While antioxidants generally promote health, researchers have learned that under certain conditions some antioxidants operating within cellular compartments can fuel the spread of cancer. New work demonstrates how one antioxidant inside particular cellular compartments, the mitochondrial metabolite glutathione, helps cancer cells metastasize throughout the body by enabling their survival under low-oxygen conditions. These findings suggest that therapies capable of blocking glutathione transport into organelles within the cell could help treat breast cancer.

Inspired by the serrated stinger of a honeybee,  a new microneedle platform was developed in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (IF: 21.3) to combine drug delivery, electrical stimulation, and continuous monitoring in a single, wearable system. This platform tackles one of the toughest problems in modern medicine: diabetic wound healing.

Urolithiasis is rising in prevalence, imposing a significant healthcare burden globally. Researchers from China analyzed global health database to reveal increase in total incidence and mortality from urolithiasis over the last 30 years. Age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were higher in males, particularly in countries with low socio-economic development. Notably, China has succeeded in reducing incidence rates of urolithiasis, and insights from their strategies will strengthen measures to reduce the disease burden in vulnerable regions.