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A step forward in targeting tumors

Current immunotherapies often struggle against hard-to-treat tumors with low mutation rates and high variability.

They are hard to target effectively, but new research published in Nature introduces a promising approach by targeting tumor-wide neoantigens — abnormal proteins created due to errors in RNA splicing.

The researchers found that these public neoantigens are common across multiple cancer types, including those more difficult to treat. By mapping RNA splicing patterns
RNA splicing patterns, they identified specific abnormal proteins that are consistently presented by cancer cells and recognized by the immune system.

Targeting these neoantigens could offer a more universal and stable target. This approach could lead to immunotherapies that work across different cancer types, potentially improving outcomes for patients with hard-to-treat tumors.

More on this topic: Launching medical research

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Swimming with the fishes again

For the first time, researchers have found that wild fish can identify individual human divers using visual cues.

In a study published in Biology Letters, researchers trained saddled sea bream and black sea bream to follow a diver for food. The fish quickly learned to distinguish between two different divers when they wore different dive gear.

However, when both divers dressed identically, the fish could not tell them apart, suggesting they rely mainly on external appearance rather than facial recognition.

While some animals, like dogs and crows, can recognize individual humans, this study provides the first strong evidence that wild fish can do the same — at least under certain conditions. This has implications for marine research, conservation and ethical considerations in human-wildlife interactions.

It also suggests that fish cognition may be more advanced than previously thought.

More on this topic: Baby fish master early survival skills

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Clownfish use ‘Trojan horse’ strategy
to avoid stings

Clownfish weave effortlessly through the venomous tentacles of their sea anemone hosts using a “Trojan horse” strategy that prevents the anemone from recognizing them as prey.

Sea anemones use nematocysts, tiny, harpoon-like structures filled with toxins, to capture prey. These cells fire when they detect certain chemical signals, including sialic acid, a sugar found on the surface of most marine animals.

When a fish brushes against an anemone, its sialic acid triggers the anemone’s defensive response, leading to a venomous sting.

Research published in BMC Biology found that anemonefish have dramatically lower levels of sialic acid in their mucus. Sialic acids have important biological functions and clownfish regulate the production in their mucus only to allow them to live symbiotically with the anemone.

While the researchers at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology still don’t know how the anemonefish do this, their study found juveniles initially have high sialic acid levels and are vulnerable to stings, but as they grow, their mucus composition changes, offering some insight to potential mechanisms.

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