A new AI model developed by UC San Diego researchers could make it possible to predict treatment response based only on a tumor's genetics.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) represents a significant global health burden characterized by a high mortality rate, primarily due to uncontrolled tumor proliferation and the prevalence of distant metastases at the time of diagnosis. Despite significant advances, there remains a critical need to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms to establish new therapeutic approaches.

An artificial intelligence–driven transfer learning strategy enabled the discovery of a novel indolopyridine-based small molecule (Compound 8a) that directly targets gp130, potently suppresses the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, and effectively inhibits colorectal cancer growth in vitro and in vivo, offering a promising lead and a feasible computational paradigm for developing gp130‑targeted anticancer agents.

A novel mechanism based on Sanguinarine (SAG) targeting the chaperone protein BiP to synchronously trigger apoptosis and ferroptosis in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is provided, and a new strategy for treating this aggressive cancer via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress (ERS) is opened.

A novel mechanism based on targeting MARK2 to destabilize mutant p53 (mutp53) and suppress triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) progression, independent of its kinase activity, is provided, and a new strategy for treating mutTP53-driven TNBC is opened.

Researchers at Nanjing University developed platinum(IV)-antibody conjugates that enhance tumor immunogenicity without relying on strong cancer cell killing. The targeted system delivers low-dose platinum selectively to tumors, increasing MHC-I expression and improving immune recognition while reducing systemic toxicity. In mouse models, the strategy significantly enhanced the efficacy of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

Light traveling through living cells is shaped by two interlinked processes—refraction from inhomogeneous structure and attenuation from absorption and scattering. Conventional phase-imaging methods can describe only one at a time. A new study from the Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS) of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences introduces a unified transport model that captures both processes simultaneously, defines exactly where the model can be applied, and confirms that biological tissues preserve a fundamental symmetry of light propagation across three orders of magnitude in optical depth. The model's outputs may further be translated into intracellular physical properties such as fluid viscosity, density, and local temperature, opening a route toward reading cellular environments quantitatively through light.