Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with treatment responses varying widely among patients.

Dr. Carminia Maria Della Corte from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is at the forefront of research into using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to identify immune biomarkers. Her work explores the cGAS/STING pathway, DDR gene mutations, and advanced 3D tumour models, offering insight into predicting immunotherapy responses and tailoring treatments for non-small and small cell lung cancer.

Read the original research: doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12040809

Memory is a problem for many people as they age. To combat this, wearable devices may help older adults recall precious memories through what is called 'life-logging', despite these technologies raising significant privacy concerns.

Researchers at Singapore Management University, led by Thivya Kandappu, have developed PrivacyPrimer, a tool designed to protect sensitive information captured by wearable cameras. Their approach uses selective image obfuscation to safeguard privacy, while preserving the ability to reminisce - striking a balance between memory recall and security.

Read the original research: doi.org/10.1145/3476047

While we may associate Messenger RNA (mRNA for short) with the COVID-19 pandemic vaccination programme, its study in fact began over 60 years ago.

Born in 1955 in rural Hungary, Katalin Karikó battled critics and scepticism for her research into mRNA for over 30 years before its role in the COVID-19 vaccination programme gained her recognition and, in 2023, a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

In this interview, Karikó tells us about this journey and why she loves biochemistry, what it’s like to win a Nobel Prize, and how she would advise young scientists today.

Read Katalin's book: Breaking Through: My Life in Science

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Image credit for Thumbnail : OrionNimrod on Wikimedia commons

While the management of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is guided by recurrence risk assessment, current methods cannot accurately predict disease recurrence.

Professor Oliver Bathe and his collaborators at the University of Calgary, Canada, have developed a test that includes genetic data linked to recurrence. Together, they identified three molecular PTC subtypes, allowing more accurate risk assessment to guide clinical decision-making and treatment.

Read more in Research Features

Read the original research: doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1220617

The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for governments and their global stakeholders to reform the management processes of infectious disease outbreaks.

Dr Stella Chungong and Dr Landry Ndriko Mayigane of the Health Security Preparedness Department of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme are encouraging countries to implement early action reviews (EARs) for disease outbreaks to assess their vigilance and planning, the responsiveness of their health systems, and to better prepare for outbreaks.

Read more in Research Outreach

Read the original research: doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00167-5

Almost every city in the modern world faces the difficult challenge of understanding its citizens’ opinions and turning them into meaningful decisions.

Miloš Švaňa, a PhD student at Technical University of Ostrava, has decided to focus on this topic in his dissertation, with an aim to develop a framework for social media data analysis. By using fuzzy logic and fuzzy set theory to help municipalities understand the needs of their citizens, Švaňa uses this information to inform better decision making.

Read more from Miloš in an upcoming chapter of Springer Fuzzy Management Methods.

For more on Fuzzy logic, visit the FMsquare Foundation website

The actions of humans are typically influenced by societal norms and mainstream trends that are passed down from generation to generation, shaping our life choices and behavioural patterns. 

Jean-Paul Close, founder of the STIR Foundation and AiREAS, experienced the breaking of heritage and the revival of core human values first-hand, after he chose to resign from an international executive job at a multinational company to stay close to his children. In his recent publications, he reflects on the voluntary shift towards ethical choices and sustainable development, using his personal experience and the transformation of a European city as examples.

Read the original article:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41606-4_4

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Joint manipulation, applying a manipulation force to the spine to improve joint mobility and reduce pain, often comes with an audible pop. Patients and some practitioners often regard this audible sound as a sign of a successful treatment, but is that necessarily true?

Dr Rob Sillevis at Florida Gulf Coast University conducted a comprehensive investigation to find out whether this audible pop has a clinical significance and an actual or perceived benefit on the body. 

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17622

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We increasingly rely on electronic communications across society. You may have heard privacy protection methods for those messages, such as end-to-end encryption. However, can that protection be guaranteed against governments, industries or bad actors?

How can we ensure privacy, but at the same time have the means to enforce laws and prevent malicious behaviour, and how do we develop cryptography law?

Professor Moti Yung and colleagues at the Privacy, Security, and Safety Research Group at Google LLC and at Columbia University, USA, have conceptualised ‘anamorphic’ cryptography,  and have also been recognised for their contributions to the so-called ‘Crypto Wars’ debate,

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07085-3_2

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Helium nanodroplets are fascinating objects that can be used as microscopic laboratories to form new types of nanomaterials.

Researchers in COSY COST Action’s Working Group 4 , which recently celebrated its second anniversary, combine quantum, semiclassical and classical methods to investigate the physico-chemical properties of these droplets under extremely well-controlled conditions

Visit their site: https://cost-cosy.eu/

Read the original research:

• https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CP00489A
• https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CP01303K
• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.07.425
• https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013019