UR researchers find similarities between the surfaces of Earth and Mars
'That is a little bit where my research is heading towards, is trying to see is climate involved in these formations, or is it just a phenomenon that's occurring and we just see it in these certain locations on earth,' said JohnPaul Sleiman, a PhD Student at the University of Rochester.
Sleiman is one of the researchers on the project, along with Assistant Professor of environmental science Rachel Glade. They looked at satellite images of nine craters on Mars and compared them to the arctic and mountain regions here on our home planet.
'In the winter, when soil freezes, it sort of poofs up perpendicular to the slope,' said Glade. 'We actually see this in Rochester. If you go out in the winter, sometimes the soil heaves… So, it's a common process in cold places in the winter, and then in the summer when it thaws, the soil sort of settles, and this can cause downhill motion of the soil.'
Researchers are likening this wave-like pattern to paint dripping down a wall.
The impact is one to three centimeters per year. 'So, it's very slow, not something that's easy for humans to observe, but added up over many, many years, it can result in the formation of these patterns,' said Glade.
These researchers say that what they can discover without actually leaving the planet and using their tools on Mars' surface is awesome.
'Studying these similar features is interesting because we, one, learn how it's working on Earth, we learn about how it's working on another planet,' said Sleiman, 'and that tells us both about both systems.'
Ultimately, the study is raising big questions about Mars' past — and potentially its habitability.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
20 hours ago
- Business Wire
ImmunityBio Announces Phase 2 Study of ANKTIVA ® in Patients with Long COVID
CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX), a leading immunotherapy company, today announced the opening of a new Phase 2 study to assess the BioShield™ platform, anchored by ANKTIVA ® (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), in patients with long COVID. An estimated one in five Americans with a previous COVID-19 infection has long COVID, which is comprised of a broad range of symptoms that can substantially impact a patient's quality of life. Long COVID remains a significant public health challenge with no currently available established therapies. The new study, called COVID-4.019-Long, further expands the company's clinical research efforts to assess ANKTIVA's potential beyond cancer or cancer-related diseases. Currently, ANKTIVA is being evaluated alone and with other agents in multiple studies for different forms of bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Lynch syndrome, ovarian cancer and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) associated tumors. ANKTIVA is also being studied in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and lymphopenia. The primary objective of the exploratory, single-arm study (NCT0712372 7) is to evaluate the safety of ANKTIVA, injected under the skin (subcutaneously), in participants with long COVID. The secondary objective is to assess the effect of ANKTIVA on absolute lymphocyte count. Exploratory objectives include evaluation of ANKTIVA's ability to improve post-COVID natural killer (NK) cell and CD8+ T cell counts, and assessment of the immunological function of NK cells and CD8+ T cells. 'We are excited to study ANKTIVA for the treatment of long COVID, a substantial public health concern,' said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder, Executive Chairman and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of ImmunityBio. 'Early in the pandemic, the common assumption was SARS-CoV-2 would prove to be a transient infection, as is the case with coronaviruses in general. But we now know viral nucleic acid and proteins can be in the gut mucosa months after infection. As such, an antiviral strategy looks insufficient to treat or cure long COVID. Based on clinical insights to date, we believe ANKTIVA may be a new therapeutic option for this chronic and potentially disabling condition by enhancing immune function, facilitating viral clearance, and addressing underlying contributions to long COVID.' The study, which is being conducted by ImmunityBio and aims to recruit up to 40 participants who meet the long COVID criteria, as established by the World Health Organization (WHO), is now accepting patients for initial screening to determine study eligibility. The safety and tolerability of ANKTIVA for long COVID is also being assessed in a separate Phase 2 study conducted at the University of California – San Francisco. Both studies are supported by ImmunityBio. To learn more, visit ANKTIVA is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for the treatment of patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS), with or without papillary tumors. About Long COVID Long COVID is a serious illness that can cause chronic health conditions requiring comprehensive care. It may also lead to disability. 2 Long COVID impacts approximately 1 in 5 Americans adults who had a previous COVID-19 infection. 1 It can include a wide range of ongoing symptoms and conditions that can last weeks, months, or even years after COVID-19 illness. 1 Some of the common among the more than 200 identified symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, coughing, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and change in smell or taste. 3 Anyone who had a SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19, can experience Long COVID, including children. 1 Long COVID remains a significant public health challenge with no currently available established treatments. About ANKTIVA ® (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln) The cytokine interleukin-15 (IL-15) plays a crucial role in the immune system by affecting the development, maintenance, and function of key immune cells—NK and CD8+ killer T cells—that are involved in killing cancer cells. By activating NK cells, ANKTIVA® overcomes the tumor escape phase of clones resistant to T cells and restores memory T cell activity with resultant prolonged duration of complete response. A key component in the company's BioShield platform, ANKTIVA is a first-in-class IL-15 agonist IgG1 fusion complex, consisting of an IL-15 mutant (IL-15N72D) fused with an IL-15 receptor alpha, which binds with high affinity to IL-15 receptors on NK, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells. This fusion complex of ANKTIVA® mimics the natural biological properties of the membrane-bound IL-15 receptor alpha, delivering IL-15 by dendritic cells and driving the activation and proliferation of NK cells with the generation of memory killer T cells that have retained immune memory against these tumor clones. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION INDICATION AND USAGE: ANKTIVA® is an interleukin-15 (IL-15) receptor agonist indicated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for the treatment of adult patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS) with or without papillary tumors. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS: Risk of Metastatic Bladder Cancer with Delayed Cystectomy. Delaying cystectomy can lead to the development of muscle-invasive or metastatic bladder cancer, which can be lethal. If patients with CIS do not have a complete response to treatment after a second induction course of ANKTIVA® with BCG, reconsider cystectomy. DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: For Intravesical Use Only. Do not administer by subcutaneous or intravenous routes. Please see the complete Prescribing Information for ANKTIVA ® at References: Robertson MM, Qasmieh SA, Kulkarni SG, et al. The Epidemiology of Long Coronavirus Disease in US Adults. Clin Infect Dis. May 3 2023;76(9):1636-1645. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Long COVID Basics. July 2025. Available at U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Long COVID Signs and Symptoms. July 2025. Available at About ImmunityBio ImmunityBio is a vertically-integrated commercial stage biotechnology company developing next-generation therapies that bolster the natural immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases. The Company's range of immunotherapy and cell therapy platforms, alone and together, act to drive and sustain an immune response with the goal of creating durable and safe protection against disease. Designated an FDA Breakthrough Therapy, ANKTIVA is the first FDA-approved immunotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer CIS that activates NK cells, T cells, and memory T cells for a long-duration response. The Company is applying its science and platforms to treating cancers, including the development of potential cancer vaccines, as well as developing immunotherapies and cell therapies that we believe sharply reduce or eliminate the need for standard high-dose chemotherapy. These platforms and their associated product candidates are designed to be more effective, accessible, and easily administered than current standards of care in oncology and infectious diseases. For more information, visit (Founder's Vision) and connect with us on X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements regarding potential implications to be drawn from preliminary clinical study results, clinical trial enrollment, timing, data and potential results to be drawn therefrom, anticipated components of ImmunityBio's CancerBioShield™ platform, the potential health conditions associated with Long COVID, potential patient populations and implications thereof, the development of therapeutics for cancer and infectious diseases, potential benefits to patients, potential treatment outcomes for patients, the described mechanism of action and results and contributions therefrom, potential future uses and applications of ANKTIVA alone or in combination with other therapeutic agents across multiple tumor types and indications and for potential applications beyond oncology, potential regulatory pathways and the regulatory review process and timing thereof, the application of the Company's science and platforms to treat cancers or develop cancer vaccines, immunotherapies and cell therapies that have the potential to change the paradigm in cancer care, and ImmunityBio's approved product and investigational agents as compared to existing treatment options, among others. Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are considered forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'continues,' 'goal,' 'could,' 'estimates,' 'scheduled,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'may,' 'plans,' 'potential,' 'predicts,' 'indicate,' 'projects,' 'is,' 'seeks,' 'should,' 'will,' 'strategy,' and variations of such words or similar expressions. Statements of past performance, efforts, or results of our preclinical and clinical trials, about which inferences or assumptions may be made, can also be forward-looking statements and are not indicative of future performance or results. Forward-looking statements are neither forecasts, promises nor guarantees, and are based on the current beliefs of ImmunityBio's management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to ImmunityBio. Such information may be limited or incomplete, and ImmunityBio's statements should not be read to indicate that it has conducted a thorough inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. Such statements reflect the current views of ImmunityBio with respect to future events and are subject to known and unknown risks, including business, regulatory, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties, contingencies and assumptions about ImmunityBio, including, without limitation, (i) risks and uncertainties regarding participation and enrollment and potential results from the clinical trial described herein, (ii) whether clinical trials will result in registrational pathways, (iii) whether clinical trial data will be accepted by regulatory agencies, (iv) the ability of ImmunityBio to fund its ongoing and anticipated clinical trials, (v) the ability of ImmunityBio to continue its planned preclinical and clinical development of its development programs through itself and/or its investigators, and the timing and success of any such continued preclinical and clinical development, patient enrollment and planned regulatory submissions, (vi) potential delays in product availability and regulatory approvals, (vii) ImmunityBio's ability to retain and hire key personnel, (viii) ImmunityBio's ability to obtain additional financing to fund its operations and complete the development and commercialization of its various product candidates, (ix) potential product shortages or manufacturing disruptions that may impact the availability and timing of product, (x) ImmunityBio's ability to successfully commercialize its approved product and product candidates, (xi) ImmunityBio's ability to scale its manufacturing and commercial supply operations for its approved product and future approved products, and (xii) ImmunityBio's ability to obtain, maintain, protect, and enforce patent protection and other proprietary rights for its product candidates and technologies. More details about these and other risks that may impact ImmunityBio's business are described under the heading 'Risk Factors' in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 3, 2025, and the Company's Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 5, 2025, and in subsequent filings made by ImmunityBio with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at ImmunityBio cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. ImmunityBio does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement or other information in this press release, except to the extent required by law.
Business Wire
21 hours ago
- Business Wire
Butterfly Network Joins Research Project Studying the Impact of AI-Assisted POCUS on Early Tuberculosis Detection in Sub-Saharan Africa
BURLINGTON, Mass. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Butterfly Network, Inc. ('Butterfly', 'the Company') (NYSE: BFLY), a digital health company transforming care with handheld, whole-body ultrasound, today announced its role in the international research study CAD LUS4TB that will evaluate the impact of AI-assisted point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) on tuberculosis (TB) triage in under-resourced settings. For patients in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with no access to ultrasound in primary care, there is a critical need for accessible diagnostic tools. WHO data suggests that 2.5 million people fell ill with TB in Africa in 2022, accounting for a quarter of new TB cases worldwide, and over 33% of TB deaths occurred in the African region. Butterfly is part of the CAD LUS4TB consortium alongside 10 research institutions in Africa and Europe. The consortium is trialing a new AI algorithm, using Butterfly's software development platform. The program automates image classification for TB from images obtained using Butterfly's portable ultrasound devices. AI-aided POCUS will be used to help frontline healthcare workers quickly and more accurately detect TB at point of care in an initial trial in the SSA region. The European Union's Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertakings has provided €10 million in funding for this work. The trial initiates in September and will involve 3,000 adult patients across SSA. Patients will be treated by non-radiologist healthcare workers supported by AI-led POCUS to identify likely TB indicators. This approach empowers healthcare workers to assess patients for TB without needing extensive ultrasound training or access to lab testing. 'Butterfly is proud to continue improving global health equity through our role in this project. Patients in lower-resource settings need easier access to diagnostic imaging to detect and treat deadly diseases such as TB before it claims more lives,' said Dr. Sachita Shah, VP of Global Health, Butterfly Network. 'We believe that this study has the capacity to demonstrate that faster, safer, more accessible triage with AI-enabled POCUS can drastically reduce morbidity and mortality from TB and other lung diseases in low- and middle-income countries.' The CAD LUS4TB initiative also seeks to generate an evidence-driven policy that supports AI-aided lung ultrasound in TB management, with the long-term goal of the technology's incorporation into national healthcare policies and systems. Powered by the company's Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology, Butterfly delivers sharp image quality and powerful AI capabilities in a single handheld probe. Butterfly's portable hardware, coupled with the company's partner platform for software development, uniquely positions Butterfly POCUS as a suitable vehicle for deploying new, innovative AI algorithms to diagnose leading causes of global mortality, including TB. The study is the latest innovation in Butterfly's ongoing commitment to improving access to ultrasound for healthcare professionals and patients globally, particularly in underserved areas. Butterfly previously supported the TrUST study, an international prospective trial which developed AI algorithms for diagnosis of TB using Butterfly. Butterfly's Global Health Program works with hundreds of non-profit and humanitarian organizations in over 115 countries to provide sustainable and equitable digital health solutions to the world's most vulnerable populations. About Butterfly Network Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE: BFLY) is a healthcare company driving a digital revolution in medical imaging with its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip™ semiconductor technology and ultrasound software solutions. In 2018, Butterfly launched the world's first handheld, single-probe, whole-body ultrasound system, Butterfly iQ. The iQ+ followed in 2020, and the iQ3 in 2024, each with improved processing power and performance by leveraging Moore's Law. The iQ3 earned Best Medical Technology at the 2024 Prix Galien USA Awards, a prestigious honor and one of the highest accolades in healthcare. Butterfly's innovations have also been recognized by Fierce 50, TIME's Best Inventions and Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, among other achievements. Butterfly combines advanced hardware, intelligent software, AI, services, and education to drive adoption of affordable, accessible imaging. Clinical publications demonstrate that its handheld ultrasound probes paired with Compass™ enterprise workflow software, can help hospital systems improve care workflows, reduce costs, and enhance provider economics. With a cloud-based solution that enables care anywhere through next-generation mobility, Butterfly aims to democratize healthcare by addressing critical global healthcare challenges. Butterfly devices are commercially available to trained healthcare practitioners in areas including, but not limited to, parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America; to learn more about Butterfly's Global Health Program, please visit:
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business Wire
CorriXR Therapeutics Secures $1M Investment from State of Delaware
NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CorriXR Therapeutics, Inc., a pioneering oncology-focused biotherapeutics company, has announced a significant milestone with a $1M investment from the State of Delaware. This funding will be instrumental in advancing CorriXR's lead program aimed at developing next-generation treatments for solid tumors, with particular focus on head and neck, and lung cancers. This investment not only underscores the potential of CorriXR's cutting-edge therapies but also highlights Delaware's commitment to supporting innovative early-stage companies. This is how Delaware wins the future, with CorriXR demonstrating the power of turning research into real solutions. Share "We're excited to have the State of Delaware participate in our Series A financing round as we advance toward our first-in-human clinical trial,' said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., founder & CEO of CorriXR. 'This investment will be critical as we complete preclinical studies, scale-up manufacturing, and prepare our investigational new drug (IND) submission.' The State of Delaware's investment in CorriXR is the first $1M investment from the Delaware Accelerator & Seed Capital Program (DASCP), one of four programs awarded under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) federal program from the U.S. Treasury Department. The Division of Small Business is administering Delaware's $60.9 million SSBCI award aimed at providing access to capital for start-up and early-stage businesses. 'Our first $1 million investment is proof that Delaware's path to becoming the Mid-Atlantic hub for Innovation is well underway,' said Delaware Division of Small Business Director CJ Bell. 'Supporting companies like CorriXR to scale isn't just good business – it's the blueprint for turning that vision into reality.' 'This is how Delaware wins the future, with CorriXR demonstrating the power of turning research into real solutions," said Delaware Governor Matt Meyer. "By working closely with experts at the Gene Editing Institute, CorriXR is making promising CRISPR therapies a reality for patients faster than ever. This is exactly why the SSBCI program exists—because supporting innovation today means better treatments, stronger businesses, and a brighter future for Delaware." About CorriXR Therapeutics CorriXR is developing genetic medicines to transform the treatment of solid tumors. CorriXR's patented non-viral gene editing tool disables transcription factor NRF2, which controls 200+ genes responsible for creating a pro-oncogenic tumor microenvironment. Knockout of NRF2 disrupts cancer cell survival mechanisms and sensitizes them to standard of care, and is being developed as a monotherapy, neoadjuvant or in combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy. CorriXR's platform has potential applications in over 30 types of squamous cell carcinomas by improving treatment efficiency at lower doses, increasing patient eligibility, and reducing dropouts due to side effects—ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes. Learn more at
