BioTherapeutics, Education, & Research (BTER) Foundation

09/04/2026

A research team from the University of Chicago has developed a strain of gut bacteria that might assist in fighting pancreatic cancer- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adz1388. Ralph Weichselbaum, MD (Chair of Radiation and Cellular Oncology) and his team engineered a strain of Bifidobacterium longum to release a modified form of interleukin-2 - an immune molecule that activates T-cells. B. longum was chosen because it thrives in low-oxygen environments where pancreatic tumors concentrate. Using this engineered strain named BifidoSumIL-2 the scientists stimulate T-cells to fight pancreatic cancer tumors. When the scientists tested BifidoSumIL-2 in animal models, it accumulated in tumors, activated T-cells, and slowed pancreatic cancer growth. Combined with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, even further tumor control was achieved. The scientists hope that continued research will lead to a product suitable for testing in humans.

Bifidobacterium longum from electronic microscope, 26 May 2011 , Photo from Julie6301, (CC 3.0; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bifidobacterium_longum_en_microscopie_%C3%A9lectronique.jpg)

08/28/2026

A goat farmer from Vermont has decided to turn her goat milk farm into a therapeutic sanctuary. The owner of Villa Villekulla Farm, Lauren Gitlin wants to move away from commercial milk production and transform her 53-goat herd into therapy animals. A nonprofit sanctuary that offers animal-assisted therapy will replace the farm. Gitlin plans to partner with a licensed mental health provider to help direct the animal-assisted therapy program. A possible collaborator and model for her program is Moonrise Therapeutics -a nearby nonprofit that uses horses in their treatment. Although the sanctuary has not yet opened to the public, the goats have already had a positive impact on the farm’s volunteers. Volunteer Bruce McClellan attributes being more relaxed and happier after being around the goats. Valentina Jaramillo, a former intern, says that the goats' personalities can improve mental health. To read more about the development, click here https://www.wcax.com/2026/08/07/herd-mentality-retired-goats-find-new-employment-therapy-animals/. To visit the farm’s website or contact the farm directly, click here https://www.villavillekullafarm.com/.

Goat - Colchester Zoo - Colchester, Essex, England, 5 November 2007 , Photo from Keven Law (CC 2.0; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_law_keven_-_Goat_-_Colchester_Zoo_-_Colchester,_Essex,_England_-_Monday_November_5th_2007..jpg)

08/20/2026

In a study published in Nature Communications, scientists discovered a key to how parasites protect themselves from inflammation. Using intestinal worms to treat autoimmune disorders and inflammatory diseases (“helminthic therapy”) has already received a lot of research but the results have been inconsistent. Kateřina Jirků from the Institute of Parasitology at the Czech Academy of Sciences has been studying how factors in the gut --- specifically the amount of fiber --- can affect these results. Using the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta, Kateřina Jirků and her team tested the tapeworm's effects on rats with fiber-rich and fiber-poor diets. In rats with fiber-rich diets, the researchers discovered that the tapeworm was healthy and able to induce anti-inflammatory responses in its host. In rats with fiber-poor diets, the tapeworm went into an energy-saving state, did not induce an anti-inflammatory response in its host, were smaller in length than the worms in the fiber-rich hosts, and were unable to produce eggs. This finding might help design better helminth therapy studies, by optimizing the helminths’ ability to fight inflammation. To read more click here https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69475-0

Hymenolepis diminuta extracted from the rat intestine ,19 March 2010 , Photo from Ironmrazik (CC 4.0; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hymenolepis_diminuta.jpg)

08/13/2026

For a care provider's perspective (and an economist's perspective) of in general, and therapy in particular, check out Polly Cleveland's article in

The Return of an Ancient Treatment for Non-healing Wounds

08/11/2026

Some people ask if they can use wild maggots to treat wounds. DON’T DO IT. Not all species are both safe and effective. Today’s Substack post illustrates how a maggot that even the entomologists believed to be usually non-harmful can turn out to be dangerous. Stick with maggots that have been proven to be safe and effective, and have been pharmaceutically prepared.
https://beyondflies.substack.com/p/the-man-eater-how-the-screwworm-got

08/06/2026

Researchers at Mass General Brigham and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Boston Massachusetts have developed a virus that boosts the immune system to fight against brain cancer. The virus was modified from a Herpes simplex virus by E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD so as to only replicate inside cells of glioblastoma (the most common type of brain cancer). Thus far, immunotherapies have not worked well in the fight against glioblastoma. In a clinical trial of 41 patients with recurrent glioblastoma who were treated with the modified virus, survival outcomes increased compared to historical outcomes. The virus replicates in the infected cancer cells, destroys those cells, and then spreads to enter other cancer cells. When the researchers analyzed tumor samples after treatment, they saw a sustained presence of immune T cells. The virus appeared to boost the number of T cells in the brain. To read more click here https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)01504-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867425015041%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

Macroscopic pathology of Glioblastoma multiforme , 30 December 2007, Photo from Sbrandner (CC 4.0; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glioblastoma_macro.jpg )

07/23/2026

Researchers at Washington University in St Louis are using hookworms to deliver medicine. Their study was published in Nature Communications and was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a treatment for tetrodotoxin. The senior author of this study is Makedonka Mitreva. Using CRISPR the researchers inserted a s16-HuScFv antibody into the gene of a Ancylostoma ceylanicum hookworm egg. The antibody is known to counteract tetrodotoxin. They then inserted the parasites into hamsters with tetrodotoxin. The researchers sampled the hamster’s blood and it showed antibodies for tetrodotoxin circulating within. If this model is successful with humans it can potentially create medicine factories inside the body and eliminate injections. To read more, click here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73447-9

Ancylostoma caninum -Preserved specimen microslide,21 January 2020, Photo from Daniel J. Drew , (CC 1.0; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancylostoma_caninum_%28YPM_IZ_093186%29.jpeg)

07/17/2026

As part of a research study, therapy dogs will be visiting an Edmonton long term care home. Brittany DeGraves, a nursing researcher from the University of Alberta, is studying how animal-assisted programs can help both residents and staff at long-term care facilities. In a feasibility study published in BMC Geriatrics, DeGraves interviewed 14 long-term care staff, two long-term care residents at the Edmonton long term care facility, along with an animal therapy volunteer and a person living with dementia in the local community. The interviewees believed that bringing pets into their lives would improve social isolation, mental health, and sense of well-being of the long term care residents and staff. As part of the upcoming research project, volunteers and their dogs from the St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog Program will visit residents at the long term care facility. DeGraves will look at changes in quality of life, from pre to post-intervention. DeGraves reportedly saw the impact of animal therapy when her grandfather had a stroke and could no longer recognize his children or spouse, but when a therapy dog visited the hospital room he lit up. The nursing researcher’s ultimate goal is to see pet therapy be a part of standard care for long term care facilities in Canada. To read more about the study click here https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12877-026-07033-5

Image created using Microsoft Copilot

07/02/2026

A research team from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has discovered bacteria from frogs, newts, and lizards possessing anticancer effects. Through isolating, culturing, and directly administering individual bacterial strains the team was able to identify a microbe that can attack tumors. The research team, led by Prof. Eijiro Miyako, isolated 45 bacterial strains from the intestines of Japanese tree frogs (Dryophytes japonicus), Japanese fire belly newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster), and Japanese grass lizards (Takydromus tachydromoides). One of the isolated microbes, Ewingella Americana, showed the most promise: when given to a mouse with cancer, E. americana completely eliminated the tumor. After administration, E. americana multiplied approximately 3,000-fold within 24 hours, and T cells, B cells, and neutrophils surrounded the tumors. E. americana did not spread to normal organs. It had rapid blood clearance (undetectable at 24 hours), caused only a mild inflammatory response, and had no chronic toxicity during the 60-day extended observation. The team will continue testing this treatment on breast cancer and melanoma. To read the study published in Gut Microbes click here https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2025.2599562

06/24/2026

In a study published in the journal Cell, researchers describe how gut bacteria can predict melanoma recurrence risk. Uysuk, Hayes and others at NYU’s Department of Population Health studied 674 patients around the world in a trial called CheckMate 915. Patients from North America, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere submitted stool samples following surgical resection of their melanomas. The patients then received either a combination of immunotherapies, nivolumab and ipilimumab, or nivolumab alone. When the researchers analyzed outcomes according to patients’ pre-treatment gut microbiomes (regardless of where the patients lived or the treatments received), the team identified four groups (“taxa”) of bacteria associated with increased cancer recurrence: Eubacterium, Ruminococcus, Firmicutes, and Clostridium the bacteria associated with cancer recurrence rates. The presence of these bacteria proved to be good predictors of recurrence risk, and might be clinically useful in the future by allowing for better personalized treatment and monitoring plans. To read more click here https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(26)00342-9