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Notorious Fungus Blamed for ‘Mummy’s Curse’ Is Now a Promising Cancer Treatment

In the 1920s, a number of workers on the excavation team that uncovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb met untimely deaths. Five decades later, 10 out of 12 scientists died after entering the tomb of the 15th-century Polish King Casimir IV. In both cases, researchers suggested that fungal spores could have played a role in the mysterious deaths, specifically identifying the fungus Aspergillus flavus within the Polish burial. A. flavus is now making a comeback, but not as a reawakened killer from ancie

Cancer-targeting nanoparticles are moving closer to human trials

In the original production technique, layers with different properties can be laid down by alternately exposing a particle to positively and negatively charged polymers, with extensive purification to remove excess polymer after each application. Each layer can carry therapeutics as well as molecules that help the particles find and enter cancer cells. But the process is time-consuming and would be difficult to scale up. In the new work, the researchers used a microfluidic mixing device that al

Breakthrough cancer test predicts whether chemotherapy will work

A breakthrough test can successfully predict whether chemotherapy will work so patients can avoid needless side effects. The test, developed by the University of Cambridge, looks at the structure of tumour DNA and forecasts whether it will resist treatment. It was piloted using data from 840 patients with different types of cancer and found that it could help spot whether treatment was likely to fail for ovarian, prostate and breast cancers. James Brenton, a professor of ovarian cancer medici

Troubling Case Links Vaping to Aggressive Lung Cancer

Vaping might be safer than cigarette smoking, but they carry their own health risks. A New Jersey man’s electronic cigarette habit likely contributed to his fast-spreading, fatal lung cancer, his doctors say. Doctors at the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City detailed the tragic death this month in the American Journal of Case Reports. The 51-year-old former smoker and longtime vaper developed an aggressive lung cancer that killed him just months after diagnosis. Though a causa

Trump EPA May Undo Ban on Cancer-Causing Asbestos

In 2024, the Biden administration issued a ban on the last type of asbestos still used in the United States due to its links to cancer. The Trump administration isn’t so sure that we need to protect people from such things. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency will delay the ban on the material and reconsider the rule entirely. Because, hey, when has a little cancer ever hurt anyone? The material at the core of this back-and-forth policymak

Trump’s EPA to “reconsider” ban on cancer-causing asbestos

Despite touting ambitious goals of making America healthier, the Trump administration on Monday revealed in court documents that it is backpedaling on a ban on cancer-causing asbestos. Last year, under the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency took a long-awaited step to ban the last type of asbestos still used in the US—chrysotile asbestos, aka "white asbestos." While use of chrysotile asbestos was on the decline, the dangerous mineral has lingered in various gaskets, brake

Puerto Rico’s power struggles

The plant, owned by the utility giant AES, has long plagued this part of Puerto Rico with air and water pollution. During Hurricane Maria in 2017, powerful winds and rain swept the unsecured pile—towering more than 12 stories high—out into the ocean and the surrounding area. Though the company had moved millions of tons of ash around Puerto Rico to be used in construction and landfill, much of it had stayed in Guayama, according to a 2018 investigation by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo,

Doctors Find They Can Detect Cancer in Blood Years Before Diagnosis

Image by Getty / Futurism Cancer Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have discovered that cancer can be detected in the bloodstream a full three years before it's spotted by doctors for an official diagnosis. As detailed in a partially government-funded study published in the journal Cancer Discovery last month, the team found that genetic material being shed by cancer tumors can show up in the bloodstream far earlier than previously thought, paving the way for promising new cancer screeni

After a series of tumors, woman’s odd-looking tongue explains everything

Breast cancer. Colon cancer. An enlarged thyroid gland. A family history of tumors and cancers as well. It wasn't until the woman developed an annoying case of dry mouth that doctors put it all together. By then, she was in her 60s. According to a new case study in JAMA Dermatology, the woman presented to a dermatology clinic in Spain after three months of oral unpleasantness. They noted the cancers in her medical history. When she opened wide, doctors immediately saw the problem: Her tongue wa

Why Bats Don’t Get Cancer—and What That Means for Humans

When you think of longevity in animals, chances are that the Greenland shark will immediately come up. After all, researchers estimate that the enigmatic animal can live for at least 250 years. It turns out, however, that bats also hold their own when it comes to lifespan, with some species living up to 25 years—equivalent to 180 human years—and they tend to do it cancer-free. Researchers from the University of Rochester (UR) have investigated anti-cancer “superpowers,” as described in a UR sta

Bats Have Cancer-Fighting ‘Superpowers’—Here’s What That Means for Humans

When you think of longevity in animals, chances are that the Greenland shark will immediately come up. After all, researchers estimate that the enigmatic animal can live for at least 250 years. It turns out, however, that bats also hold their own when it comes to lifespan, with some species living up to 25 years—equivalent to 180 human years—and they tend to do it cancer-free. Researchers from the University of Rochester (UR) have investigated anti-cancer “superpowers,” as described in a UR sta