Researchers in UConn's College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources have developed a novel line of bovine embryonic stem cells, which have significant potential for a variety of new innovations, from lab-grown meat to models for human tissue replacement.

This work, led by Xiuchun “Cindy” Tian, professor of biotechnology in the Department of Animal Science, and her former and current graduate students Yue Su, Jiaxi Liu, and Ruifeng Zhao, was published in Stem Cells.

On World Cancer Day, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) pledges to update robust information resources for cancer patients and caregivers on an annual basis in both English and Spanish.

Leveraging human organoid-based mechanistic investigation, researchers reveal how an immunosuppressive drug, antithymocyte globulin (ATG), induces injury to blood vessels in the liver. According to the study, ATG first triggers rapid clotting through a complement activation system and later causes inflammation by activating the TGF-β pathway. This discovery explains why some patients experience severe liver-related side effects following organ transplantation and aid in developing safer immunosuppressive regimen.

Low back pain (LBP) is a crucial risk factor for future health decline, affecting quality of life of individuals. Now, researchers have discovered that a hormone treatment can ease chronic LBP in mice by preventing harmful nerve growth inside damaged spinal tissue. The study shows that parathyroid hormone triggers bone cells to release a protein that repels pain-sensing nerves. These findings offer new clues for developing treatments for age-related and injury-related back pain.

A new study published in Nature Genetics reveals that not all cancer-associated mutations in the same gene behave alike. Led in part by researchers from Koç University, the work shows that different mutations in the CTNNB1 gene drive β-catenin signalling to varying strengths, and that tumours in different tissues selectively favour specific signalling levels. In liver cancer, weaker CTNNB1 mutations are linked to greater immune cell infiltration, suggesting a higher likelihood of response to immunotherapy. These findings highlight the importance of mutation “strength,” not just mutation presence, for more precise and personalised cancer treatment strategies.

A study in Risk Sciences examines whether alternative “big data” and the LASSO variable-selection method can strengthen health risk assessment in critical illness insurance. Using insurer application and claims records alongside smartphone-derived signals and public medical-claim information, the researchers report clear gains in out-of-sample predictive performance beyond traditional underwriting inputs. The paper also explores which categories of data may be most informative for underwriting.