Penn-led researchers have engineered a powerful cancer-fighting compound from Aspergillus flavus, a toxic fungus linked to ancient tomb deaths. The modified molecules showed potent effects against leukemia cells, rivaling FDA-approved drugs and opening new paths in the search for fungal-derived medicines.

Two species of worms have retained remarkably similar patterns in the way they switch their genes on and off despite having split from a common ancestor 20 million years ago, according to a new study reported in Science. When gene expression did diverge between the two worms, the changes were more likely to occur in specialized cell types. For example, expression patterns in cells involved in basic functions like muscle or gut tended to be conserved, while expression patterns in more specialized cells involved in sensing and responding to the worm’s environment were more likely to diverge. Researchers were able to compare development in every single cell of these two different organisms.