Many prostate cancers depend on androgen hormones, including testosterone, to grow. That is why treatments for advanced disease often try to reduce testosterone production or block its effects. Now, scientists have identified an unexpected participant in androgen chemistry: a bacterium from the human urinary tract that can convert the steroid precursor DHEA into testosterone under laboratory conditions.

CAR T-cell therapy is an immune-reprogramming procedure that turns a patient’s own immune cells into cancer-fighting specialists. The entire process is complex, but researchers have now found a faster way to achieve similar effects using a single intravenous (IV) drip of a harmless engineered virus.