ISB News

The Economist highlighted an international study co-authored by ISB researchers that identified a new class of protein-like molecules called “peptideins.” The feature explores how the discovery expands scientists’ understanding of the human genome and could reshape future research into cancer, immunotherapy, and human disease.

An international study co-authored by ISB researchers and published in the journal Nature identified more than 1,700 previously unknown protein-like molecules hidden within the human genome. The story explores how these newly discovered “peptideins” could reshape scientists’ understanding of cancer, immunotherapy, and human disease.

Researchers from ISB’s Wei and Heath labs show that cancer cells can quickly reprogram themselves in response to treatment, using epigenetic changes to survive drugs — revealing that resistance may begin much earlier than previously understood.

Research out of ISB’s Wei Lab reveals how melanoma cells rapidly adapt to targeted therapy through stress-driven changes and NF-κB-mediated chromatin remodeling. The article explores how these early survival mechanisms contribute to drug resistance and highlights potential new therapeutic strategies to improve treatment outcomes.

ISB’s Dr. Wei Wei contributed to research showing that certain lung cancers can shift identity and exist in hybrid states, helping explain treatment resistance and suggesting new approaches to diagnosis and therapy for these aggressive, often underdiagnosed tumors.

Research from ISB’s Gibbons Lab suggests bowel movement frequency is linked to overall health, with a “Goldilocks zone” of about one to two per day. Too few or too many may be associated with risks to kidney, liver, and metabolic health.