Latest news with #toxicfungus
RNZ News
12-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Using toxic fungus to fight cancer
Dr Sherry Gao. Photo: Supplied / Dr Sherry Gao Toxic fungus has been in the headlines this week - Australian woman Erin Patterson was found guilty of murdering her three in-laws by poisoning them with death cap mushrooms. But there's a toxic fungus that researchers have been able to use to fight cancer. The same mould that has been linked to deaths, in the excavations of ancient tombs - has the capability of fighting leukemia cells. Dr Sherry Gao, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes about the significance of this discovery. Photo: 123rf
The Sun
24-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
How ‘Pharaoh's curse' may help fight CANCER after leukaemia-battling chemical found in fungus linked to King Tut deaths
A TOXIC fungus linked to the deaths of researchers who opened King Tutankhamun's tomb may help fight cancer. The poisonous fungus found growing inside the ancient tombs is believed to have struck down a team of 10 archaeologists in a theory known as " Pharaoh's Curse". 3 3 The fungus crop - known as Aspergillus flavus - is believed to have been ingested by the researchers who then developed lung infections and died. But now, in a miraculous turn of events, scientists think the toxic fungus could contain elements needed to attack blood cancer. The fungus contains a "promising" protein that, when purified, could help battle leukaemia cells, they said. According to their research, when combined with human cells, the protein is potent enough to disrupt the division of cancer cells. Cancer is when abnormal cells divide in an uncontrolled way. It starts when gene changes make one cell or a few cells begin to grow and multiply too much. Sherry Gao, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, enthused that this could be the start of "many more medicines derived from natural products". She told The Times: "Fungi gave us penicillin. These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found". She added: "Nature has given us this incredible pharmacy. It's up to us to uncover its secrets. "As engineers, we're excited to keep exploring, learning from nature and using that knowledge to design better solutions.' Tourists gather around Tutankhamun's 'cursed' body This comes as researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic, both in the US, developed a new type of jab to fight pancreatic cancer. The vaccine uses tiny particles called nanoparticles to train the body's immune system to find and kill 'bad' cancer cells. In early tests with animals and lab models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer, more than half of the treated patients were completely cancer-free months after getting the vaccine. The vaccine also encourages the body to create its own T cells, immune fighters specially trained to attack cancer, while building up 'immune memory' for longer-term protection. Meanwhile, researchers in South Korea said they were able to revert cancerous cells back to a healthier stage. The team believe they can prevent the progression by exploiting the moment before normal cells irreversibly transform into diseased cells. Current cancer treatments focus on removing or destroying cancer cells through surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. But the groundbreaking discovery could let cancer patients regain their healthy cells. The scientists published their findings in the journal Advanced Science. Co-author of the new research Kwang-Hyun Cho is a professor of biology at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He said: "This study has revealed in detail, at the genetic network level, what changes occur within cells behind the process of cancer development, which has been considered a mystery until now.
Times
24-06-2025
- Health
- Times
Toxic fungus linked to ‘pharoah's curse' could help fight cancer
A toxic fungus linked to the mysterious deaths of archaeologists who opened ancient tombs including that of Tutankhamun could be used to make a drug to tackle blood cancer. The theory of a 'pharoah's curse' grew after a series of untimely deaths struck down several members of the team who excavated Tutankhamun's tomb in the 1920s. In the 1970s, 12 scientists entered a tomb in Poland that belonged to Casimir IV, who was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447. Within weeks, ten of them were dead. It emerged that the tomb contained Aspergillus flavus, a toxic crop fungus with yellow spores that can lead to lung infections, particularly in those with weakened immune systems. However, researchers have found that the fungus could contain one of a class of peptides known as RiPPs, pronounced 'rips', that can be modified to attack cancer. 'Purifying these chemicals is difficult,' said Dr Qiuyue Nie from the University of Pennslyvania, an author of the paper published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. 'The synthesis of these compounds is complicated, but that's also what gives them this remarkable bioactivity.' A number of these RiPPs had been found in bacteria but few had been found in fungi. They found that a particular protein within the Aspergillus flavus fungus was a promising candidate. Howard Carter, the British archaeologist, led the team that explored Tutankhamun's tomb. His benefactor, Lord Carnarvon, died six weeks after they entered the tomb TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BILL WARHURST, COLOURISED BY UNSEEN HISTORIES/JORDAN J LLOYD AND JOSHUA BARRETT 'Even with no modification, when mixed with human cancer cells, the asperigimycins [protein] demonstrated medical potential. Two of the four variants had potent effects against leukaemia cells,' the research showed. After adding a fatty molecule to another variant, they found that it worked as well as 'two drugs that have been used for decades to treat leukaemia'. It appears that the protein may disrupt the division of the cancer cells. 'Fungi gave us penicillin,' said Sherry Gao, a professor at the university. 'These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found.' It could be many years before a drug can be produced for testing and use in humans, however. 'The next step is to test asperigimycins in animal models, with the hope of one day moving to human clinical trials,' the researchers said. 'Nature has given us this incredible pharmacy,' Gao said. 'It's up to us to uncover its secrets. As engineers, we're excited to keep exploring, learning from nature and using that knowledge to design better solutions.'
Washington Post
17-06-2025
- Washington Post
Lawyers say plea deal is being pursued for Chinese scientist charged in US toxic fungus case
DETROIT — Lawyers for a Chinese scientist charged with conspiring to nurse a toxic fungus at a University of Michigan lab already are in talks to try to resolve the case, according to a court document filed Tuesday. 'The parties are currently engaged in plea negotiations and request this additional time so that they can continue engaging in plea negotiations,' a prosecutor and defense attorneys said in a joint filing.
Associated Press
17-06-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
Lawyers say plea deal is being pursued for Chinese scientist charged in US toxic fungus case
DETROIT (AP) — Lawyers for a Chinese scientist charged with conspiring to nurse a toxic fungus at a University of Michigan lab already are in talks to try to resolve the case, according to a court document filed Tuesday. 'The parties are currently engaged in plea negotiations and request this additional time so that they can continue engaging in plea negotiations,' a prosecutor and defense attorneys said in a joint filing. Yunqing Jian, 33, was a researcher at the University of Michigan when she was arrested on June 3. She's accused of helping her boyfriend, another Chinese scientist, try to work with a pathogen known as Fusarium graminearum, which can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice. Zunyong Liu, 34, was was turned away at the Detroit airport in July 2024 and sent back to China after red plant material was discovered in his backpack, the FBI said. After first denying it, Liu acknowledged that he was carrying different strains of Fusarium graminearum, investigators said. The university had no federal permits to work with the material. Jian's Boston-based lawyers have declined to comment. She remains in custody without bond. Federal authorities say the case presents national security concerns, though they have not alleged that the scientists had a plan to unleash the fungus. Fusarium graminearum is already prevalent in the U.S., and scientists have been studying it for decades. Jian was a postdoctoral scholar at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, before being granted a visa to conduct research at a Texas university. She has been working in Michigan since summer 2023. Separately, another scientist headed to the University of Michigan was arrested June 8 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China. She is charged with shipping biological material to the U.S. without a permit. The material is related to worms.
