How ‘Pharaoh's curse' may help fight CANCER after leukaemia-battling chemical found in fungus linked to King Tut deaths
Researchers say it could be the start of a string of new medical discoveries
PHARAOH'S GIFT How 'Pharaoh's curse' may help fight CANCER after leukaemia-battling chemical found in fungus linked to King Tut deaths
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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".
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King Tut's tomb was teaming with a fungus believed to have killed a group of researchers
Credit: PA:Press Association
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The poisonous fungus has been found to contain properties that could tackle the division of cancer cells
3
Ingesting yellow spores of the fungus has been linked to lung disease
Credit: PA:Press Association
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.
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The Sun
6 hours ago
- 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.
Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
How ‘Pharaoh's curse' may help fight CANCER after leukaemia-battling chemical found in fungus linked to King Tut deaths
Researchers say it could be the start of a string of new medical discoveries PHARAOH'S GIFT How 'Pharaoh's curse' may help fight CANCER after leukaemia-battling chemical found in fungus linked to King Tut deaths Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 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". Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 King Tut's tomb was teaming with a fungus believed to have killed a group of researchers Credit: PA:Press Association 3 The poisonous fungus has been found to contain properties that could tackle the division of cancer cells 3 Ingesting yellow spores of the fungus has been linked to lung disease Credit: PA:Press Association 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.
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Never-before-seen dog-sized dinosaur that dodged 32ft flesh-eating giants and killer crocs found after 150 MILLION years
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A "NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN" dinosaur that dates back 150 million years has been revealed – and is now on show in the heart of London. The speedy creature would've dodged 32ft flesh-eating giants and even crocodiles to survive in prehistoric USA, scientists told The Sun. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 13 A brand new dinosaur has gone on show at the historic Natural History Museum in London Credit: Natural History Museum 13 The speedy creature would've darted around prehistoric Colorado, USA Credit: Natural History Museum / Bob Nicholls 13 At about a metre long, the dinosaur was the size of a very large dog Credit: Sean Keach Officially named Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, the two-legged sprinter is available for free public viewing at the Natural History Museum from Thursday, June 26. The metre-long creature's fossilised skeleton is remarkably well-preserved, stretching over a metre long (3.2ft) – and about 50cm (1.6ft) tall. Visitors will be able to get up close to the early American creature, which lived alongside iconic dinos like Diplodocus and Stegosaurus. "What we're dealing with here is a new species of dinosaur that comes from Colorado in the western USA," said Professor Paul Barrow, of the Natural History Museum, speaking to The Sun at the grand unveiling. Read more on dinosaurs QUACKERS! First bird to roam Earth after dinosaurs were killed by asteroid revealed "It was discovered back in 2021 and we were able to acquire it thanks to an amazingly generous private donation, which allowed us to buy it for the museum." BACK IN TIME The dinosaur itself is believed to have not been fully grown. Normally the upper and lower parts of the creature's back bones would fuse together as the animal aged. But they weren't fully fused together, suggesting that the dino may have been quite young. And it certainly would've been surrounded by dino pals. "At the time, Colorado would have been a floodplain," said Professor Susannah Maidment, of the Natural History Museum, speaking to The Sun. Walking With Dinosaurs: Official Trailer, BBC "It would have had a series or rivers coming down from high land to the west, and there would have been dinosaurs all over it. "Some of the most famous dinosaurs – thinks like Diplodocus and Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus. "And so this little dinosaur would have been running around at the feet of those giants." GREEN MACHINE This particular dinosaur was a herbivore, meaning it mostly ate plants. 13 The remarkably preserved fossilised skeleton was found in a quarry Credit: Natural History Museum 13 Scientists have pieced together the fossils to reconstruct the dinosaur Credit: Natural History Museum But because flowering plants hadn't evolved yet, Professor Maidment told us, it "would have just been eating things like cycads and ferns". The dinosaur didn't need to move fast to eat – but it did need speedy legs to avoid being eaten. It lived alongside deadly predators, including prehistoric crocodiles. "We know it's a very speedy little dinosaur," said Professor Paul Barrow. 13 It was previously thought to be a type of poorly-understood dinosaur called a Nanosaurus Credit: Natural History Museum 13 The official name for the new dinosaur is the Engimacursor mollyborthwickae Credit: Natural History Museum "It has very long hind legs – it walks on its hind legs only. "So its main defence against predators would actually have just been a speedy getaway. "And it's living at the same time as quite a lot of other large predatory dinosaurs. "Probably the most famous of which is a thing called Allosaurus, which is a big carnivore that gets up to about nine or 10 metres (29 to 32ft) in length – it's quite common at the time. A timeline of life on Earth Here's a brief history of life on our planet 4.6billion years ago – the origin of Earth 3.8billion years ago – first life appears on Earth 2.1billion years ago – lifeforms made up of multiple cells evolve 1.5billion years ago – eukaryotes, which are cells that contain a nucleus inside of their membranes, emerge 550million years ago – first arthropods evolve 530million years ago – first fish appear 470million years ago – first land plants appear 380million years ago – forests emerge on Earth 370million years ago – first amphibians emerge from the water onto land 320million years ago – earliest reptiles evolve 230million years ago – dinosaurs evolve 200million years ago – mammals appear 150million years ago – earliest birds evolve 130million years ago – first flowering plants 100million years ago – earliest bees 55million years ago – hares and rabbits appear 30million years ago – first cats evolve 20million years ago – great apes evolve 7million years ago –first human ancestors appear 2million years ago – Homo erectus appears 300,000 years ago – Homo sapiens evolves 50,000 years ago – Eurasia and Oceania colonised 40,000 years ago – Neandethal extinction 13 The Sun spoke to Natural History Museum experts Professor Susannah Maidment and Professor Paul Barrett, who discovered the new species Credit: Natural History Museum "But also a lot of speedy predators as well, and also some big crocodiles that could have taken out this guy." DIG IT The creature was first unearthed in 2021 from a commercial quarry. And it was thought to be a Nanosaurus, a "poorly-known" species that was first named in 1870s. The Enigmacursor was acquired from the David Aaron Ltd gallery with support from David and Molly Lowell Borthwick (after whom the dinosaur is now named). 13 The dinosaur would've lived between 145 and 150 million years ago Credit: Natural History Museum 13 It would've lived alongside giants like Diplodocus and Stegosaurus Credit: Natural History Museum And Natural History Museum scientists renamed it after analysing the specimen, confirming it as a species new to science. But there is still a mystery: exactly how fast the nippy little creature could run. "It was a two-legged dinosaur and so it had very small forelimbs actually," Professor Maidment told us. "But we don't really know how fast it would have run at all. "It probably might have been able to just about outrun us – but probably not much faster than that." 13 Analysis of the dinosaur revealed that it belonged to a brand new species Credit: Natural History Museum 13 Visitors can go to see the dinosaur at the museum for free from Thursday, June 26 Credit: Sean Keach
