Experts Matter. Find Yours.

Researchers Reveal How a Common Gene Mutation Disrupts Colon Tissue Renewal and Sparks Early Tumor Growth

A team of researchers from ChristianaCare and the University of Delaware has uncovered a key early step in how colorectal cancer begins. Their new study shows that a common genetic mutation in colorectal cancer disrupts the colon’s normal tissue renewal process, causing immature cells to build up, tissue structure to break down and early tumors to form. Their findings were published in the journal Cancers. “This finding changes how we think about the very first steps of colon cancer,” said Bruce Boman, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and a senior researcher at the Cawley Center for Translational Cancer Research at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. “Instead of cancer starting because cells grow too fast, we found that it may start because the normal tissue renewal process slows down, creating a backup of cells that should have moved on. That backup sets the stage for tumors to grow.” The study was led by a multidisciplinary team of engineers, mathematicians, pathologists and tumor biologists from four research institutions. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.9 million people are diagnosed each year, and about 930,000 people die from the disease annually. How healthy colon tissue renews itself The lining of the colon is constantly renewing itself. Every day, billions of cells are shed and replaced to keep the tissue healthy and working properly. This process depends on a steady cycle. New cells form at the base of tiny pockets called crypts, mature as they move upward, and are eventually shed. The new study shows how this natural process breaks down when a mutation occurs in a gene called APC, which is altered in about 90 percent of colorectal cancers. Rather than speeding up cell growth, the APC mutation creates a slowdown, or bottleneck, in the colon tissue’s renewal cycle. According to Boman, this slowdown causes dividing cells to pile up instead of moving through the system as they should. The result is a kind of tumor cell “traffic jam” that leads to distorted tissue and the formation of adenomas, early growths that can become cancerous. What APC-mutant tissue looks like To see these changes up close, the team compared healthy colon tissue with tissue from patients who have familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP, an inherited condition caused by APC mutations. The differences were clear: APC-mutant crypts contained more immature, rapidly dividing cells. Fewer cells matured into specialized cells needed for healthy tissue. The zone where cells divide extended higher than normal. The overall renewal cycle took longer. “These findings are significant because they show how cancer-driving mutations change tissues that normally renew themselves nonstop,” Boman said. Pairing patient tissue with computer modeling To see how these changes happen over time, the researchers studied patient tissue and used a computer model that shows how colon cells normally grow and renew. When they slowed this renewal process in the model, it matched what they saw in tissue with the APC mutation. Cells became crowded, the structures lost their normal shape, and early tumor-like growths, known as adenomas, began to form. This confirmed that delayed renewal alone can trigger the earliest changes linked to colon cancer, even before cells appear abnormal under a microscope. “Our findings show that APC mutation does more than turn on growth signals,” Boman said. “It changes the timing of renewal. Once that timing is off, the tissue becomes vulnerable to structural damage and early tumor growth.” Building on earlier research This study builds on earlier work by the same team that mapped how healthy colon tissue renews itself. In prior studies, the researchers identified five basic biological rules that guide how colon cells grow, move and replace one another in a steady, organized way. The new findings show what happens when that system breaks down. A common mutation called APC slows the normal renewal process. Young, stem-like cells begin to build up before they can mature. Over time, that imbalance creates the conditions for early tumor growth. To pinpoint how these changes unfold, researchers Gilberto Schleiniger, Ph.D., and Christopher Raymond, Ph.D., from the University of Delaware’s Department of Mathematical Sciences paired mathematical models with real patient tissue data. Their work shows that even small delays in cell renewal can push healthy tissue toward cancer. “This gives us a clearer picture of how cancer can start long before a tumor is visible,” said Schleiniger. “By understanding the rules that keep healthy tissue in balance, we can see where and how things begin to go off track.” A possible path toward future treatments The findings also point toward a potential new approach to treatment. The researchers found evidence that the disrupted renewal process may trigger a chain reaction that allows pre-cancerous cells to keep copying themselves and fueling tumor growth. By targeting this process, it may be possible to restore normal renewal timing and healthier tissue structure before cancer becomes established. “This study shows that cancer isn’t just about rogue cells, but about a system that’s fallen out of rhythm,” said Bruce Boman, M.D., Ph.D. “If we can reset that renewal process, we may be able to prevent or slow early tumor growth before it gains momentum.”

You Can’t Reconnect with Family Through a Screen You Won’t Put Down

When families say, “We never really talk anymore,” the holidays are supposed to be the fix, the one time of year everyone gets under the same roof, sits around the same table, and finally catches up. But in 2025, most people arrive at those gatherings with a second guest in tow: their phone. New behavioral data from Offline.now, a digital wellness platform founded by author and CEO Eli Singer, shows 8 in 10 people want a healthier relationship with technology, yet more than half feel too overwhelmed to know where to start. That makes the holidays a natural “reset” moment; if parents and other adults are willing to change their own habits first. Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Gaea Woods says phones have quietly become the “third party” in many households: “Phones are killing interpersonal relationships - not because tech is evil, but because we use it unconsciously at the moments connection matters most. When you’re scrolling at dinner, you’re sending the message, ‘My phone is more interesting and important than you.’” Research on “phubbing” aka phone snubbing backs this up, linking partner and family phone use during conversations with lower relationship satisfaction and more conflict. Offline.now’s experts see the same pattern: when screens show up at the table, intimacy and meaningful conversation drop. Executive Function Coach Craig Selinger argues that the real leverage point isn’t screen-time rules for kids; it’s modelling by adults: “If you want behavior change in kids, start with the parent model. A 12-year-old will not put their phone away at dinner if their parents won’t. Kids copy what you do, not what you say.” When kids see parents physically turn phones face-down and set them aside, it creates permission, even relief. Over a few days of holiday visits, those small moments can add up to something families say they miss most: unhurried conversations, shared jokes, and the feeling that the people in front of you are more important than the feed on your screen. For journalists covering holiday family dynamics, tech and relationships, or digital wellness, Offline.now can offer expert interviews on: How to design realistic, family-wide phone rules for gatherings Why parental modelling matters more than any app setting Simple scripts parents can use to set expectations without shaming kids Featured Experts Gaea Woods, MA, LMFT – Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in digital dependency, intimacy, and communication in modern relationships. Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP – Executive Function Coach and child development specialist focused on how tech impacts learning, attention, and family systems. Expert availability can be arranged through Offline.now’s media team.

Giant croclike carnivore fossils found in the Caribbean

Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound — that’s a sebecid. Standing tall, with some species reaching 20 feet in length, they dominated South American landscapes after the extinction of dinosaurs until about 11 million years ago. Or at least, that’s what paleontologists thought, until they began finding strange, fossilized teeth in the Caribbean. “The first question that we had when these teeth were found in the Dominican Republic and on other islands in the Caribbean was: What are they?” said Jonathan Bloch, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. This initial confusion was warranted. Three decades ago, researchers uncovered two roughly 18 million-year-old teeth in Cuba. With a tapered shape and small, sharp serrations specialized for tearing into meat, they unmistakenly belonged to a predator at the top of the food chain. But for the longest time, scientists didn’t think such large, land-based predators ever existed in the Caribbean. The mystery deepened when another tooth turned up in Puerto Rico, this one 29 million years old. The teeth alone weren’t enough to identify a specific animal, and the matter went unresolved. That changed in early 2023, when a research team unearthed another fossilized tooth in the Dominican Republic — but this time, it was accompanied by two vertebrae. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was enough. The fossils belonged to a sebecid, and the Caribbean, far from never having large, terrestrial predators, was a refuge for the last sebecid populations at least 5 million years after they went extinct everywhere else. A research team described the implications of their finding in a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study’s lead author, Lazaro Viñola Lopez, conducted the research as a graduate student at the University of Florida. He knew his team members had come upon something exceptional when they unearthed the fossils. “That emotion of finding the fossil and realizing what it is, it’s indescribable,” he said. Read more ...

Georgia Southern University uses innovative simulation technology to help revolutionize logistics in the region

Kamran Kardel, Ph.D., associate professor of manufacturing engineering in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing, is leading a multidisciplinary research team to help regional logistics companies increase efficiency. Funded through the college’s Remotely Operated Warehouse Services (ROWS) Laboratory, with seed money from Crider Foods Inc., the team is composed of Kardel, Ryan Florin, Ph.D, assistant professor of computer science and students. Kardel and his team are using the software to build simulations, known as “digital twins,” that replicate warehouse operations like picking, packing and shipping. The ROWS Laboratory will serve as a development site, allowing the simulations to be thoroughly tested and validated before being presented to third parties. The ultimate goal is to provide industry partners with simulation capabilities using AnyLogic Software and Internet of Things (IoT) integration. The IoT refers to a network of physical devices located within and around the warehouse, such as mobile robots, sensors and cameras, that collect and share real-time data over the internet. That ensures optimal accuracy and responsiveness. The ultimate goal is to provide industry partners with simulation capabilities using AnyLogic Software and Internet of Things (IoT) integration. This industry collaboration also provides important professional development for the students working on the project. “I have a few students, both undergraduate and graduate, who are going to be involved in this project from beginning to end,” said Kardel. “Several of them have mentioned to me that this is their first time with direct access to the industry and potential employers.” Continuing the theme of collaboration, the project could result in shared postdoctoral positions with Ireland’s South East Technological University in its Lean Industry 4.0 Lab. While still in its early stages, Kardel hopes this partnership will give this research an even larger scope. “The Lean Industry 4.0 Lab has a lot of experience in IoT,” Kardel explained. “By joining Ph.D. programs, hopefully we can work together and improve logistics here in our region and in Ireland.” Ultimately, Kardel says this research can give companies a leg up in an increasingly digitized world. “As far as automation, for companies in southeast Georgia and South Carolina, I would say it’s becoming more common,” he said. “It’s still a mixed bag, though some warehouses are fully automated, some are not. The work we are doing can help companies remain competitive.” Looking to know more about Georgia Southern University or connect with Kamran Kardel? Simply contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

How corporate competition can spur collaborative solutions to the world's problems

Why can’t large competitive companies come together to work on or solve environmental challenges, AI regulation, polarization or other huge problems the world is facing? They can, says the University of Delaware’s Wendy Smith. While it's difficult, the key is to have these companies collaborate under the guise of competition. Smith, a professor of management and an expert on these types of paradoxes, co-authored a recent three-year study of one of the most profound collaborations. Her team looked at the unlikely alliance of 13 competitive oil and gas companies that eventually formed Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), which works with experts worldwide to find innovative solutions for environmental and technical challenges in the region. Smith and her co-authors found that those companies were willing to collaborate, but only when collaboration was cast in the language, practices and goals of competition. Given the scope of our global problems, companies must continually work together to offer solutions. Creating that collaboration becomes critical, Smith said. This research offers important insight about how these collaborations are possible. Among the study's key findings: Competition can drive cooperation — if leaders harness it. It would make sense to assume that competition undermines collaboration. But the study finds that those who championed alliances used competitive dynamics to strengthen cooperation among rival firms. Rather than suppressing rivalry, leaders leveraged competition as a mechanism to enable joint action toward shared environmental goals. This reframes how organizations can manage tensions between competition and cooperation in partnerships. For example, COSIA leaders created competition between partners to see who would contribute the most valuable environmental innovations. Partners could only gain as much benefit from other company’s innovations commensurate with what they shared. A “Paradox Mindset” is key to complex collaborative success. The research identifies the importance of what the authors call a paradox mindset, which sees competition and cooperation not as opposites to be balanced but as interrelated forces that can be used in tandem. Leaders in the study who adopted this mindset were more thoughtful and creative about how to engage both competitive and collaborative practices in the same alliance. Traditional balance isn’t the goal — process over stability. Instead of pursuing a simplistic “balance” between competing and cooperating, the study shows that effective alliances evolve through process, where competition remains visible and even useful throughout the lifecycle of the alliance. To connect with Smith directly and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click on the "contact" button. Interested journalists can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.

Charities spend big to defend their board’s corporate agendas, new study reveals

Charities with corporate leaders on their boards spend an average of $130,000 a year lobbying on behalf of their connected companies. That’s according to a first-of-its-kind study that shows how companies benefit from their charitable work — and how charities may be all-too-happy to support their powerful board members in return for lucrative connections. The researchers behind the study say the findings could help policymakers and charity stakeholders keep tabs on a previously hidden form of political influence, but that such arrangements are perfectly legal for now. “Charities stand to gain something by behaving in this way. It doesn’t always have to be corporations pushing charities to behave in a way they don’t want to,” said Sehoon Kim, Ph.D., a professor of finance at the University of Florida and senior author of the new study. “It’s a natural quid pro quo arrangement that arises from the incentives corporations and charities have.” The American Medical Association shows one example of these incentives in action. In the 2010s, they actively lobbied against efforts by federal agencies to curb opioid prescriptions. This benefited companies like Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin widely blamed for exacerbating the opioid epidemic in the U.S. It turned out that Richard Sackler, the former president of the company, sat on the board of AMA Foundation, a relationship viewed by many as controversial at the time. But Sackler had arranged for millions in donations to the foundation, and other charities are likely looking to corporate board members to help engineer large donations for their charitable work by connecting charities to other companies and leaders with deep pockets. Lobbying on behalf of their new friends, then, may simply be the most efficient way to ensure those donations keep flowing. Kim collaborated with UF Professor Joel Houston, Ph.D., and Changhyun Ahn, Ph.D., of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to conduct the analysis, which is forthcoming in the journal Management Science. They painstakingly hand collected data covering more than 400 charities and over 1,000 corporations that identified board connections, donations and lobbying activities that fell both within and outside of the charities’ typical political activity. The researchers focused on larger charities that already engage in some lobbying on their own behalf. These lobbying charities are three times larger than smaller nonprofits that never lobby. After a new corporate board member joined, these charities changed their behavior. They were far more likely to lobby outside of their own interests and to even work to support or defeat legislation that affected their new board member’s company, even when that legislation had nothing to do with their charitable mission. It worked out to about a 14% increase in the charity’s lobbying expenditures. “These were the smoking guns that there’s something going on that’s not supposed to be happening,” Kim said. Because lobbying is such an efficient use of resources, and because charities may lend their friendly brand to these lobbying efforts, this help from charities could significantly benefit these connected corporations. “These are previously unrecognized channels at play in terms of corporate political influence that policymakers need to be mindful of when assessing how influential corporations are likely to be,” Kim said.

Affordability is Key Issue for NYS Lawmakers

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, talked to Newsday about New York State lawmakers returning to session with a mandate to address affordability, specifically childcare and rising utility and health care costs.

Sleep Is the First Casualty of Your Screen Habit

Everyone says they want to “sleep better” in the new year. Most start with new pillows, supplements or blackout curtains while the biggest sleep disruptor in the room is still glowing inches from their face. Digital wellness platform Offline.now, founded by author and strategist Eli Singer, has found that we now spend about 10 of our 16 waking hours on screens, roughly 63% of our day. Psychotherapist Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW, who specializes in ADHD and modern anxiety, says sleep is often the first system to collapse under that load. Harshi explains that phones and screens emit blue light that hits the retinal ganglion cells in our eyes and tells the brain it’s time to be alert, the opposite of what we need at night: “When we’re leaning towards using our phones right before bed, that blue light hits our system and says, ‘We should be awake.’ It disrupts our circadian rhythm. For people with ADHD or other neurodiversity, whose rhythms are already fragile, adding late-night screen exposure completely throws things off.” She notes that exposure between roughly 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. is particularly damaging for stress and sleep regulation, leaving people “tired all the time throughout the day.” Morning habits can be just as destructive. Sritharan warns that checking your phone first thing essentially programs your brain to chase distraction: “Don’t be on your phone first thing in the morning — it hijacks your attention and your dopamine for the rest of the day. After that kind of stimulation, everything else feels harder and less interesting.” She also calls the snooze button “a pattern that’s making us more tired,” because it fragments REM sleep instead of helping us feel rested. The good news: the data suggests you don’t need a perfect digital detox to see real benefits. A JAMA Network Open study on young adults found that reducing social media use for just one week, not quitting entirely; led to about a 24.8% drop in depression, 16.1% drop in anxiety, and 14.5% improvement in insomnia symptoms. Singer argues that the real barrier isn’t willpower, it’s confidence. Offline.now’s research shows 8 in 10 people want a healthier relationship with tech, but more than half feel too overwhelmed to know where to start. “When people tell us they feel overwhelmed, it’s not laziness. It’s a crisis of confidence,” says Singer. “Lasting change doesn’t require deleting Instagram or TikTok tomorrow. You need to win one personal victory today, and then another tomorrow. That’s how confidence rebuilds.” For journalists covering sleep, mental health, or digital dependency, this story connects the dots between phones, dopamine and insomnia and offers a realistic alternative to the all-or-nothing “digital detox.” Featured Experts Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW – Psychotherapist specializing in ADHD, anxiety, insomnia and digital dependency. She explains how blue light, dopamine cycles and “doomscrolling before bed” undermine sleep, especially for neurodivergent clients. Eli Singer – Founder of Offline.now and author of Offline.now: A Practical Guide to Healthy Digital Balance. He speaks to the behavioral data behind digital overwhelm, the confidence gap, and the Offline.now Matrix that turns vague resolutions into actionable micro-steps. Expert interviews can be arranged through the Offline.now media team.