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RP1 Plus Nivolumab in Anti-PD-1–Resistant Advanced Melanoma

When combined with nivolumab, RP1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec), a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1–based oncolytic immunotherapy, induced deep and durable systemic responses in patients with advanced melanoma who have failed to respond to prior anti–PD-1 therapy, according to findings from the phase I/II IGNYTE trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“These findings are very encouraging because melanoma is the fifth most common cancer for adults, and about half of all advanced melanoma cases cannot be managed with currently available immunotherapy treatments,” said IGNYTE investigator Gino Kim In, MD, a medical oncologist with Keck Medicine. “The survival rate of untreatable advanced melanoma is only a few years, so this new therapy offers hope to patients who may have run out of options to fight the cancer.”

Background and Study Methods

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Priority Review designation to the combination of RP1 and nivolumab for patients with advanced melanoma who have not responded to prior immunotherapy in January 2025.

The phase I/II IGNYTE trial enrolled 140 patients with advanced melanoma who had confirmed disease progression on anti–PD-1 therapy as their most recent treatment. RP1 was administered intratumorally every 2 weeks for up to eight doses at up to 10 mL/dose, though additional doses were allowed, with up to 2 years of nivolumab.

Of these patients, just under half had stage IVM1B/C/D disease, 66% had primary anti–PD-1 resistance, 56% had PD-L1–negative disease, and 46% received prior anti–CTLA-4 therapy in addition to anti–PD-1 (either in combination or sequentially).

Key Study Findings

The confirmed objective response rate was 32.9%, including complete responses in 15%. The median duration of response was 33.7 months. The 1-year overall survival rate was 75.3%, and the 2-year rate was 63.3%.

Responses were seen in both injected and noninjected lesions. “This result suggests that RP1 is effective in targeting cancer throughout the entire body and not just the injected tumor, which expands the potential effectiveness of the drug because some tumors may be more difficult or impossible to reach,” said Dr. In, who is also a member of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Treatment-related adverse events of grade 1 or 2 were 77.1%, grade 3 rates were 9.3%, grade 4 rates were 3.6%, and there were no observed grade 5 events. The safety profile was considered favorable by the investigators.

Biomarker analysis showed broad immune activation that was associated with responses.

“I believe that oncolytic viruses will open up an important new approach to fighting cancer in some patients in the near future,” concluded Dr. In.

Going forward, a phase III study for the combination, called IGNYTE-3, has been launched to confirm these study findings.

Disclosure: The study was sponsored by Replimune. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ascopubs.org.

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July 10, 2025
Rubio ‘hopeful’ Gaza ceasefire talks are nearing agreement

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “hopeful” about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, telling reporters on Thursday that negotiations were “closer” than they had been in some time.

Israel and Hamas began their latest round of talks on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.

“We’re hopeful… It appears that generally the terms have been agreed to, but obviously now you need to have talks about how you implement those terms,” Rubio said on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian countries in Malaysia.

“I think perhaps we’re closer than we’ve been in quite a while, and we’re hopeful, but we also recognise there are still some challenges in the way.”

Read More: Israel unveils plan to concentrate Gazans in ‘humanitarian city’ built over Rafah ruins

He acknowledged that previous rounds of talks had fallen apart at similar stages.

“One of the fundamental challenges is Hamas’ unwillingness to disarm, which would end this conflict immediately,” Rubio said.

The top US diplomat added that “the Israelis have shown some flexibility”.

Hamas has said disagreements over the free flow of aid into Gaza and Israel’s military withdrawal were sticking points, as were its demands for “real guarantees” for a lasting peace.

Read More:Five Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza

The latest iteration of indirect negotiations, brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, entered their fifth day in Doha on Thursday.

Despite a week-long truce in November 2023 and a two-month halt that began in January 2025, the back-and-forth talks, principally held in Doha and Cairo, have failed to bring about a durable end to the hostilities.

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July 10, 2025
Texas floods: death toll reaches at least 120 people as recovery efforts continue | Texas floods 2025

The rising number of victims from the devastating central Texas floods is beginning to plateau, with at least 120 people found dead in the state – a bleak sign that rescuers have made little progress to find victims amid wreckage in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday morning, local officials in Kerr county, which was hit the hardest by the 4 July flash flood, announced that 96 people had died, the same number reported on Wednesday evening.

Kerrville police department sergeant Jonathan Lamb said on Thursday that 60 of those dead in Kerr county are adults and 36 are children. There are still 161 people missing in the county, including five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic.

Thursday morning’s update comes a day after Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) discussed plans to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). Weeks ago, Trump had promised to begin “phasing out” Fema in order to “bring it down to the state level”.

“We’re cutting through the paperwork of the old Fema streamlining it, much like your vision of how Fema should operate,” Noem said on Wednesday. Noem added that Americans helping one another after such tragic events is proof that “God created us to take care of each other”, the Associated Press reports.

In early June, Trump stated he wanted to “wean off Fema”, which is something that Noem and Trump have repeatedly stated they want to do. Experts warn that dismantling the agency and bringing it “down to the state level” could leave gaps in crucial services, when responding to emergencies, like the Texas floods.

The Associated Press interviewed Michael Coen, Fema chief of staff during the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, who said that the White House’s push “causes more concern on how states should be planning for the future if the federal government’s not going to be there for them”.

On Sunday, Trump declared the Texas flooding to be a “major disaster”, ordering the further deployment of federal resources to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. Fema officials and resources were sent to the state to help with efforts. DHS also deployed a number of its agencies to help in rescue and recovery efforts, including the US Coast Guard and a border patrol special tactical unit.

Fema, on Thursday, set up their taskforce command in Center Point, Texas, to continue their search operations.

Local police sergeant Lamb said on Thursday morning that there were more than 2,100 personnel on the ground, helping with reuniting families after the devastation. A team of Mexican firefighters are also present in Texas, helping with rescue and recovery efforts.

As the number of bodies recovered – and the number of missing – stagnate, community members are returning to their properties to survey the devastation. Trump and his wife will be visiting the disaster zone on Friday.

Summer camps on the banks of the Guadalupe River were flooded with water. Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp, was devastated by the flood, leading to the tragic death of young girls.

But as recovery efforts continue, questions remain about local jurisdictions’ preparedness for the flooding event. Various news organizations have reported on warning systems in the area, questioning whether they properly alerted locals about the rapidly rising river water.

Many state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system, according to a story from the AP published on Wednesday.

And an earlier report from Texas Public Radio indicated that volunteer firefighters requested an emergency alert to be sent to people’s phones at 4.22am on Friday, but some residents did not receive an alert until 10am, nearly six hours later.

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July 10, 2025
Eamonn Holmes makes bold move to secure future with new love

Eamonn Holmes makes bold move to secure future with new love

Eamonn Holmes is reportedly committed to providing his new partner, Katie Alexander, with the same luxurious lifestyle once enjoyed his e-wife, Ruth Langsford.

Sources claim the broadcaster is prepared to ‘fight for what he deserves’ amid ongoing divorce proceedings.

Following his 2024 separation from Ruth, Eamon, 65, has found companionship with 43-year-old Katie, and is now focused on regaining financial stability.

However, insiders suggest he is intentionally stalling the divorce process. This reportedly contrasts with Ruth’s approach, as she is said to be eager to finalise the split and has consulted legal experts in a bid to retain their £3.6 million six-bedroom residence in Surrey.

A source told The Sun: ‘Kate’s been a rock to Eamonn throughout his ongoing divorce Eamonn’s health is always a big concern and after a few tax blows lately, he is more determined than ever to get his finances back in order.’

‘Eamonn feels hard done by in the divorce. He’s dragging his feet because Ruth’s got the house and they have a lot of other financials still to sort out between them.

‘Eamonn knows his mobility issues are a worry. He needs a carer to help him get ready for work and that’s expensive.’

The insider added that ‘Eamonn ‘does not want to lose Katie, and is keen to give her the ‘kind of lifestyle she deserves.’

Just last month, Eamonn was seen without his wedding ring-more than a year after his separation from Ruth.

The former TV power couple stunned fans on May 25, 2024, when they released a joint statement confirming the end of their 14-year marriage.

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July 10, 2025
An Oral History of Cork Street, London’s Most Influential Gallery Row

Art Market

Tom Seymour

Lucy Jones, exterior view of Flowers Gallery on Cork Street, 2025. Courtesy of Flowers Gallery.

This July, Cork Street in London’s Mayfair turns 100. A short and modest stretch of pavement just west of Savile Row and north of Piccadilly Circus, it has long been a core part of the British commercial gallery world. Behind its façades, radical art has been shown, movements introduced, reputations made and lost, fortunes gained and squandered.

From Peggy Guggenheim’s short-lived but seismic Guggenheim Jeune gallery in the late 1930s to the post-war influence of Waddington Galleries (now Waddington Custot), the psychedelic provocations of dealer Groovy Bob Fraser in the ’60s, and a wave of contemporary galleries reinvigorating the street today—Cork Street endures as both a mirror and a maker of the British art world. To mark the centenary, gallerists who call the street home today reflect on its eccentric past, its changing fortunes, and what the future might hold.

Alison Jacques has walked the pavements of Cork Street for three decades—from receptionist at Waddington Galleries to gallery owner at number 22. Joining her in reflection is Jacob Twyford, senior director at Waddington Custot, who first came to Cork Street in 1985 and has witnessed its evolution over four decades, Matthew Flowers of the eponymous Flowers Gallery, and Jo Stella-Sawicka, senior director at Goodman Gallery, whose space is among the newest additions to the street’s cultural fabric.

“In 1994, I took a job at Waddington Galleries in Cork Street,” Jacques recalled. “I had just come from working at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, and while I was there, I interviewed Leslie Waddington for an article in [the magazine] Flash Art. He claimed he never read anything journalists wrote about him—but he must have read that one, and even liked it, because soon after it was published, he offered me a job.”

Portrait of Alison Jacques. Photo by Sophie Davidson. Courtesy of Alison Jacques.

That offer set Jacques on a path that would eventually bring her back to the very street where her career began, now with her name above the door of the gallery space she opened in 2023. “Once ensconced behind the reception desk at Waddingtons, I used to look out onto the spaces opposite and imagine which one I could rent for my own gallery in years to come,” she said.

Cork Street’s status in the British cultural imagination loomed large, shaping Jacques’s early impressions of its legacy and potential. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was primarily known for its aristocratic connections. Named after Richard Boyle, the 1st Earl of Cork, the street was laid out around 1685 and initially lined with grand houses for the nobility and upper classes. The traders on the street were mostly tailors, working on the fringes of the better-known Savile Row.

For Jacob Twyford, the street’s renowned identity took hold after the Second World War: “Cork Street really established itself in the post-war period as a place of difference, an alternative to the more traditional galleries south of Piccadilly,” he said. “Sitting as it does directly between the two big auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, it became the place where younger and emerging artists could find a home.”

Exterior view of Waddington Graphics, 1970s. Courtesy of Waddington Custot.

For Stella-Sawicka, the street’s strength lies in the dual identity it holds in the British art world: “Cork Street has long been a meeting point between tradition and innovation. It’s also a space where commercial success hasn’t always come at the cost of curatorial bravery, which is rare and significant.”

Matthew Flowers, Director of Flowers Gallery, which has been on the street since 2000, agrees: “Like so much else in the art world, it’s the provenance. It’s the street that saw the launches of the careers of major postwar artists at Waddington, Tooth, Mayor, Redfern, Piccadilly, and Peggy Guggenheim, and has continued to be a gateway for emerging talent,” he said, naming a clutch of galleries that are still based on the street or have at some point called it home.

Indeed, Guggenheim’s gallery—though short-lived in the late 1930s, brought to London some of the most resonant names in modernist art. For Jacques, it is “sacred territory”:

“It fascinated me that a space which opened just before the Second World War existed for only 18 months, and yet introduced London to giants like Cocteau, Kandinsky and Tanguy,” she said.

But alongside the resonant global names of modernist art, Cork Street was home to that other London specialty—characters and eccentrics. “At number 21, my next-door neighbor was Robert Fraser—Groovy Bob,” said Jacques of a dealer who epitomised a wild and freewheeling era in London’s gallery life. Fraser gained household status as the gallerist who mounted several notable shows of artists, including Ed Ruscha, Keith Haring, and Bridget Riley, and commissioned Peter Blake and Jann Haworth’s artwork for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Also notable was Lillian Browse, widely known as the ‘Duchess of Cork Street,’ an art dealer who came to prominence for her determination, during the Second World War, to continue to curate exhibitions at London’s National Gallery. “If she and Peggy were here now, maybe we’d form the first female art dealers’ association on Cork Street,” Jacques noted.

Flowers remembers the vibrancy of the street’s heyday in the 1990s. “The energy of the huge characters who ran the galleries: Leslie Waddington, Godfrey Pilkington, Bernard Jacobson, Robert Fraser. And Mulligan’s Pub with its legendary St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.”

In 2022, Jacques opened her new gallery at 22 Cork Street—just across from where she once worked. “Opening our new space was an incredible moment,” she said. “As we were installing our opening show of Sheila Hicks, the artist Ian Davenport—who I worked with in the early ’90s—was installing his own show at Waddingtons. It felt like closing a long chapter and beginning a new one.”

Grey Organisation, exterior view of the “Cork Street Attack” at Mayor Gallery, 1985. Courtesy of Grey Organisation.

Twyford remembers his own entry into Cork Street in the mid-1980s: “As a 21-year-old recently graduated music student from Leeds, earning a living on building sites in South London, I honestly took the job to get out of the biting March winds,” he recalled. “I had little idea that 40 years later I would be running the gallery for Stephane Custot!”

Twyford joined the art world at the height of the political febrility that defined much of the 1980s. On 21st May 1985, for example, the windows of numerous art dealers on Cork Street were covered with buckets of grey paint during a night-time attack by a group called Grey Organisation, who claimed they were engaging in anti-establishment protest. In 2022, almost 37 years later, this Cork Street Attack was recreated in an exhibition at The Mayor Gallery.

For Stella-Sawicka, Cork Street had always held a pull. The director began her early gallery years at Stephen Friedman Gallery, then on the adjacent Old Burlington Street. “I knew well the magical properties of this location—a well-trodden route from Sotheby’s through the Royal Academy to Christie’s,” she said.

Portrait of Jacob Twyford. Courtesy of Waddington Custot.

Portrait of Jo Stella-Sawicka. Photo by Kuba Ryniewicz. Courtesy of Goodman Gallery.

Flowers adds that he, too, had his eye on the street for a while before setting up. “We were looking to complement our two warehouse-style spaces in Hackney. Our gallery was formerly Robert Fraser’s, and then Victoria Miro’s, so we knew it had a wonderful history, with a brightness of its own to match.”

Jacques’s space is part of the larger regeneration of Cork Street, spearheaded by The Pollen Estate. “The opportunity to build a space exactly as we wanted it, from a concrete shell, was wonderful and scary all at once,” she said. “But now we’re open, our artists love the space, and we’ve welcomed thousands of visitors.”

Goodman Gallery joined this broader revival in 2019. “They were—at the time—the only purpose-built galleries in London with the volume of space to present our programme with ambition,” Stella-Sawicka explained. “The regeneration brings a fresh chapter, one that allows for more diverse and international voices, which is essential to keeping the street and London relevant.”

Exterior view of Goodman Gallery, London. Courtesy of Goodman Gallery.

Today, as the redevelopment nears completion, Cork Street is lined with world-famous contemporary art galleries housed in purpose-built, high-ceilinged spaces that occupy more than 43,000 square feet of revamped streetscape. Some 15 of these galleries are joining forces for a group exhibition, “Fear Gives Wings To Courage,” to mark the occasion of the centenary.

Flowers notes: “The redevelopment was challenging to work through, but very much worth it with expansive public spaces and increased gallery capacity. Cork Street’s west end location is within a prime cultural gravity centre, which became absolutely essential as we came out of the pandemic, when visitors could explore multiple shows in one stroll without public transport or long travel.”

Despite its reputation for high-end art, Cork Street has always had a populist undercurrent—a mix of street-level charm and informal meeting spots. Jacques recalls both the prestige and the community spirit that defined her early days.

Exterior view of Queens Snack Bar and Waddington Galleries. Courtesy of Waddington Custot.

“Cork Street at dusk is a curious place to be—a place where art history has been made and a cast of colorful characters have lived and worked,” Jacques said. “If I had a time machine, I’d bring back Queen’s Snack Bar, which sat on the corner for decades. It was the place to go—a sort of democratic canteen where dealers, artists, critics, and art handlers rubbed shoulders.”

Twyford notes: “It is my greatest hope that the old galleries and the new galleries can come together to recreate some of the eccentricity, comradeship, and rivalry that made Cork Street such a vibrant destination in the 1970s and 80s.”

Today, Morris’s café—serving Cork Street for more than 35 years — still fulfils a comparable role. “We still have Morris’s,” Jacques said. “But Queen’s was something else. I miss that kind of casual, social energy. The art world needs more of it.”

Exterior view of Frieze No.9 Cork Street. Photo by Maris Mezulis. Courtesy of Frieze.

“There’s a different kind of energy now,” added Stella-Sawicka. “It’s much more international. Goodman Gallery has always operated with the idea that the gallery itself can be that kind of gathering place.”

She noted the addition of Frieze No. 9 Cork Street—a space opened by the art fair conglomerate in 2021 where up to four galleries host temporary exhibitions year-round—brings a “different cadence of energy.”

Flowers points to the practical benefits of such a concentrated zone of activity: “The consolidation of top international galleries on the street makes it very efficient to get a snapshot of what’s going on in the art world.”

As Cork Street marks its centenary, its reputation as “the spiritual center of avant-garde art in London” still holds. “To have a gallery here is something I never take for granted,” Jacques said. “And to be part of its renaissance has been an honor. It’s amazing to look back and realize it really has come full circle. It’s not just about prestige. It’s about presence—being part of something bigger than yourself. Something with history, energy, and meaning.”

Exterior view Of Alison Jacques, Cork Street. Courtesy of Alison Jacques.

Twyford adds that the regeneration reflects “a re-concentration and focus on art in central Mayfair,” driven by the district’s growing appeal to international visitors.

And if he could revive one moment? “The summer Cork Street party,” he said of the legendary street parties of the 1980s. “It drew together gallerists, artists, collectors, critics, and ancillary workers in a no-holds-barred interaction that summed up the spirit of the 1980s art world.”

Stella-Sawicka picks a moment of wild brilliance: “The 1995 exhibition ‘Afro/Pagan’ that David Bowie held with Bernie Jacobson. It included Goodman Gallery artists like Willie Bester, Kendell Geers and William Kentridge, alongside sketches of Iggy Pop and silver sculptures of Bowie’s wife, Iman. It sounded brilliant—and completely bonkers.”

Flowers has a more personal memory: “Mulligans—our landline’s cordless handset just about worked at the bar. A close second would be the private sleeping area in our space that my mother, Angela Flowers (1932–2023), had installed for a post-lunch snooze.”

To walk Cork Street today is to walk through a century of artistic innovation. “It’s where history meets possibility,” Stella-Sawicka said. “And where the future of art quietly unfolds.”

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July 10, 2025
Researchers claim Earth, Milky Way are trapped in cosmic void

July 10 (UPI) — Fresh evidence claims that the Earth and the surrounding galaxy are suspended inside a cosmic void based on echoes from the Big Bang.

Research presented at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting on Wednesday showed that data found by analyzing the sounds from the Big Bang, known as “baryon acoustic oscillations,” suggest that the Milky Way Galaxy is floating in a region that is less dense than average.

The 2 billion light-year region that scientists have dubbed the “Hubble Bubble” is 20% less dense than the average matter density throughout the universe.

If proven correct, the findings can help settle an issue known as the “Hubble Tension” created by conflicting measurements of the expansion of the universe and could help reveal its true age.

The first measurement is based on small changes in the cosmic microwave background, which is “cosmic fossils” of the first light produced by the universe 380,000 years after the Big Bang, while the second measures distances between type la supernovas or variable stars and their host galaxies.

The first method found the universe expanded at a rate of 67 kilometers per second per megaparsec, while the second found a higher rate of 73.2 kilometers per second per megaparsec.

The study posits, however, that if the Milky Way is sitting in a “Hubble Bubble”, it would be expanding faster than a higher-density cosmos.

“A potential solution to this inconsistency is that our Galaxy is close to the center of a large, local void,” the study’s lead author, Indranil Banik, said in a statement. “It would cause matter to be pulled by gravity towards the higher density exterior of the void, leading to the void becoming emptier with time.”

That would make local expansion inside the void faster than it is in denser, more distant regions of the cosmos, he added.

The local void theory would mean the Earth would have to sit about in the center of the low-density “Hubble Bubble.”

Banik and his team used the sounds of the Big Bang to bolster previous research from the 1990s, which found fewer galaxies in the local universe than previously believed.

“These sound waves traveled for only a short while before becoming frozen in place once the universe cooled enough for neutral atoms to form,” Banik explained. “They act as a standard ruler, whose angular size we can use to chart the cosmic expansion history.”

The researchers found that it is 100 times more likely that we live in a cosmic void than a region of average density.

Banik and his team’s next step will be to compare their void model to other models to reconstruct the universe’s expansion history. They will also explore tweaks to the standard model of cosmology.

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July 10, 2025
U.S. Wheat Exports Rebound in 2024/25 Thanks to Increased Production and Price Competitiveness

Farmers are already prepping their combines for harvest by the time the wheat marketing year ends on May 31, but a look back shares the story of the commitment of U.S. farm families and the industries that support them to keeping the U.S. wheat store open for the world’s buyers.

The 2024/2025 marketing year (June 1, 2024-May 31, 2025) realized a rebound in U.S. wheat exports, driven largely by recovery in U.S. wheat production and competitive pricing. Overall, total U.S. wheat exports increased nearly 16% year-over-year to 820 million bushels (22.3 million metric tons), according to USDA’s June 2025 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report.

Significantly, this increase was achieved despite China being relatively absent from the U.S. and global wheat market this past marketing year. The Chinese government limited wheat imports to protect its domestic producers, resulting in roughly 147 million bushels (4.0 MMT) imported from all origins, a sharp 70% decrease from the prior year.

A recovery in U.S. wheat production is being credited with helping push exports in the 2024/24 marketing year.

Mexico Maintains Its Place as Top Customer

In contrast, Mexico was a standout customer, hitting record levels in 2024/25 as the top market for U.S. wheat. In April 2025, old crop sales to Mexico reached a record 17.3 million bushels (472,000 MT) for the month, raising total exports to Mexico nearly 147 million bushels (4.0 MMT), according to export data from the USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS).

A major contributing factor to the recovery in export sales was an increase in U.S. wheat production in 2024/25. Following a substantial multi-year drought that plagued large geographies of wheat country, U.S. farmers had more acres make it from planting to harvest. Overall, producers harvested wheat on 38.5 million acres (15.6 million hectares) and production increased 9% to 1.97 billion bushels (53.6 MMT).

Combined with production issues in key competing origins and competitive pricing opportunities, more bushels harvested in the United States meant more bushels to market overseas.

Most Classes Had Strong Year

These dynamics played out most dominantly in Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat, which realized a 57% increase in exports year-over-year to 210 million bushels (5.77 MMT). While a substantial improvement, exports have not yet fully recovered to pre-drought and pre-Black Sea conflict levels. Still, increased production of 770 million bushels (nearly 21 MMT) due to better growing conditions combined with narrowing price spreads with competing origins signals a path to regaining market share.

Exports of Hard Red Spring (HRS) wheat remained relatively stable for the marketing year, increasing 15 million bushels (408,000 MT) to 250 million bushels (6.7 MMT). Stiff competition from Canada, which had price spreads of up to $1 per bushel, weighed on export potential. Production also saw a slight increase to 503 million bushels (13.7 MMT) with record yields in some areas.

The 2024 Soft White (SW) wheat crop benefited from good moisture and moderate temperatures, resulting in typical protein distribution and generally above-average yields. Exports increased 18% year-over-year to 174 million bushels (4.74 MMT) with an additional sale of 1.0 7 MMT (39.3 million bushels) of mixed feed wheat to South Korea and Thailand. Total U.S. wheat exports to South Korea hit a record high of 88.2 million bushels (2.4 MMT) in 2024/25.

Exports of Soft Red Winter (SRW) were the second highest in the last 10 years, behind last marketing year, and total exports of nearly 121 million bushels (3.29 MMT) remained well above the five-year average. SRW proved to be one of the most competitively priced global origins, acting as the global price leader for nearly four months from March to June 2025. The 2024 SRW crop, though facing mid-season drought and heat, exhibited good milling characteristics and low sprout damage, making it a versatile crop for processors.

With continued strong global competition, durum exports dropped to their second-lowest level on record at 14.4 million bushels (391,000 MT). Durum buyers have good quality options in the bin, however, as both Northern Plains Durum and Desert Durum® production increased and yielded good quality with a protein average of 13.4 percent.

Supply and Prices a Big Factor

Throughout the 2024/25 marketing year, ample supply and competitive pricing dynamics showed the resilience of the U.S. wheat market, especially despite the volatility due to international conflicts, drought at home and other economic uncertainty over the last few years. While adequate world stocks continue to encourage hand-to-mouth buying patterns, the current global stocks-to-use ratio (as of the June WASDE report from USDA) remains at 32%, the lowest level since 2007/08, indicating a tighter underlying supply situation that offers demand potential in the new marketing year from reliable origins like the United States.

This chart from the June WASDE report shows ending stocks are higheryear-over-year, suggesting a looser balance sheet in 2025/26.

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July 10, 2025
Sticky cell coating boosts liver repair without the need for transplants

A new process could help to treat liver disease without needing an organ transplant, a new study reveals.

Hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) can help to repair the liver, but they often don’t stick well to the existing tissue, making treatment less effective.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have now developed a method to coat HPCs with natural sugars (polysaccharides) – such as hyaluronic acid and alginate – making the cells ‘stickier’.

The coated cells showed a significant increase in their ability to stick to liver tissues and other cells – meaning the cells are more likely to stay in place and help repair the liver. The coating does not harm the cells or stop them from working properly. Coated HPCs can still turn into liver cells and perform their functions, like producing important proteins.

Publishing their findings today (10 July) in Communications Biology, scientists from the University of Birmingham and InSphero AG (Switzerland) outline how the HPCs are coated with polysaccharides using a special technique that doesn’t require modifying their genes.

Liver transplants are the only option for many severe liver diseases, but there aren’t enough donor livers available. This new method could provide an alternative by making cell therapy more effective, potentially helping many people with liver disease.”

Dr. Maria Chiara Arno, Lead Author from the University of Birmingham

Researchers used a technique called metabolic oligosaccharide engineering (MOE) to coat the cells, which were tested – in lab conditions mimicking the human body – on various surfaces, including liver microtissues and endothelial cells, which line blood vessels. The coated HPCs demonstrated a much higher adhesion rate to liver microtissues and other cells compared to uncoated cells.

This study reveals that hyaluronic acid -coated cells spread out more and formed structures that help them stick. Moreover, coating cells increased their levels of certain proteins (integrins) that help cells attach and sense their environment. Importantly, these coatings were temporary, lasting just long enough to help the cells settle in after transplantation, without interfering with their normal functions.

“Our approach avoids genetic modification, making it easier to use in the clinic,” added Dr Arno. “We believe this method could be adapted for other cell types and are planning further studies explore its impact on cell health and immune responses.”

Source:

Journal reference:

Alipio, A. R., et al. (2025). Sweet and sticky: increased cell adhesion through click-mediated functionalization of regenerative liver progenitor cells. Communications Biology. doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08408-x.

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July 10, 2025
South Africa captain who sacrificed chance to beat Brian Lara’s iconic Test record reveals what the West Indies great told him after bizarre declaration

By LEWIS BROWNING

Published: 17:45 BST, 10 July 2025 | Updated: 17:45 BST, 10 July 2025

South Africa captain Wiaan Mulder has revealed he spoke to Brian Lara after opting against breaking the batting great’s Test record.

Mulder opted to bring an end to his innings 33 runs shy of Lara’s landmark as his side posted 626 for five against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

His surprising decision not to continue was immediately vindicated as Codi Yusuf had Takudzwanashe Kaitano caught behind off the first ball of the innings. Zimbabwe were all out for 170, with Mulder taking two for 20 in his six-over spell.

Mulder’s declaration left West Indies great Lara as the only quadruple centurion in a Test innings, against England in Antigua in 2004, but he insisted he had no regrets.

His side went onto win the game comfortably, with Zimbabwe bowled out for 170 and then 220, losing by a mammoth innings and 236 runs.

Now, though, Mulder has revealed he chatted to Lara after the game – and was told by the man himself that he should have gone onto surpass his record.

South Africa captain Wiaan Mulder has revealed what Brian Lara told him after he rejected the chance to break his record

Lara’s record of 400 still stands – here the West Indies legend is seen celebrating his iconic innings against England in 2004 at the Recreation Ground

‘I’ve chatted a little bit to Brian Lara,’ Mulder said. ‘He said to me I’m creating my own legacy and I should have gone for it.

‘He said records are there to be broken and he wishes if I’m ever in that position again I go and score more than what he had.

‘It’s super special and not something I would have dreamt of. That was an interesting point of view from his side, but I still believe I did the right thing and respecting the game is the most important part for me.’

Mulder had initially claimed that the record should have been held by someone like Lara rather than himself.

He said: ‘First thing’s first, we had enough to bowl.

‘Brian Lara is a legend. He got 400 or 401 or something against England and for someone to keep that record, it is special.

‘I spoke to Shuks (head coach Shukri Conrad) – and spoke about letting the legends keep (that record). Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be.’

He added: ‘To be honest, I have never even dreamt of getting a double hundred, let alone a triple hundred, (but) most importantly, it has put the team in a good position to win this Test.’

Mulder declared his side’s innings 33 runs shy of the all-time most runs in an innings

Lara also made 375 against England in Antigua a decade before his 2004 feat. That mark was beaten by Matthew Hayden’s 380 for Australia against Zimbabwe in 2003, only for Lara to reclaim top spot six months later.

Mahela Jayawardene made 374 for Sri Lanka against the Proteas in 2006, with Mulder passing Sir Garry Sobers’ 365 not out for the West Indies against Pakistan in 1958 for fifth place on the all-time list.

His innings was a South African record, comfortably surpassing Hashim Amla’s unbeaten 311 against England in 2012 which was their only previous triple century.

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South Africa captain who sacrificed chance to beat Brian Lara’s iconic Test record reveals what the West Indies great told him after bizarre declaration

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July 10, 2025
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