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Mitochondria — tiny cellular energy factories — can move from one cell to another in a process called mitochondrial transport. (Professors B. Motta and T. Nagoro/Scientific Image Library)
Cancer cells use mitochondria stolen from immune cells to escape detection and spread. The researchers found that when cancer cells attack these mitochondria in mice, they weaken immune cells and trigger a molecular pathway in the cancer cells that helps them fly under the immune system’s radar and invade lymph nodes. This beneficial molecular pathway was activated even when the researchers disrupted the mitochondria’s ability to produce the energy-carrying molecule ATP. The findings could explain how cancer cells survive in lymph nodes, which are full of immune cells that should be able to kill them.
Nature | 4 minutes read
reference: Cell metabolism paper
Genome analysis of a 14,400-year-old woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta from ancient times(Tissue – taken from the stomach of an Ice Age wolf)Dogs and wolves) – revealed clues about what caused the rapid extinction of species about 14,000 years ago. The researchers compared the animal’s genetic diversity to genomes belonging to older specimens of woolly rhinos, and found no evidence of inbreeding, suggesting that the species’ decline was not a long, gradual process. The team suggests instead that a warming climate has devastated the rhino’s habitat, causing a rapid collapse of their population.
Nature | 4 minutes read
reference: Genome biology and evolution paper
In many parts of the world, the 2025-2026 influenza season started earlier and accelerated faster than in previous years. Scientists suspect that the newly dominant strain of influenza virus, H3N2, is responsible for this increase in cases. This strain has several key mutations that distinguish it from the strain used in this year’s vaccine, which may make it easier for the virus to evade the immune protection provided by the vaccine. Population immunity to this strain was relatively low when this flu season began because H3 influenza viruses have not circulated much in the past few seasons.
Nature | 6 minutes read
A study in mice showed that genes that protect the body from infection during youth can damage it in old age. The researchers found that the gene is called Foxo1 It helped protect heart tissue from damage during sepsis — a condition in which the immune system overreacts to an infection — but only in young mice. In elderly mice, the same gene caused tissue atrophy and death in response to sepsis caused by bacteria. The study shows that “the mechanisms that protect organs can vary significantly” with age, says immunologist Andrew Wang.
Nature | 4 minutes read
reference: nature paper
Climate change
It was last year It was confirmed as the third warmest year on record By the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the US research organization Berkeley Earth – despite the return of the cold weather phenomenon ‘La Nina’. “The temperature increase observed from 2023 to 2025 was extreme and indicates an acceleration in the rate of global warming,” Berkeley Earth said in its report. Burning fossil fuels remains the main cause, but the situation may be made worse by warming seas, changes in cloud patterns caused by global warming, and (paradoxically) cleaning up polluted air created by sun shading.
Average global temperature over the past three years exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels This is the increase that countries pledged in the 2015 Paris Agreement to prevent. “It is difficult to describe how grave the risks facing humanity are as we rapidly extricate ourselves from the climate on which our entire agricultural civilization is based,” says atmospheric scientist John Marsham.
France 24 | 4 minutes read & Financial Times | 4 minutes read (Free registration required)
reference: Copernicus Climate Change Service Report & Berkeley Earth Report
Features and opinion
Journal clubs, where early-career scientists gather to learn about the literature in their field, can easily find themselves stuck shredding papers over criticism, writes evolutionary ecologist and entomologist Stephen Hurd. As he recalls, “By the time we finished, we had completely dismembered the paper; no one thought it had any scientific value; and the smell of our smug satisfaction filled the air in the half-dozen labs in the hall. Looking back, I am deeply embarrassed.” He presents Advice on how to avoid making the same mistake By focusing on the value of the paper and the lessons it provides.
Scientist sees squirrel’s personal blog | 9 minutes read
Three writing teachers share their top tips for helping graduate students ease the process of writing papers and overcome the “fear of the blank page”:
• Set concrete goals, broken down into smaller, concrete steps, to map out what the full writing process entails.
• Establish a realistic writing schedule and stick to it as you would other professional commitments.
• Celebrate successes, big or small, to make writing fun.
• Write as you go about the project to break it into smaller parts.
Nature | 5 minute read
Today I hope I haven’t stopped growing. I’m average height, but I can’t help but feel that a few extra inches wouldn’t go amiss. My hope is renewed now that I know Tyrannosaurus rex It has not reached its full size Until about 40 years old – 15 years later than scientists previously thought.
I still have a few years before I reach 40, so hopefully I’ll be on the same growth schedule as you T-Rex.
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