the same job we use GPS for today.

Which brings us back to why China is a bit antsy about the X-37B: Beijing worries it could take out its Beidou satnav satellites. The US worries about losing GPS satellites too, as modern warfare relies on them.

This X-37B flight therefore takes on a little more significance, as it’s testing a tech that could allow future spacecraft – and aircraft and who knows what else – to find their way even if satnav systems succumb to … something.

The Pentagon’s not said when it expects the X-37B back on Earth, or what it hopes to achieve with this mission. ®

Details of their breakthrough were published recently in the journal Physical Review Research.

“Unlike typical magnets that attract each other, altermagnets do not exhibit net magnetization, yet they can still influence the polarization of reflected light,” points out Satoshi Iguchi, associate professor at Tohoku University’s Institute for Materials Research. “This makes them difficult to study using conventional optical techniques.”

To overcome this, Iguchi and his colleagues applied a newly derived general formula for light reflection to the organic crystal, successfully clarifying its magnetic properties and origin.

The group also comprised Yuka Ikemoto and Taro Moriwaki from the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute; Hirotake Itoh from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Kwansei Gakuin University; Shinichiro Iwai from the Department of Physics at Tohoku University; and Tetsuya Furukawa and Takahiko Sasaki, also from the Institute for Materials Research.

The team’s newly derived general formula for light reflection was based on Maxwell’s equations and is applicable to a wide range of materials, including those with low crystal symmetry, such as the organic compound studied here.

This new theoretical framework also allowed the team to develop a precise optical measurement method and apply it to the organic crystal κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl. They successfully measured the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and extracted the off-diagonal optical conductivity spectrum, which provides detailed information about the material’s magnetic and electronic properties.

The results revealed three key features in the spectrum: (1) edge peaks indicating spin band splitting, (2) a real component associated with crystal distortion and piezomagnetic effects, and (3) an imaginary component linked to rotational currents. These findings not only confirm the altermagnetic nature of the material but also demonstrate the power of the newly developed optical method.

“This research opens the door to exploring magnetism in a broader class of materials, including organic compounds, and lays the groundwork for future development of high-performance magnetic devices based on lightweight, flexible materials,” adds Iguchi.

Osaka, Japan – Optical microscopy is a key technique for understanding dynamic biological processes in cells, but observing these high-speed cellular dynamics accurately, at high spatial resolution, has long been a formidable task.

Now, in an article published in Light: Science & Applications, researchers from The University of Osaka, together with collaborating institutions, have unveiled a cryo-optical microscopy technique that take a high-resolution, quantitatively accurate snapshot at a precisely selected timepoint in dynamic cellular activity.

Capturing fast dynamic cellular events with spatial detail and quantifiability has been a major challenge owing to a fundamental trade-off between temporal resolution and the ‘photon budget’, that is, how much light can be collected for the image. With limited photons and only dim, noisy images, important features in both space and time become lost in the noise.

Notes

In August, track down the constellation of Hercules, the hero. It is well placed from the northern hemisphere at this time of year, but finding it requires a little bit of celestial sleuthing owing to the fact that the constellation contains no really bright stars. Once seen, however, it seems to dominate its patch of the night sky.

The chart shows the view looking west-south-west from London on 25 August at 10pm BST. The constellation’s most recognisable feature is the four stars making up the keystone shape that represents Hercules’s body.

The constellation was one of the 48 constellations defined by Ptolemy in the second century. In the myths of classical antiquity, Hercules was Zeus’s son. Immensely strong but murderously temperamental, Hercules was taught responsibility by the Oracle of Delphi, who set him 12 tasks. The completion of these tasks absolved his crimes and elevated him to hero status.

When tracking him down, bear in mind that the constellation is large, spanning the fifth-largest area of all the 88 modern constellations.

From the southern hemisphere, Hercules appears in the north during the evening. The farther south, the lower the constellation appears. From Sydney, Australia, for example, Hercules just rises above the northern horizon by mid- to late evening.