Researchers at the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer have developed a new way to target proteins long considered “undruggable,” opening the door to new treatments for prostate cancer and other serious diseases. Known as intrinsically disordered proteins, these molecular shapeshifters are extremely difficult to target with medication due to their flexible and ever-changing structure. They play a central role in a wide range of diseases—including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, heart disease and autoimmune conditions—yet only a handful of medications currently exist that can target them. In a study published today in Nature Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, the researchers demonstrate a new approach for designing drugs that bind more strongly to these proteins and block their disease-causing activity. In some cases, the compounds they developed bound up to a million times more tightly than any previously reported.  

A study by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions reveals a previously unrecognized way blood vessels can protect themselves from damage and slow the development of atherosclerosis. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have implications for both vascular precision medicine and the safety of certain emerging cancer treatments.

A study by researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute published in JAMA Network Open, found young adults with a new cancer diagnosis who participated in the Bright IDEAS program showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms and improvements in their quality of life compared with members of the control group.

Scientists have captured the most detailed structural images to date of a specific type of protein’s DNA repair process, a finding that could reveal ways to inhibit the effects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that heighten the risk for breast, ovarian and other cancers.

UC Irvine-led study found that exposure to previously unknown PFAS chemicals was associated with a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer.

Researchers analyzed blood samples from 125 newborn children with leukemia and 219 without cancer in Los Angeles County, also finding higher levels of PFOA and PFOS linked to increased risk.

The study builds on earlier research linking PFAS in drinking water to childhood cancers and calls for further study as exposure remains widespread.