NEWSROOM
‘Pharaoh’s curse’ fungus could kill cancer cells
A fungus long associated with the mysterious deaths of tomb-raiding archaeologists may hold the key to a new class of cancer drugs, researchers have found.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a compound derived a toxic crop fungus known as the “pharaohs’ curse”. The fungus, blamed for fatalities following the opening of ancient tombs in Egypt and Poland, produces chemical compounds now shown to kill leukemia cells.
The team identified a class of molecules called RiPPs. Four variants, named asperigimycins, were isolated and tested. Two showed strong activity against leukemia, with one proving as effective as long-standing chemotherapy agents when chemically modified.
The fungus gained infamy after a string of deaths among researchers who entered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in the 1920s, and later the tomb of Casimir IV in the 1970s, where A. flavus was identified. Its yellow spores and toxic profile earned it a reputation as a microbial menace.
Now, the same microbe is being reimagined as a source of potent anti-cancer agents. Further testing in animal models is planned as researchers explore its therapeutic potential.
Breakthrough treatment could free people with type 1 diabetes from insulin
A new stem cell-based therapy has allowed 10 out of 12 people with the most severe form of type 1 diabetes to stop using insulin entirely, offering what researchers say could be a breakthrough in treatment.
The experimental therapy developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, involves infusing lab-grown pancreatic islet cells derived from stem cells into the liver. Once in place, these cells begin producing insulin, restoring the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar.
All participants in the study had hypoglycemia unawareness, a dangerous condition where people no longer experience the warning signs of low blood sugar. Within months of treatment, patients saw a dramatic reduction in their need for insulin. By six months, most had stopped injections altogether. Episodes of hypoglycemia disappeared within the first 90 days.
The treatment was presented at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. It marks a milestone in efforts to treat type 1 diabetes at its root, rather than manage its symptoms.
With further study and regulatory approval, the treatment could be the first to offer people with type 1 diabetes the possibility of life without insulin injections.
UK electric car and heat pump sales surge
Sales of electric vehicles and heat pumps have reached record levels in the UK, but the pace of adoption must accelerate to meet legally binding climate targets, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned.
Nearly one in five new cars sold in 2024 was electric, and the number of EVs on the road has nearly doubled in two years. Sales of heat pumps rose by over 50% last year, boosted by government grants. However, uptake remains below what is needed for the UK to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
High electricity costs continue to deter some households, the CCC said. These prices are inflated by legacy charges supporting older renewable projects and energy efficiency schemes. Shifting those costs to general taxation could reduce average household bills by £200 a year, but would cost the Treasury around £6bn annually.
The CCC welcomed plans to remove electricity surcharges for some businesses and urged the government to do the same for households. While political support for net zero has weakened in recent years, the committee maintains that the UK can still meet its targets.
Transport and buildings remain the biggest sources of emissions, but the CCC sees encouraging signs that market momentum, combined with effective policy, could drive rapid change.
Nature is restoring West Virginia’s polluted streams
A simple, low-tech system of limestone beds and wetlands is quietly transforming life along West Virginia’s waterways, turning streams once tainted by coal into habitats teeming with aquatic life.
Deckers Creek, once lifeless and stained orange by acid mine drainage, now hosts returning fish, frogs and salamanders. It’s one of dozens of sites across the state using nature-based solutions to clean water poisoned by generations of coal mining.
These systems mimic natural filtration. Acidic water flows through limestone, neutralising pH and trapping heavy metals. Unlike mechanical treatment plants, they require minimal energy or intervention, and their success is visible in the water’s clarity and revived biodiversity.
Further downstream, more sophisticated treatment facilities are being used to recover rare earth elements – some which are critical for clean energy technologies—from the same polluted water.
While coal extraction once stripped the land and poisoned the water, communities are now restoring streams with tools as simple as stone, water, and time. These projects, often led by local non-profits, are not just environmental fixes but building blocks for new, sustainable economies rooted in tourism and recreation.
In a region long shaped by extraction, the clean-up of abandoned mine lands is offering a different kind of legacy: one of recovery, renewal, and rivers that run clear again.
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