Lydia's Library: Issue 1

Lydia Dresler
4 hours ago
6 min read

Science impact, advanced imaging, and cancer hallmarks

Writer and illustrator: Lydia Dresler

Editors: Sam Alper and Sarah Brockway

Science is an ever-changing landscape of magnificent breakthroughs and discoveries. However, published literature is only accessible and interpretable to people with scientific backgrounds. Primary literature is usually published in one of the many journals that require a subscription to access. Even if you do pay to access it, the writing is so packed with jargon and technical wording that it's difficult to understand - even if you're a scientist in a different field! And to the public, each paper is so highly specific that it's hard to discern the “So what?” of the article. But many of these discoveries have very real implications for our daily lives. So, the “So what?” is very important.

As a scientist in academia, I am privileged to have access to a wide range of journals through my academic institution. Larger biotech companies also subscribe to many scientific journals. But for the most part, science and all its amazing advancements have become disconnected from the public. For this reason, I have created Lydia’s Library, a series through the USCo blog where I aim to bridge the gap between scientific publications and general audiences.

Right now is an exciting time to be involved in science. Computational advancements let us analyze massive amounts of data quickly; modern technology enables us to examine tiny cellular components like proteins and DNA within hours or days instead of years; and scientists can communicate ideas and findings around the globe, enabling us to prioritize new discoveries and collaborations. Overall, this helps improve human health and safety more quickly while making knowledge accessible to more people.

Here, I have introduced the importance of communicating science to the public. Going forward, the goal of these recurring posts is to connect general audiences with recent advancements in health sciences. I hope to successfully communicate the “So what?” of these articles and give you an inside view of how curiosity turns into scientific results.

Recent technological advancements in microscopic imaging have allowed scientists to visualize minuscule biological interactions in great detail

As described in “Structural Snapshots Capture Nucleotide Release at the μ-Opioid Receptor.”

The issue of opioid overdose has persisted for over 25 years. Scientists have been researching alternative painkillers and making advancements to minimize the effects of opioid addiction, such as naloxone (Narcan). Opioids act by binding to opioid receptors in the brain. This binding completely blocks the release of chemicals in your brain that tell you you’re in pain. However, this process involves many steps that can cause side effects and may lead to addiction.

Opioid receptors are among the most complex receptors because they belong to the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors or GPCRs. GPCRs do not operate as simple on/off switches when interacting with a drug. Instead, they are more like dials, with different output levels. Picture a stereo with one volume dial; this is like a receptor with one binding site for a drug. Different drugs turn the volume to different levels, producing stronger or weaker responses. Sometimes multiple drugs can bind to different parts of the same receptor. Imagine here that there are multiple dials on the stereo, for example, volume, bass, and treble levels, all of which affect the sound output. Unlike stereos, receptors can also change shape as they interact with drugs, a phenomenon termed an intermediate state. All of these features of GPCRs make creating an effective drug, one that maintains pain management without causing addiction, complex.

But as technology advances, we can study the interactions between pain-killing drugs and their receptors in greater detail. This can provide a more complete understanding of the receptor, including its various outputs (or volumes), and its different shapes. This new understanding allows scientists to design more effective drugs. A paper published in September of 2025, conducted by scientists at the University of Southern California, showed that they were able to image the interaction between the μ-opioid (mu-opioid, pronounced mew) receptor with Naloxone or Loperamide, drugs that activate the receptor when it assumes different shapes. This is important because until now, we have not had a clear understanding of how these drugs bind to the μ-opioid receptor.

The researchers used a technique called cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM). This is a technical way of saying you're taking pictures at an atomic level of a frozen sample. Remember, atoms are the building blocks of all the drugs and biological components in our bodies. CryoEM enables scientists to capture images of this interaction from multiple angles. Then, these 2D images are computationally combined to produce a 3D rendering of the μ-opioid receptor bound to the different drugs, as shown in this study. While cryoEM has been around since the 1980’s, the resolution of these images has significantly improved within the last few years, allowing scientists to make more breakthroughs in understanding receptor structure, functions, and their interactions with drugs.

Overall, this study uses recent advancements in cryoEM to reveal new states (shapes) of the μ-opioid receptor and its interactions with drugs. Because of these imaging advances, scientists now suspect that the answer to pain management without addiction lies in targeting an intermediate state of the receptor, thereby achieving partial inhibition (or volume output). This will allow us to develop drugs that target pain without the severe side effects and addictive properties of our current drugs.

Monitoring surrogate markers of disease helps us understand disease progression and identify new treatments. Preventive screening of these markers in healthy individuals helps reduce disease risk.

As described in “Anti-Progestin Therapy Targets Hallmarks of Breast Cancer Risk.”

Cancer, the second leading cause of death worldwide, is the manifestation of abnormal cells that rapidly grow, change, and spread throughout the body. There are many types of cancers that grow quickly and can influence healthy human cells, making it difficult to treat. Due to this complexity, scientists focus on a single type of cancer to develop a deeper understanding of the process that causes cancer. Breast Cancer is the most prominent cancer type in women and is studied in many research labs. Starting at around 40 years old, women should be screened for breast cancer every couple of years through a mammogram, which measures the density of breast tissue.

Progestin is used as an oral contraceptive and hormone therapy that mimics progesterone, a naturally occurring female hormone. Progestin binds to the progesterone receptor. The progesterone receptor plays many roles in regulating the menstrual cycle and cellular life cycles. However, progestin can overwhelm this receptor, leading to an increased risk of breast cancer by promoting cell growth, the biggest hallmark of cancer.

Hallmarks of cancer are the fundamental biological processes or behaviors of cancerous cells. For example, cancer cells continuously produce signals that promote tumor growth, much like how a production line is always in motion. However, hallmarks can appear in cells before they are designated as cancer cells; these are called pre-cancerous cells. Pre-clinical studies in animal models of anti-progestin treatment using ulipristal acetate, a small-molecule drug, have shown decreases in cancer hallmarks and the prevention of cancer growth. However, the effects of anti-progestin therapy and its results in humans remain to be tested.

However, scientists at the University of Manchester did just that. In a paper from December 2025, they demonstrated that treatment with anti-progestins leads to reduced hallmarks of breast cancer in healthy humans with a high risk of breast cancer. Matching the results of pre-clinical studies. By monitoring these hallmarks throughout treatment, these scientists showed that the anti-progestin UA (ulipristal acetate) reduced physiological behaviors, such as changes in breast tissue density, which manifest during breast cancer development. Importantly, this is not a treatment for the cancer itself, but rather symptom relief and preventive treatment, much like taking vitamins to reduce symptoms and chances of a cold. However, it could have a positive effect by slowing cancer growth.

Another important aspect of this study is that the scientists showed that the progestin inhibitor works in humans in multiple ways. By this, I mean they developed and used several methods to evaluate cellular content and activity before and after UA treatment, and all results consistently indicated that UA inhibits progestin binding, thereby reducing several markers associated with cancer. It is always important that scientists demonstrate that their work is correct because its results can directly affect human health, safety, and well-being.

While a few more studies are necessary before this treatment can be approved for widespread use, this research plays a key role in shifting the study of breast cancer from the research lab to clinical practice. Overall, this study underscores the importance of understanding cancer hallmarks, highlights the need for regular screening (such as mammograms), and reintroduces the advantages of preventive medicine. Monitoring the health of people who many have a higher risk of cancer is crucial for a long, healthy life. As we get better at identifying disease markers and hallmarks, the use of preventative medicine is becoming more common. The shift toward proactive healthcare embodies a broader medical objective: to not only treat diseases after they occur but also to predict, prevent, and manage health concerns to improve longevity and overall well-being.