Two researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) were honoured at the 21st International Electromagnetic and Light Scattering Conference in Milazzo, Italy:

Prof. Andreas Macke, Director of TROPOS was honoured with the "Elsevier van de Hulst Prize for Light Scattering" 2025 for his significant contributions to the understanding of scattering properties of atmospheric ice crystals. Prof Macke has developed and applied light scattering models based on geometrical optics for complex irregular ice crystals and thus achieved a breakthrough in the consideration of realistic crystal structures. His models and results are used worldwide in numerous scientific fields such as astrophysics, biology, medicine and, of course, atmospheric physics. The prize honours the life's work of an individual scientist who has made a pioneering contribution to the research field of electromagnetic scattering by particles and its applications.

Dr Moritz Haarig from TROPOS received the AS&T Young Scientist Award for the best presentation at the conference. The AS&T Award has been presented since 2025 for outstanding conference contributions by young scientists.

Researchers discovered that interleukin-6 (IL-6) in colorectal cancer triggers a STAT3-to-PI3K signaling switch in cancer stem cells (CSCs), enabling potent PD-L1 upregulation and immune evasion. While non-CSCs use the STAT3-FRA1 pathway for PD-L1 expression, CSCs activate the PI3K-AKT-ZEB1 axis, explaining why some tumors resist immunotherapy. In mouse models, triple therapy (PI3Ki + STAT3i + anti-PD-L1) synergistically shrank IL-6-high tumors by blocking both pathways and boosting T-cell infiltration. The study proposes IL-6/PD-L1 as biomarkers for patient stratification.

The study of liver disease models, drug screening, and toxicity assessment has been hindered by the lack of faithful representations of liver models. This work unveiled key signaling pathways in liver zonation and constructed genetically modified liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. It was found that SK-Hep1 cells overexpressing WNT2 and DLL4 promote zonated functional differentiation of primary hepatic organoids. Further investigation revealed that genetically modified SK-Hep1 cells regulate hepatocyte functional differentiation through ligand-receptor interactions. Moreover, this modification enhanced the sensitivity of hepatocytes to hepatotoxic drugs and simulated drug-induced injury repair and regeneration processes in hepatic organoids. A co-culture system of liver organoids and genetically modified SK-Hep1 cells was established for liver disease modeling and drug screening. Finally, we successfully employed 3D bioprinting technology to fabricate liver lobule models with specific morphological and functional architectures. These models effectively demonstrated region-specific hepatic injuries induced by pharmaceutical agents. These findings provide new insights into the understanding of liver functional differentiation and offer valuable references for liver disease treatment and drug screening research.

Joint research between the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) at Pompeu Fabra University and the University of Trento (Italy) has, for the first time, ascertained the composition of the intestinal microbiome of the indri, a critically endangered lemur only found in the north-east of Madagascar. In addition to determining up to 47 hitherto unknown species of bacteria, the study has concluded that the indri’s microbiome is transmitted within their social group. This could have implications for the preservation of their habitats.