Ancient Eyptian mummy fungus could be secret to powerful new cancer drug
The notorious Aspergillus flavus - responsible for lung infections in tomb explorers, such as those excavating the final resting place of King Tutankhamen's - may be the unlikely saviour in the fight against leukemia.
University of Pennsylvania scientists have isolated a new class of molecules—asperigimycins—from the fungus.
Two of these compounds, even unmodified, killed leukemia cells in the lab. A third, enhanced with a fatty lipid chain, matched the power of FDA-approved drugs like cytarabine.
These molecules block microtubules - the cell's division machinery - bringing rogue cancer cells to a halt.
The findings were published in a new study in Nature Chemical Biology on Monday (23.06.25).
Sherry Gao - associate professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering and bioengineering at Penn, a senior author on the study - said: "Fungi gave us penicillin. These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found.'
'Cancer cells divide uncontrollably. These compounds block the formation of microtubules, which are essential for cell division.'
Scientists from UPenn led a multi-university collaboration in the study along with researchers from Rice, Baylor, Washington University and others.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
Hunter Biden says dad Joe was on Ambien during disastrous 2024 debate with Trump
He really was Sleepy Joe! Hunter Biden claimed in a new interview that his father's disastrous performance in last year's debate with Donald Trump was due in part to Ambien. 'I know exactly what happened in that debate,' Hunter, 55, told YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan in an interview released Monday on the anniversary of Joe Biden ending his re-election bid. 'He flew around the world. He's 81 years old. He's tired. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep and he gets up on the stage and looks like a deer in the headlights.' It's unclear when exactly the elderly 46th president consumed the sleep aid, which has an increased risk of side effects like drowsiness among patients older than 70, whose bodies also process the drug more slowly, according to a FDA fact sheet. Hunter also didn't specify how long his father was on Ambien in the run-up to the debate. The then-president arrived hours later than scheduled to inspect the CNN debate stage on the night of July 27, 2024 — after spending more than four hours out of sight at a hotel nearby. The debate killed Biden's quest for re-election, with the then-president's mouth hanging agape for long stretches. In a stunning utterance viewed by tens of millions of voters, Biden nonsensically declared that he 'finally beat Medicare.' A Democratic Party rebellion ensued, forcing Biden to step aside on July 21, 2024, in favor of then-Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's presidential nominee. 'They said, 'We are going to blow up the party if you don't drop out,'' the former first son narrated in the interview. ''We're going to protest this all the way up for the next month, all the way up to the convention.'' Although the use of Ambien is very common, the drug was not disclosed on Biden's annual physical report last year, which was issued to reassure the public about the commander in chief's fitness. A memo released by then-presidential physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor on Feb. 28, 2024, makes note of six medications the commander-in-chief was taking — but the popular sleeping aid is not one of them. The Post also conducted a brief review of Joe Biden's publicly available medical records and found no mention of an Ambien prescription. O'Connor, who insisted that Biden's mental and physical fitness was 'excellent' following the debate, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination this month as he refused a House committee's questions. The doctor, a close Biden friend and longtime confidant, drew bipartisan scorn after Biden was diagnosed in May with stage 4 prostate cancer, which critics said should have been caught before it spread to the ex-president's bones. Joe Biden traveled to Italy to meet with G7 leaders from June 13-15, 2024 — days after stopping in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. By June 20, 2024, the president had hunkered down at Camp David for debate prep ahead of the June 27 showdown. The former first son also downplayed the extent of the Democratic revolt against his father that led to Joe Biden giving up the Democratic nomination. 'The people who came out against him were nobody, except … Speaker Emeritus [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] did not give a full-throated endorsement,' he said. 'The entirety of the progressive side of the Democratic Party said Joe Biden has got more of our agenda accomplished in four years than any president in history.' Following the debate, Hunter Biden claimed, his father was left with the impossible task of proving to party leaders that he was up to carrying the Democratic standard against Trump. 'He gets over the hump, he goes and does the [ABC News anchor George] Stephanopoulos [interview]. Everybody goes, 'OK, that's not enough, we got to see him give a press conference,'' Hunter griped, referring to a media availability that July 12 at which Biden called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 'Vladimir,' in apparent confusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Five days later, the White House announced that the president had tested positive for COVID-19, dealing a further blow to his attempt to get the campaign back on track. 'He woke up in the morning and he had a severe case of COVID, and the pictures of him getting on and off the plane were just devastating, and then the vultures descended,' Hunter recalled. 'So Joe Biden, I think, did the most selfless thing that I know of any politician in the history of this f—ing country,' he added. 'He stepped aside to save the party.' A rep for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Originally published as Hunter Biden says dad Joe was on Ambien during disastrous 2024 debate with Trump
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Health Check: Bug buster Genetic Signatures' US expansion is a jumbo-sized task
Genetic's company-making US expansion proves harder than expected BTC Health makes a (literally) lifesaving sale The lessons from Sarepta's billion-dollar FDA woes Gut disease diagnostics provider Genetic Signatures (ASX:GSS) is finding its US market entry more elephantine than first envisaged and has made some changes 'to better align with current strategy and needs'. On June 4 last year the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Genetic's Easyscreen, which can detect eight gastrointestinal (GI) parasites accounting for 90% of all tummy bugs. On the same day the company launched a $30 million capital raise to support the US push and announced a new CEO (former Roche Diagnostics exec Allison Rossiter). Genetic expected to be selling in the US within 60 to 90 days. Today, Genetic says the US sales ramp-up has been 'impacted by prospective customers' internal processes, competing priorities, preference for enhanced workflow and uncertainty in the US healthcare environment.' In part, the company discovered that clients craved more automated sample processing. In response, Genetic has entered a three-way 'strategic partnership' with a mob called Tecan (lab automation) and Repado (compliant in vitro diagnostics). This threesome will result in a 'scalable suite of fully automated diagnostic platforms for syndromic testing labs'. Genetic doesn't mention any dollars, so we presume the financial impact is immaterial. Speaking of finances, Genetic today reported June quarter sales of $4.4 million. This was 52% higher than the March stanza, reflecting higher seasonal testing during the Australian flu season. But turnover was flat on a year-on-year comp. Having expended a net $5.95 million, Genetic ended the quarter with still-healthy cash of $30.9 million. Microba GI testing sales are on tract Still on tummy bugs, microbiome testing outfit Microba Life Sciences (ASX:MAP) has met its guidance with full-year revenue of $15.67 million, 30% higher year on year. June (fourth) quarter revenue fell 13.5% to $4.2 million, the result of the company shedding a non-core research services business. Microba has commercialised two clinical tests, to assess and manage GI patients. The flagship Metaxplore tests assess a range of markers to appraise the GI tract and presents the results in a clear report. Metapanel is the 'first line' test to determine whether the patient has a pathogen that can be treated simply with antibiotics. Currently Metaxplore is sold in Australia and the UK, while Metapanel is available locally via the company's partner and biggest shareholder, Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL). Microba chief Dr Luke Reid says Microba has a 'well considered plan' for US rollout, based on creating a beachhead in one city. Mayne they could swap notes with Genetic's management. Locally Microba sold 3451 Metaexplore tests during the quarter, up 88%. Microba also sold 266 Metapanel tests here (up 85%) and 429 in the UK (the test was only launched there in May). Microba recorded net cash outflows of $5.56 million for the quarter, but management affirms the Australian and UK ops should be break-even this year. BTC Health's PDF format suits investors One of the more unusual life science plays on the bourse, medical product distributor BTC Health (ASX:BTC) has secured a $500,000 equipment order with Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital. The order is for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and follows a similar deal with Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. ECMOs take over the work of the heart and lungs when these organs cannot perform their duties. BTC Health is building a portfolio of diverse yet specialist medical devices, such as heart valves and infusion pumps. BTC is a valuable pooled development fund (PDF), a remnant of a Keating-era initiative to bolster investment in small business. PDFs pay only 15% tax on income and capital gains, but any returns to shareholders are tax free. Only 17 PFDs remain and – like coastal property – God is not creating any more of them. BTC chief Dr Richard Treagus previously headed generic drug play Acrux, the sector's only other PDF. BTC posted December half revenue of $5.3 million, with underlying earnings of $200,000. The company expects to have remained in the black for the full year to June 30 with a 'pathway to sustainable growth'. Sarepta 'is worth nothing' Could a $US1.31 billion company really be worth nothing? US investment bank H.C. Wainwright thinks so, having ascribed a 'price target' of yada and zip to the Sarepta Therapeutics on the back of the Nasdaq-listed entity's drug strife. Last week the FDA asked Sarepta to voluntarily halt shipments of its Elevidys gene therapy, for muscular dystrophy. This follows the death of two patients from liver toxicity issues and the third from a separate experimental gene therapy treatment. Defying the agency, Sarepta said it would continue to ship the therapy to ambulatory patients, but maintain a halt for wheelchair-bound ones. The deaths pertained to the latter. The FDA approved Elevidys two years ago for walking patients aged four or older, with the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene mutation. A year later the agency expanded the assent to non-ambulatory patients. Sarepta shares shed up to 40% on Friday and a further 5% overnight. Don't fight City Hall H.C. Wainwright previously had a US$10 valuation on Sarepta, compared with the stock's overnight close of US$13.32. The firm describes Sarepta's fight with the FDA as 'unwinnable' and – indeed – you can't beat City Hall. Elevidys generated US$384 million of net revenue in the December quarter, more than half of Sarepta's total revenue of US$638 million. The lesson for everyone is that even when drug makers have done the hard yards of developing and commercialising a therapy, success is still not guaranteed. In one of the best-known cases, in 1999 the FDA approved Merck's Vioxx, for osteoarthritis pain. After racking up billions in sales Merck withdrew the drug from sale in 2004, amid concerns it could cause heart attacks and strokes. Locally, Percheron Therapeutics (ASX:PER) is reinventing itself after its DMD therapy failed in phase IIb stage last December. Perhaps the company dodged a bullet by discovering the problems early in the piece, but wounded investors might disagree.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Toxic fungi behind the ‘Pharaoh's curse' can kill cancer cells
British nobleman Lord Carnarvon was one of the first people to step into the rediscovered tomb of King Tutankhamun and behold its treasures: gold chariots, scarab pendants, a statue of Anubis and the pharaoh's famed death mask with eyes of obsidian and quartz. Carnarvon's untimely death, five months later in April 1923, helped spawn the myth of the pharaoh's curse – that anyone who disturbs a mummy's tomb is doomed to misfortune. Some scientists suspect the real killer, however, was infection by a toxic fungus that lay dormant in the tomb like a booby trap: Aspergillus flavus. Now the fungus is again at the centre of intrigue after researchers in the US crafted the deadly spores into a compound that can kill cancer cells. In the search for new drugs, scientists have been studying a group of natural molecules called RiPPs (ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides). Many of these tiny proteins have proved toxic to infectious microbes and cancer cells, which is why researchers are on the hunt for new types of RiPPs to test their medical potential. 'We often think of fungi as causing disease or food spoilage, but this is an example of them holding the key to treating diseases.' Dr Justin Beardsley, University of Sydney Thousands of these molecules have been found in bacteria but only a few from fungi, which is why researchers from the University of Pennsylvania went looking in Aspergillus. They found new types of RiPPs with a structure of interlocking rings and tested them against human leukemia cells. Some of the molecules blocked the growth of the cancerous cells. Scientists then added a fat molecule present in the royal jelly that bees feed their larvae. The fat molecule or 'lipid' helped the cancer-busting RiPPs to infiltrate leukemia cells, and together the experimental combination performed as effectively as two existing leukemia drugs.
