Good Morning! 🌞 

We are kicking off the weekend with some fascinating stories. I found the Tricking Cancer article to be particularly interesting today.

Stay tuned until the end—we’re featuring one of New Jersey’s busiest spots, where the hustle never stops! 🍽️

Health Science

Tricking Cancer: The ‘Tumor-to-Pork’ Breakthrough

Chinese researchers have developed a novel cancer treatment by repurposing the body’s immune response typically seen in organ transplant rejection. In a groundbreaking study published in Cell, scientists redirected this powerful reaction to target tumors, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Dubbed the “tumor-to-pork” strategy, the approach involves engineering a virus to trick the immune system into recognizing cancer cells as foreign pig tissue, triggering a hyperacute rejection response. Early results are promising, with a reported 90% success rate, including the successful treatment of a patient with advanced cervical cancer.

The team, led by Professor Zhao Yongxiang of Guangxi Medical University, modified the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), a virus harmless to humans, by inserting a pig gene. When this altered virus infects cancer cells, the immune system detects the pig marker and launches a rapid and aggressive rejection—similar to the response seen in some transplant patients. Initial animal trials showed strong potential, leading to human trials involving 23 patients with otherwise untreatable cancers such as liver, ovarian, cervical, and lung cancer.

Over the course of 8 to 12 weeks, patients received a combination of intravenous and intraperitoneal infusions of the modified virus. The treatment led to partial remission, stabilization of tumor growth, and, in several cases, signs of clinical recovery. With phase 2 and 3 trials now in progress, researchers are closely monitoring long-term safety and effectiveness. If the results hold, this innovative strategy could represent a powerful new direction in cancer immunotherapy, leveraging the body’s own defense mechanisms in unexpected and highly targeted ways.

Good News

Saving Lives

Installing safety nets on the Golden Gate Bridge has led to a dramatic 73% decrease in suicides, according to a new study published in Injury Prevention. Researchers examined suicide rates before, during, and after the completion of the nets, which were fully installed in January 2024. The average number of suicides dropped from 2.48 per month prior to construction, to 1.83 during installation, and to just 0.67 afterward. Additionally, third-party interventions—incidents where bystanders or officials prevent suicide attempts—increased by 75% during installation and remained 34% higher after the nets were in place.

Long recognized as a global suicide hotspot, the Golden Gate Bridge has been the focus of mental health and public safety advocates for decades. Critics of the project had argued that barriers would merely shift suicide attempts to other methods or locations. However, the study’s findings strongly counter this belief. The stainless steel nets, positioned 20 feet below the bridge deck, are designed to make jumping both painful and survivable, providing enough time for trained rescue teams and local emergency services to intervene effectively.

Lead author Dr. Sangsoo Shin of the University of Melbourne highlighted the importance of these findings for suicide prevention efforts worldwide. “This study offers compelling evidence that physical deterrents like safety nets can significantly reduce suicides in high-risk areas,” he said. The success of the Golden Gate Bridge project may now serve as a model for other sites considering similar life-saving interventions.

Environment

Plastic-eating Fungi

Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi have discovered marine fungi capable of breaking down polyurethane plastic, offering a potential new strategy for combating ocean plastic pollution. Polyurethane, commonly found in medical and industrial products, is particularly resistant to degradation. In a groundbreaking study, researchers collected marine fungi from sand, seaweed, corals, and sponges around Oʻahu and tested their ability to degrade plastic. Remarkably, over 60% of the fungi demonstrated plastic-consuming capabilities, with some increasing their feeding rates by 15% over just three months.

This marks the first study to explore the potential of marine fungi in plastic biodegradation. While land-based fungi and certain bacteria have been previously studied for similar purposes, this research opens up a new frontier in biotechnology. Scientists hope to eventually scale up these findings to create practical, nature-based solutions for plastic waste management. Ongoing experiments at UH Mānoa aim to better understand the fungi’s molecular mechanisms and assess their ability to degrade other types of plastic beyond polyurethane.

Despite the promise, experts urge caution in viewing biodegradation as a standalone solution. “Reducing plastic production is just as critical as breaking it down,” said Dr. Antaya March, director of the Global Plastics Policy Centre. She emphasized the importance of comprehensive regulations to curb plastic use at its source and warned against over-reliance on end-of-life solutions. The discovery comes amid ongoing international negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, underscoring the urgent need for both innovation and policy in addressing the global plastics crisis.

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Mind Stretchers

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I have no voice, but I can speak to you. I have no body, but I can travel the world. What am I?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers

Yesterday is always before today. But there is a place where yesterday follows today. Where is that? — in the dictionary! Debbie Ettinger got this early! 🌞 

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