Research Roundup: Cancer-killing protein cells, understanding ice sheets and an alternative to colonoscopies

The science & technology desk gathers a weekly digest with impactful and interesting research publications and developments at Stanford. Read the latest in this week’s Research Roundup.

A new method of killing cancer cells

In a recent Science article, researchers unveiled a method to kill cancer cells by sticking two proteins together to activate a gene that signals for cell death. This new method is helpful for selectively targeting cancer cells, compared to conventional therapies like chemotherapy and radiation that inadvertently also kill healthy cells. 

Gerald Crabtree, a co-senior author of the study, and his team used a molecule called CDK9 to bind to a protein (BCL6) that suppresses the cell death-causing genes. Since CDK9 activates genes, it signals cancer cells to undergo apoptosis — programmed cell death. 

According to another co-senior author Nathaniel Gray, this approach turns a cancer cell’s survival mechanism into a self-destruct signal.

“You take something that the cancer is addicted to for its survival and you flip the script and make that be the very thing that kills it,” Gray told Stanford Medicine.

Currently, the researchers are testing their efforts in mice with diffuse large cell B-cell lymphoma. While this method has so far only worked for this specific type of cancer, the researchers are hopeful that, in the future, they will be able to target cancer cells with multiple of these “cell death signals” in order to prevent cancer’s swift evolution and treatment resistance. 

Combatting climate change by understanding ice sheets

Researchers are one step closer to solving a climate threat ever-present in coastal areas, like Greenland, through a better understanding of ice layers. 

Coastal land areas contain large amounts of ice sheets, which have the potential to contribute significantly to rising sea levels when they melt. 

Stanford researchers developed a cost-efficient system called the Open Radar Code Architecture (ORCA) to penetrate ice sheets so they can be better studied. ORCA is open-source, meaning anyone who desires to can use the tool to collect ice-sheet data. Using low frequencies, the system aims radio waves down at the ice, allowing researchers to view a reflection of the ice and the sediment beneath. 

Unlike older penetration systems that require specific parts depending on the purpose, this system grants flexibility to use the same parts for varied scenarios. 

Thomas Teisberg, who co-developed this ice-sheet penetration system with Anna Broome, told Stanford Report, “Our hope is that by standardizing the core of the radar, we can still allow people to build their customizations, and we can make it much easier for people to reuse data that’s been collected,” he said.

An alternative to colonoscopies

Blood tests which look for cancerous DNA to detect colorectal cancer were approved by the FDA in July of 2024, but their effectiveness was previously unclear. Stanford researchers have shown that, while these blood tests can help determine if an individual might have colorectal cancer, colonoscopy procedures provide more reliable results. 

However, the researchers note that for individuals who are reluctant to undergo colonoscopies due to fear of their invasive techniques, a blood test will be the next best option.

Generally speaking, colonoscopies are effective to not only look for potential cancerous regions of the small and large intestine, but also remove potential polyps. While it is recommended to undergo a colonoscopy at least once per decade or a stool test every around every one to three years, approximately 33% of American adults within the designated range of ages have never been screened. As a result, scientists are hopeful that despite their apparent lower efficacy, blood tests will still be a helpful alternative.

Uri Ladabaum, first-author of the paper and professor of gastroenterology, outlined his view on the new test. 

“It remains to be seen who will really use the blood tests,” Ladabaum told Stanford Medicine. “Will it be people who have never been screened using any other method?”

While the future of blood tests hangs in the air, the researchers recommend, if possible, using what has already been shown to work effectively: a colonoscopy. 

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