Lead Story
Stanford researchers find healthy corals can rescue bleached neighbors in weeks
A Stanford PhD student reported on October 14 that simply placing healthy, pigmented coral in contact with bleached coral for just a few days was enough to trigger the bleached coral's recovery, with corals given three days of contact showing early signs of regaining color while those given only a single day did not recover. The finding points to a potentially fast, low-cost way to help reefs bounce back from heat-driven bleaching events, though the researchers caution the technique still needs to be tested and scaled up before it could be applied to real-world reefs rather than lab conditions.
Read more →Lead Story
Stanford researchers find healthy corals can rescue bleached neighbors in weeks
A Stanford PhD student reported on October 14 that simply placing healthy, pigmented coral in contact with bleached coral for just a few days was enough to trigger the bleached coral's recovery, with corals given three days of contact showing early signs of regaining color while those given only a single day did not recover. The finding points to a potentially fast, low-cost way to help reefs bounce back from heat-driven bleaching events, though the researchers caution the technique still needs to be tested and scaled up before it could be applied to real-world reefs rather than lab conditions.
Enhanced CAR T-cell therapy shows early promise against hard-to-treat blood cancers
Ohio State researchers reported results on October 13 from a first-in-human trial of a trispecific CAR T-cell therapy, engineered to target three markers (CD19, CD20 and CD22) on cancerous B cells plus an added co-stimulatory domain, designed to overcome the single-antigen escape that lets some blood cancers evade standard CAR T treatments. Among patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell cancers, the therapy produced an overall response rate of 50%, with complete responses in 83% of lymphoma patients, one-year overall survival of 61%, and no cases of severe cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity. The cells were manufactured at the point of care, cutting the wait between collection and infusion to a median of about a week.
Read more →Enhanced CAR T-cell therapy shows early promise against hard-to-treat blood cancers
Ohio State researchers reported results on October 13 from a first-in-human trial of a trispecific CAR T-cell therapy, engineered to target three markers (CD19, CD20 and CD22) on cancerous B cells plus an added co-stimulatory domain, designed to overcome the single-antigen escape that lets some blood cancers evade standard CAR T treatments. Among patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell cancers, the therapy produced an overall response rate of 50%, with complete responses in 83% of lymphoma patients, one-year overall survival of 61%, and no cases of severe cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity. The cells were manufactured at the point of care, cutting the wait between collection and infusion to a median of about a week.
South Africa declares new Grasslands National Park in the Eastern Cape
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister David Maynier declared 18 properties covering just over 10,225 hectares in the Eastern Cape highlands as the new Grasslands National Park on October 9, placing the land, which sits within the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area, under SANParks management. It is the first South African national park established primarily through a biodiversity stewardship model, meaning landowners keep their land and can continue conservation-compatible farming, an approach coordinated with WWF South Africa and other partners that conservationists hope can be a template for expanding protected areas without displacing communities.
Read more →South Africa declares new Grasslands National Park in the Eastern Cape
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister David Maynier declared 18 properties covering just over 10,225 hectares in the Eastern Cape highlands as the new Grasslands National Park on October 9, placing the land, which sits within the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area, under SANParks management. It is the first South African national park established primarily through a biodiversity stewardship model, meaning landowners keep their land and can continue conservation-compatible farming, an approach coordinated with WWF South Africa and other partners that conservationists hope can be a template for expanding protected areas without displacing communities.
Scientists find way to shield the brain from Alzheimer's damage without clearing toxic tau
A Washington University in St. Louis team led by David Holtzman reported in the journal Neuron that blocking a receptor called CXCR3 on immune T cells prevented those cells from infiltrating the brains of mice with Alzheimer's-like tau buildup, cutting their numbers there by about half. Treated mice retained roughly 40% more tissue in memory-related brain regions and performed better on memory tests than untreated mice, even though their tau levels were unchanged, suggesting the immune response to tau, not the protein itself, may drive much of the damage. The antibody worked from outside brain tissue, raising the prospect of a more easily delivered treatment, though the results are so far limited to young mice treated before major neuron loss occurred.
Read more →Scientists find way to shield the brain from Alzheimer's damage without clearing toxic tau
A Washington University in St. Louis team led by David Holtzman reported in the journal Neuron that blocking a receptor called CXCR3 on immune T cells prevented those cells from infiltrating the brains of mice with Alzheimer's-like tau buildup, cutting their numbers there by about half. Treated mice retained roughly 40% more tissue in memory-related brain regions and performed better on memory tests than untreated mice, even though their tau levels were unchanged, suggesting the immune response to tau, not the protein itself, may drive much of the damage. The antibody worked from outside brain tissue, raising the prospect of a more easily delivered treatment, though the results are so far limited to young mice treated before major neuron loss occurred.
US Department of Energy backs Quaise Energy's bid to build first superhot geothermal plant
The US Department of Energy selected Quaise Energy for up to $25 million in funding to advance Project Obsidian, which the company says would be the world's first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, sited in Central Oregon. The award, part of a wider $99 million DOE effort that also involves Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oregon State University, will fund analysis of two existing wells to optimise a third, with the three-well design targeting reservoir temperatures above 300°C and aiming to demonstrate more than 25 megawatts of gross electric capacity, a step toward tapping ultra-deep heat for always-on, carbon-free power.
Read more →US Department of Energy backs Quaise Energy's bid to build first superhot geothermal plant
The US Department of Energy selected Quaise Energy for up to $25 million in funding to advance Project Obsidian, which the company says would be the world's first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, sited in Central Oregon. The award, part of a wider $99 million DOE effort that also involves Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Oregon State University, will fund analysis of two existing wells to optimise a third, with the three-well design targeting reservoir temperatures above 300°C and aiming to demonstrate more than 25 megawatts of gross electric capacity, a step toward tapping ultra-deep heat for always-on, carbon-free power.