In science, the suffix “phage” means to devour. Thus, the name bacteriophage might conjure images of tiny creatures that “eat” bacteria. While that conception isn’t 100 percent scientifically accurate, bacteriophages are lethal bacteria killers nonetheless, and scientists are excited about engineering phage DNA as a path to new antibiotics. And so it is that chemical engineer Brian Hie and bioengineering graduate student Samuel King came to study bacteriophage ΦX174 (pronounced “FYE-ex-1-7-4”).

Adding the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro) to standard care for patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease is associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ. Randomised trials and observational studies have shown non-inferior effects of tirzepatide compared to another GLP-1 receptor agonist, dulaglutide, for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) - a combined measure of heart attack, stroke, and death from any cause.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved daraxonrasib, an oral multi-selective RAS(ON) inhibitor, for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have received at least one prior systemic therapy or are not candidates for multiagent systemic therapy. The approval is based primarily on the results from the pivotal randomized phase 3 RASolute 302 trial comparing daraxonrasib to chemotherapy as second-line therapy for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, led by Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of treatment for head and neck cancers, the seventh-most common cancer type worldwide. However, the disease is often diagnosed at a late stage once it has already spread to other organs, and the majority of patients on active treatment will develop resistance to chemotherapy within a matter of months, underscoring a prominent avenue for designing more effective care strategies.

Spinal cord injuries affect an estimated 15 to 20 million people worldwide, often causing lasting impairments in movement, sensation, and independence. Such injuries can be especially devastating when they occur at the level of the neck, where damaged spinal circuits disrupt signals that control the diaphragm, the main muscle used for breathing. Despite advances in emergency care and rehabilitation, no approved therapies exist to rebuild the neurons and connections lost after a spinal cord injury.