For the first time, researchers uncover the biological mechanism that enables breast cancer to spread to the brain, opening new paths for treatment and early detection
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Research
Jan 5th, 2026
Breast Cancer and the Brain: A Breakthrough in Understanding Metastasis
- Medicine
A large-scale international study, led by researchers from the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University, has uncovered a mechanism that allows breast cancer to send metastases to the brain — a highly lethal occurrence for which there is currently no effective treatment. The findings could enable the development of new drugs and personalized monitoring for early detection and treatment of brain metastases.
The groundbreaking study was led by Prof. Uri Ben-David and Prof. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, along with researchers Dr. Kathrin Laue and Dr. Sabina Pozzi from their laboratories at the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with dozens of researchers from 14 laboratories in 6 countries (Israel, the United States, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Australia). The article was published in the journal Nature Genetics.
Why Do Some Cancers Spread to the Brain?
Prof. Satchi-Fainaro explains: “Most cancer-related deaths are not caused by the primary tumor but by its metastases to vital organs. Among these, brain metastases are some of the deadliest and most difficult to treat. One of the key unresolved questions in cancer research is why certain tumors metastasize to specific organs and not others. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, very little is known about the factors and mechanisms that enable it. In this study, we joined forces to deepen our understanding and seek answers."
Left to right: Prof. Satchi-Fainaro & Prof. Uri Ben-David.
Combining Genetics and the Tumor Microenvironment
The current study combined two distinct approaches to cancer research: Prof. Satchi-Fainaro’s lab, which studies the interactions between cancer cells and their surrounding environment (the tumor microenvironment), and Prof. Ben-David’s lab, which investigates chromosomal changes that characterize cancer cells. The complex study involved numerous scientific methods and technologies, including clinical and genomic data analysis of tumors from breast cancer patients, genetic, biochemical, metabolic, and pharmacological experiments in cultured cancer cells, and functional experiments in mice.
The researchers first identified a specific chromosomal alteration in breast cancer cells that predicts a high likelihood of brain metastases. Prof. Ben-David explains: “We found that when chromosome 17 in a cancer cell loses a copy of its short arm, the chances of the cell sending metastases to the brain greatly increase. We also discovered that the reason for this is the loss of an important gene located on this arm. This gene is p53, often referred to as ‘the guardian of the genome,’ and it plays a crucial role in regulating cell growth and division. We discovered that the absence of a functional p53 is essential for the formation and proliferation of cancerous brain metastases. When we injected mice brains with cancer cells with or without functional p53, we found that cells with disrupted p53 activity thrived much more. We sought to understand the mechanism causing this.”
How Cancer Cells Adapt to the Brain Environment
Prof. Satchi-Fainaro adds: “The brain’s environment is fundamentally different from that of the breast, where the primary tumor develops, and the question is how a breast cancer cell, adapted to its original environment, can adjust to this foreign one. According to our findings, this adaptation is closely linked to the impairment of the p53 gene. We found that p53 regulates the synthesis of fatty acids, a metabolic process particularly vital in the brain environment. This means that cells with damaged p53, or without p53 at all, produce more fatty acids compared to normal cells, which in turn enables them to grow and divide more rapidly in the brain.”
Left to right: Dr. Kathrin Laue & Dr. Sabina Pozzi.
Hijacking Brain Cells to Fuel Tumor Growth
The next phase of the study focused on the components of the brain environment and the communication between brain cells and cancer cells. The researchers identified heightened interaction between cancer cells with damaged p53 and astrocytes — support cells in the brain that secrete substances aiding neurons. In the absence of p53, the cancer cells hijack the substances secreted by the astrocytes and use them to produce fatty acids. The researchers identified a specific enzyme named SCD1 — a key enzyme in fatty acid synthesis — whose expression and activity levels are significantly higher in cancer cells with impaired or missing p53.
Prof. Ben-David: “Once we identified the mechanism and its key players, we sought to use the findings to search for a potential drug for brain metastases. We chose to focus on the SCD1 enzyme and tested the effectiveness of several drugs that inhibit its activity and are currently under development. These drugs were originally indicated for other diseases, but we found that SCD1 inhibition in brain metastatic cells with impaired p53 was effective and significantly hindered the development and proliferation of cancerous metastases — both in mice and in samples from brain metastases of women with breast cancer.”
The researchers add that their findings may also assist doctors and patients in predicting disease progression: even at an early stage of breast cancer, it is possible to identify whether there is a p53 mutation (or deletion of the short arm of chromosome 17), which significantly increases the risk of brain metastases later on. For example, doctors could avoid prescribing aggressive biological treatments with severe side effects for patients not at high risk of brain metastases, while opting for aggressive treatment when the risk is elevated. In addition, physicians can tailor monitoring to the patient’s risk level — such as frequent brain MRI scans for patients at increased risk of brain metastases. This type of intensive monitoring would allow for early detection and treatment, significantly increasing the chances of recovery.
Looking Ahead
The researchers conclude: “In this study, we joined forces in an extensive international effort to address a highly important question: What is the mechanism that enables breast cancer to metastasize to the brain? We identified several characteristics of cancer cells causally linked to this deadly phenomenon, and the findings allowed us to propose new drug targets for brain metastases — a condition for which no effective treatment currently exists. Moreover, we tested drugs that inhibit a specific metabolic mechanism, SCD1 inhibitors, and found them to be effective against brain metastases. Additionally, our findings are expected to enhance oncologists' ability to identify patients at elevated risk and prepare accordingly. While the road ahead is still long, the potential is immense.”
The project was supported by competitive research grants from the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), and the Spanish bank Fundacion “La Caixa.” It is also part of broader research being conducted in Prof. Satchi-Fainaro’s lab, supported by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), ERC Proof of Concept (PoC), and the Kahn Foundation, as well as broader research being conducted in Prof. Ben-David’s lab, supported by an ERC Starting Grant.
Research
Dec 23rd, 2025
Why We Sometimes Avoid the Truth and Other Times Can’t Stop Looking for It
A new TAU study reveals the emotional logic behind how we choose what information to face and what to avoid
- Psychology
A new study by Prof. Yaniv Shani of the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University and Prof. Marcel Zeelenberg of the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences reveals a surprising insight into how we deal with information. Contrary to the common view that “willful ignorance” is primarily a way to avoid moral responsibility toward others, the study offers a much broader explanation: at times we avoid information — and at times we deliberately seek painful information — to regulate our own emotions and manage psychological overload.
According to the findings, many people delay receiving important information because they fear its emotional consequences. For example, many prefer not to check their medical test results before a vacation, or avoid looking at their investment portfolio during a market downturn. This avoidance does not stem from indifference, but rather from a desire to postpone the moment of emotional confrontation.
Why We Sometimes Seek Painful Information
But alongside avoidance, the study points to an opposite behavior that serves the same emotional regulation mechanism: in situations of uncertainty, people actively seek painful information, even when it offers no benefit. For instance, consumers often check the prices of products they have already purchased, just to know whether they lost money — despite the fact that their initial decision cannot be undone. This phenomenon was especially evident after the October 7 attack in Israel, when many families sought to learn the fate of their loved ones, even when they knew the information might be devastating. In such cases, the pain of uncertainty seemingly outweighs the pain of knowing.
The study was published in the journal Current Opinion in Psychology. It presents a broad literature review in which the researchers examine recent empirical studies, alongside their own research on avoiding useful information and seeking information that serves no practical purpose. By comparing these patterns, they constructed a simple model based on two questions: Am I able to bear uncertainty? and Am I able to bear the truth? Their findings show that both behaviors — avoidance of information and information seeking — stem from the same emotional mechanism that attempts to regulate and balance between the fear of knowing and the pain of not knowing.
Moral Choices, Responsibility, and the Cost of Not Knowing
The researchers emphasize that this dynamic arises not only in social contexts, but also in moral situations in which individuals have to confront themselves. Sometimes people prefer “not to know” how their actions affect others, in order to avoid guilt. However, when avoiding information risks causing serious harm to others, it is the very inability to bear uncertainty that compels them to confront the truth.
The study offers a new way to understand the decisions people make in an information-saturated world: the desire to know and the desire not to know are not opposing forces, but two psychological tools intended to help us emotionally cope with threatening situations. For healthcare systems, public institutions, and organizations, this insight underscores the importance of how information is delivered — not only what is conveyed, but also how and when. We constantly navigate between the desire to know and the need to protect ourselves, weighing which option will hurt less: the truth or uncertainty. In an era where information is always within reach, the study highlights that what we know is not the only thing that matters — equally important is how we feel when we choose to know, or decide to remain in the dark.
Research
Dec 16th, 2025
The Dinosaurs That Forgot How to Fly
A Rare Discovery Sheds New Light on the Evolution of Flight
- Life Sciences
A new study led by a researcher from the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University examined dinosaur fossils preserved with their feathers and found that these dinosaurs had lost the ability to fly. According to the researchers, this is an extremely rare finding that offers a glimpse into the functioning of creatures that lived 160 million years ago, and their impact on the evolution of flight in dinosaurs and birds.
The research team: “This finding has broad significance, as it suggests that the development of flight throughout the evolution of dinosaurs and birds was far more complex than previously believed. In fact, certain species may have developed basic flight abilities — and then lost them later in their evolution.”
The study was led by Dr. Yosef Kiat of the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with researchers from China and the United States. The article was published in Communications Biology, published by Nature Portfolio.
Feathers, Dinosaurs, and the Origins of Birds
Dr. Kiat, an ornithologist specializing in feather research, explains: “The dinosaur lineage split from other reptiles 240 million years ago. Soon afterwards (on an evolutionary timescale) many dinosaurs developed feathers — a unique lightweight and strong organic structure, made of protein and used mainly for flight and for preserving body temperature. Around 175 million years ago, a lineage of feathered dinosaurs called Pennaraptora emerged - the distant ancestors of modern birds and the only lineage of dinosaurs to survive the mass extinction that marked the end of the Mesozoic era 66 million years ago. As far as we know, the Pennaraptora group developed feathers for flight, but it is possible that when environmental conditions changed, some of these dinosaurs lost their flight ability — just like the ostriches and penguins of today.”
160-million-year-old Anchiornis fossils
In the study, nine fossils from eastern China were examined, all belonging to a feathered Pennaraptoran dinosaur taxon called Anchiornis. A rare paleontological finding, these fossils (and several hundred similar ones) were preserved with their feathers intact, thanks to the special conditions prevailing in the region during fossilization. Specifically, the nine fossils examined in the study were chosen because they had retained the color of the wing feathers — white with a black spot at the tip.
What Feather Molting Can Tell Us
Here is where feather researcher Dr. Kiat enters the picture, explaining: “Feathers grow for two to three weeks. Reaching their final size, they detach from the blood vessels that fed them during growth and become dead material. Worn over time, they are shed and replaced by new feathers - in a process called molting, which tells an important story: birds that depend on flight, and thus on the feathers enabling them to fly, molt in an orderly, gradual process that maintains symmetry between the wings and allows them to keep flying during molting. In birds without flight ability, on the other hand, molting is more random and irregular. Consequently, the molting pattern tells us whether a certain winged creature was capable of flight.”
Evidence of a Flightless Dinosaur
The preserved feather coloration in the dinosaur fossils from China allowed the researchers to identify the wing structure, with the edge featuring a continual line of black spots. Moreover, they were able to distinguish new feathers that had not yet completed their growth — since their black spots deviated from the black line. A thorough inspection of the new feathers in the nine fossils revealed that molting had not occurred in an orderly process.
Dr. Yosef Kiat of the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History
Dr. Kiat: “Based on my familiarity with modern birds, I identified a molting pattern indicating that these dinosaurs were probably flightless. This is a rare and especially exciting finding: the preserved coloration of the feathers gave us a unique opportunity to identify a functional trait of these ancient creatures - not only the body structure preserved in fossils of skeletons and bones.”
Rethinking the Evolution of Flight
Dr. Kiat concludes: “Feather molting seems like a small technical detail — but when examined in fossils, it can change everything we thought about the origins of flight. Anchiornis now joins the list of dinosaurs that were covered in feathers but not capable of flight, highlighting how complex and diverse wing evolution truly was.”
