HERA is the first European planetary defense mission. New strategies for cancer immunotherapy

While awaiting resolution of the brief paralysis of SpaceX’s launch vehicles, the European Space Agency expects the HERA probe to launch in October, its first mission to protect the planet. Its goal is to analyze the impact of NASA’s DART mission on a binary asteroid system. In 2022, the spacecraft collided at speeds of over 20,000 km/h with the asteroid Dimorphos, a 160-meter-diameter rock orbiting the larger 780-meter-diameter Didymos asteroid. DART succeeded in altering the orbital time of the smaller body and, by altering its motion, marked a major milestone in planetary defense research. Michael Kuppers, ESA scientist on the project, and Ignacio Tanco, ESA Flight Director, provided details on HERA’s upcoming operations and goals.

Two lines of work being developed at the National Cancer Research Center have caught our attention because they raise awareness of how immunotherapy is becoming important in cancer treatment. A team led by Luis Alvarez Vallina has received approval to conduct the world’s first clinical trial on patients with multiple myeloma using a type of immunotherapy based on cells called punyal. They believe that by 2025 they will be able to treat patients who have no other therapeutic alternatives. In addition, the team, led by neuroscientist Manuel Valiente, discovered that brain cells, astrocytes, can transform and contribute to the development of tumors. They are already working on immunotherapies that use this knowledge to treat brain metastases.

The Basque Science Foundation Ikerbasque held the annual meeting of its scientific community. The meeting has two goals: on the one hand, to ensure synergy between the scientists themselves to generate ideas and future projects, on the other hand, to stimulate the direct participation of scientists in the preparation of the next Ikerbask Strategic Plan for the period 2025. – 2028.