Nearly 14,000 volunteers took part in the citizen science project Iguanas from Above, helping to count endangered Galapagos marine iguanas through an online survey – and in doing so, contributed to the preservation of this unique lizard species. Every aerial image of the iguana colonies captured by drones was reviewed by at least 20 independent participants—a total of over 1.3 million inputs— explains campaign leader Dr Amy MacLeod from Leipzig University’s Institute of Biology. She concludes that citizen scientists can be deployed effectively to analyse drone data sets and estimate population sizes, thereby allowing researchers to obtain critical information on these marine iguanas more rapidly. MacLeod and her team have just published a paper on the project in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

A new study led by Stephen D. Nimer, M.D.,director of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, shows how a key molecule regulates the generation of new blood cells, a process called hematopoiesis that goes awry in cancer. The findings have the potential to lead to new therapeutic strategies targeting the molecule, a regulator of gene activity called TAF1.

Cancer cells interact with their neighborhood — which scientists term the tumor microenvironment — in many ways, including obtaining extra resources needed to fuel their unchecked growth. Like a fishing trawler deploying its net, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells reform their cell surfaces to grab additional nutrients from the jelly-like substance between cells called the extracellular matrix.

This cellular scavenging process — known as macropinocytosis — affects the area surrounding the tumor, making the connective tissue stiffer and preventing immune cells from reaching the tumor.