Work – published in Molecular Oncology - by recent PhD graduate Declan Whyte from the Murphy lab described a novel role for NUAK1 in chromosome segregation and centrosome duplication during cell division. Although growing evidence has suggested NUAK1 as a potential vulnerability in cancer, in particular in conjunction with KRAS and MYC, the work raises concerns about the application of anti-NUAK1 therapies.

In their study, Glasgow scientists led by Prof Hing Leung found that PET/CT imaging – through the use of normalised standardised uptake values in the lymph node – could improve the pre-operative detection of metastasis in lung cancer compared to current clinical practice.

Beatson scientists uncovered the metabolite N5-methylglutamine, a methylated glutamine analog, as a previously unreported readout of glutamine synthetase activity in a recent article published in Nature Chemical Biology. While also detectable in the circulation, N5-methylglutamine was able to act as a urinary marker of tumour burden in a model of liver cancer.

Combining computational modelling and live cell investigations, the research team led by Robert Insall demonstrated the complexity of cell chemotaxis in their recent paper in Current Biology. Intriguingly, chemotaxis could be reversed, driving cells away from cues when cells were exposed to two attractant chemicals simultaneously.