Researchers have identified a chemical class, the hexahydroquinolines (HHQs), that were effective both at killing the malaria parasite both in the stage when it causes illness, and the stage when it is transmissible from humans to mosquitoes.

Comparative sequencing of primary breast tumors and metastases has revealed that the cells that seed metastases break off from the primary tumor relatively late in tumor development, and as a result, are usually genetically similar to the primary tumor at the time of diagnosis.

Researchers from the NIH have conducted a genomewide screen to determine which genes affect sensitivity and resistance of cancer cells to destruction by T cells. Checkpoint blockers, which activate T cells against the immune system, are wildly successful in a minority of patients, and little is known about why some tumors succumb to T-cell boosting immunotherapy, while others shrug it off. In their work, the authors developed a co-culture system consisting of effector T cells and melanoma cells, and used CRISPR to systematically edit the melanoma cells.

A phase I immunotherapy trial of a therapeutic vaccine for type I diabetes showed that the treatment did not aggravate the disease, researchers from King's College London reported in the Aug. 9, 2017, issue of Science Translational Medicine.

Ohio State University researchers have developed a novel technology that was capable of directly transforming skin cells into other cell types in vivo. In a paper published in the Aug. 7, 2017, issue of Nature Nanotechnology, the team showed that they were able to restore vascular and muscle function in injured pigs and improve brain function in mice using the technology, which they have called Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT).

Activating mutations in the BRAF kinase, such as those targeted by melanoma drug Zelboraf (vemurafenib, Roche Holding AG), are a well-known cause of cancer.