Arnold School researchers associated with the South Carolina Smart State Center for Healthcare Quality have published new research in the Annals of Epidemiology regarding the impact of COVID-19 infections on women who were pregnant before and during the pandemic. Led by Maria Sevoyan, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the team found that mothers who became pregnant after the start of the pandemic, those who experienced moderate-to-severe infections during pregnancy, and those who had infections during the third trimester were more likely to have adverse outcomes (e.g., low birth weight, preterm birth, NICU admission).

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory and UConn Health discovered that cancer cells suppress "poison exons" — genetic elements that act as an off switch for protein production — in a key gene called TRA2β, promoting tumor growth. By using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to restore poison exon activity, the team effectively reactivated this kill switch, offering a potential new precision therapy for aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers.

 

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have identified a novel trigger of a deadly form of ovarian cancer: a subset of progenitor cells that reside in fallopian tube supportive tissue, or stroma.

Most cells in the body send out little messengers called extracellular vesicles that carry proteins, lipids, and other bioactive molecules to other cells, playing an important role in intercellular communication. But healthy cells are not the only ones that rely on extracellular vesicles. Cancer cells do, too. Small extracellular vesicles that are shed from tumor cells contribute to how cancer spreads to healthy tissue.