Cancer cells respond to stress with greater diversity. Drugs that affect DNA replication, or radiation that causes direct DNA damage, lead to increasingly diverse offspring over multiple cell generations. This increases the tumor’s genetic complexity and facilitates the development of resistance to therapy. UZH researchers have now investigated the emergence of cellular diversity in real time.

A study in Nature explains how age reshapes the blood system. In both humans and mice, a few stem cells outcompete their neighbours and gradually take over blood production. The loss of diversity results in a blood system that has a preference for producing myeloid cells, immune cells linked to chronic inflammation which underlies many different diseases. Using a new technique, researchers tracked naturally-ocurring 'barcodes' in blood cells which can lead to new strategies that spot early warning signs of unhealthy ageing long before symptoms appear, helping prevent cancer or heart disease. The technique also opens the door to studying the viability of rejuvenation therapies in humans, efforts which have traditionally been the focus of animal research.

An international group of scientists has identified a key molecular process that drives a deadly form of childhood brain cancer, potentially offering a much-needed, new therapeutic target.

Published in leading international journal Molecular Cell, the new study has revealed how a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer—called Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG)—hijacks the cell’s gene control machinery to fuel its growth. The findings could point the way to urgently needed new treatments for this currently incurable disease.