The diabetes drug, metformin, may mimic key benefits of exercise in prostate cancer patients, raising a molecule linked to weight and energy control even without activity. The finding suggests a new way to support metabolic health during hormone therapy, when patients often cannot exercise.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for nearly one in five cancer deaths – around 1.8 million lives lost each year. One of the main reasons is late diagnosis: in its early stages, the disease appears as extremely small nodules that are difficult to distinguish from healthy tissue, even for experienced radiologists. Researchers are now exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) could help solve this challenge by giving doctors a more reliable way to analyse complex medical images.

Cells naturally exchange cytoplasmic components like proteins, RNA, and mitochondria, but scientists lack tools to control such transfers in living cells. Now, researchers in Japan have developed a nanotube membrane-based injector—a system that enables high-efficiency, minimally invasive cytoplasmic transfer between cells. This platform preserves cell viability and can even transfer functional mitochondria, opening new possibilities for cell engineering and regenerative medicine.

The Salk Institute has recruited globally renowned cancer scientist Thales “PapaG” Papagiannakopoulos, PhD, to join its faculty as a professor beginning in September 2026. Papagiannakopoulos has been a faculty member at NYU Grossman School of Medicine since 2015, and his move to Salk will bring additional expertise in cancer metabolism, cancer immunology, and tumor-host communications to the Institute.