Goodable

This is Junior. At three years old he contracted Polio and was never able to run as fast as the other kids. To compensate for his disability, he would dance along to music videos, mixing gymnastics and martial arts. Today, he's one of the best B-boy dancers in the world. "I have always tried to turn my disability into an advantage," he says. "The best example is dancing. When I was little, I would dance along to Michael Jackson videos. To compensate for moves I couldn't do, I came up with my own mix of gymnastics and martial arts."

<p>Junior Bosila Banya, aka B-Boy Junior, is one of the most iconic breakers in the history of the scene. He's famous for his handstand acrobatics and strength - both physically and mentally.</p><p>When he was three years old, Junior contracted polio. But he was determined not to let anything dictate his limitations."I have always tried to turn my disability into an advantage," he says. "The best example is dancing. When I was little, I would dance along to Michael Jackson videos. To compensate for moves I couldn't do, I came up with my own mix of gymnastics and martial arts – moves I could do on my hands."</p>

World-Class BBoy Breakdances Despite Leg Disability

Fox News

Rosie Grant’s favorite recipes don’t come from cookbooks. They come from cemeteries.

The 36-year-old librarian from Los Angeles has spent the past five years collecting and cooking recipes found etched into headstones. Her unusual ritual—preparing dishes that the deceased once loved—has grown into a personal mission to preserve memories, one bite at a time.

So far, she’s recreated 40 such recipes, including no-bake cookies, meatloaf, peanut butter cookies, nut rolls, yeast cake, and Texas sheet cake. Many were submitted by families hoping to keep their loved ones’ legacies alive. Others she’s discovered herself, carved into stone as a final, flavorful goodbye.

“It’s a tool to take forward that you get to do yourself,” Grant said. “An invitation to remember this person and eat the food they enjoyed in their life.”

It all started during an internship at a New York cemetery. While walking the grounds one day, she noticed a recipe for spritz cookies on a woman’s gravestone. Curious, she baked a batch—then returned to the grave and ate them there. That small gesture sparked an idea: what if food could be a way to connect across time?

“In the beginning, when I knew one recipe, I thought this would be a one-off,” she told SWNS. It wasn’t.

Over time, Grant’s project turned into a full-fledged archive of “recipes from beyond the grave.” In one especially moving experience, she was invited to Nome, Alaska, to cook a no-bake cookie recipe alongside the deceased woman’s family. They baked together—mother, daughter, and Grant—then brought the cookies to the cemetery.

“The family [was] so gracious,” she said. “It was the most wonderful experience I’ve ever had.”

Today, she still investigates headstones herself but increasingly relies on submissions from families or curious cemetery-goers who spot a recipe and pass it along. If a headstone doesn’t include a name, she’ll research the grave site, track down an obituary, and reach out to the next of kin before preparing the dish.

Once the family gives their blessing, she cooks the recipe, often checking back in to confirm the accuracy—or to tweak ingredients that may have been lost or adapted over time.

“It’s about the memory of us cooking it together,” she said, imagining one day including a recipe on her own tombstone.

Slabs of granite may seem like an unlikely place to store family recipes, but for Grant, they’ve become a powerful and intimate kind of archive: one that celebrates everyday joy, shared meals, and the flavors that linger long after someone is gone.

The food, she says, is “to die for.”

California Librarian Cooks Recipes Found on Gravestones—and Shares Meals with Them

Smithsonian Magazine

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is celebrating a rare and significant arrival: the birth of two sloth bear cubs, the first born at the zoo in over a decade.

The cubs were born December 7 to 8-year-old Molly in an off-exhibit den on the Zoo’s Asia Trail. Both were born healthy and are being closely cared for by their mother, according to the Zoo’s announcement. It marks the first successful sloth bear birth at the Zoo since 2013.

“These cubs strengthen the genetic diversity and sustainability of the managed population while also supporting global conservation efforts for this vulnerable species through research, education and public engagement,” said Asia Trail curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove.

Sloth bears are listed as vulnerable due to shrinking habitats, poaching, and increased conflict with humans across South Asia, where they are native. Fewer than 50 live in accredited U.S. zoos. Molly’s cubs are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which focuses on conserving species through managed breeding and public education.

Born blind and weighing about one pound each, the cubs will spend the next few months nursing and gradually expanding their diets. They’re expected to open their eyes around one month old and begin exploring the exhibit with their mother in the spring.

Their father remains uncertain. Molly had contact with two male sloth bears—11-year-old Niko and 7-year-old Deemak—so DNA testing will determine paternity. It’s even possible the cubs have different fathers.

Sloth bears are not related to sloths, despite the name. The confusion dates back to 1791, when British zoologist George Shaw noted their long claws and missing front teeth resembled those of sloths. In reality, sloth bears are unique among bear species for their insect-heavy diet, sometimes consuming up to half a million ants and termites in a single day.

For now, the Zoo is keeping the cubs off public view to allow bonding time, but visitors can expect to meet them later this year as they join their mother on the Asia Trail.

National Zoo Celebrates Birth Of First Sloth Bear Cubs In Over A Decade

MIT Technology Review

Concrete already supports the modern world. Soon, it might help power it, too.

Researchers at MIT have developed a new form of concrete that can store and release electricity—bringing the dream of energy-storing walls, sidewalks, and infrastructure closer to reality. The material, called electron-conducting carbon concrete or ec³ (“e-c-cubed”), just got a major upgrade.

Made by mixing standard cement with water, ultra-fine carbon black, and electrolytes, ec³ creates a microscopic conductive network that functions like a battery. And now, the MIT team behind it says they’ve increased its energy storage capacity by tenfold.

The breakthrough means that about five cubic meters of ec³—the rough size of a basement wall—could potentially store enough energy to power a typical home for a day.

That’s a game-changing leap for a technology that’s previously been limited by low voltage and scalability challenges.

“We found that there is a wide range of electrolytes that could be viable candidates for ec³,” said Damian Stefaniuk, a research scientist with MIT’s Electron-Conducting Carbon-Cement-Based Materials Hub. “This even includes seawater, which could make this a good material for use in coastal and marine applications, perhaps as support structures for offshore wind farms.”

By using high-resolution 3D imaging, the team learned how the carbon-based conductive network interacts with different electrolytes. That understanding allowed them to experiment with new electrolyte materials and concentrations, and to refine the mixing process—leading to thicker, more effective electrodes.

While ec³ doesn’t store as much energy as traditional lithium-ion batteries, it brings something else to the table: permanence. Once built into a structure, it can function as an energy-storing component for the lifetime of that building or bridge.

To prove it works, the team built a small concrete arch capable of supporting weight while simultaneously powering an LED light—offering a glimpse of how form and function could combine in future construction.

It’s still early days, but the potential applications are vast: smart roads that store solar energy during the day, buildings that double as backup power sources, and resilient infrastructure for off-grid and coastal communities.

For now, the team is focused on continuing to improve performance and scalability. But the direction is clear: if buildings are going to be part of the climate solution, they might have to do more than just stand there. With ec³, they just might start pulling their electrical weight.

MIT's Carbon Concrete Could Turn Buildings Into Giant Batteries

GoodGoodGood

In a small town just north of Sacramento, a concrete house is rising inch by inch—and it could help reshape California’s future.

Olivehurst is home to Corduroy Castles, a five-home development that’s being billed as a proof of concept for something much bigger: affordable, wildfire-resistant housing built fast, cheap, and at scale using 3D printing technology.

The first house, a 1,000-square-foot unit, was printed in just 24 days. That’s a fraction of the time traditional construction typically takes. It’s the work of Sacramento-based startup 4dify, which hopes to make 3D-printed housing not just viable, but widespread across California.

“We want the machine to do the heavy lifting,” said Nan Lin, owner of 4dify. “We want the humans to do detailed work that the machines can’t do yet.”

The approach is already gaining momentum nationwide. In Texas, an entire 100-home 3D-printed community is underway, and smaller projects have popped up in cities across the country. But Corduroy Castles marks a first for California: a mini-neighborhood designed to demonstrate how this technology could be scaled to address the state's urgent housing and climate challenges.

According to Lin, the printer used in Olivehurst can produce up to 10 houses a year. That could expand quickly, with plans to deploy 10 printers capable of producing 100 homes annually. A much larger development of 75–100 duplexes is already being planned in Southern California, with Corduroy Castles serving as the test case.

The technology offers several key advantages. First, speed. Each home is printed layer by layer from a special concrete mixture that’s strong, durable, and designed to withstand California’s increasingly volatile weather. It’s also cost-efficient. Though the printer itself costs about $1.5 million, the labor required to run it is minimal: just three to five people are needed to complete a home in four to six weeks, compared to a traditional crew of five to ten workers over several months.

Endemic Architecture, the firm supporting the project, says the goal is to bring down homeownership costs without sacrificing thoughtful design.

“Consisting of five houses, this project deploys 3D printing construction methods that reduce the cost of home ownership to well below market rates without sacrificing the architecture,” the firm shared on its website.

The homes are expected to be listed between $350,000 and $375,000 once complete—well below the median home price in California.

Beyond affordability and efficiency, the homes are also built to last. The concrete walls are water-, fire-, mold-, pest-, and even bullet-resistant. Samples were reportedly taken to a gun range and shot at—without penetration.

“They’re bulletproof,” Lin said. “The bullet just stops on the wall.”

That resilience has particular appeal in a state where wildfires have become an annual threat. While these homes will have metal roofs supported by traditional wooden trusses, future designs may include 3D-printed concrete roofs, eliminating flammable materials from the structure entirely.

“It’s redevelopment, which is great,” said Yuba County Supervisor Gary Bradford. “It’s adding density, which is also great, and helping to revitalize an older, lower income part of the county.”

Each of the five homes in Corduroy Castles will have a distinct layout and design, offering a level of personality often missing from cost-conscious housing. The final four will be printed in pairs, accelerating the construction timeline even further.

While the homes aren’t on the market yet, the buzz is already growing. For Lin and the 4dify team, this project is only the beginning.

“Long term, we definitely want to be a leader in the industry,” Lin said. “Short term, we want to dial this in for the next few houses and we want to start scaling this.”

If Corduroy Castles succeeds, it could offer a blueprint for building stronger, cheaper, and faster homes in California—and beyond.

California’s First 3D-Printed “Micro-Community” Aims to Fight the Housing Crisis—And Wildfires

rom eerie close-ups to chaotic street scenes, this year’s Grammy nominees for Best Album Cover prove one thing: the visuals still matter.

For the first time since the 1970s, the Recording Academy has reinstated a standalone award for album cover design, shining a new spotlight on the artists and art directors behind the music’s visual identity. And while vinyl may be optional these days, the connection between image and sound is very much alive.

"When a cover in a campaign hits right," said Neil Krug, the photographer behind Djo’s The Crux, “it's part of the language and the fabric of what makes a great record a great record.”

Krug’s comment echoes a broader shift. The new category—separate from Best Recording Package—focuses exclusively on cover art, regardless of whether the album exists physically. Still, all five of this year’s nominees do have vinyl editions, a testament to the staying power of the 12-inch square in an age of scrolling.

Leading the list is Moisturizer by Wet Leg. The cover, a surreal blend of feminine softness and grotesque energy, features frontwoman Rhian Teasdale squatting with outstretched hands and an unsettling grin. Teasdale co-art-directed the image alongside Iris Luz and Lava La Rue during a creative retreat at an Airbnb, hauling along velvet worms, lizard gloves, and an oversized wig for inspiration.

“I wanted it to be something that was both super girly and feminine, but then at the same time, just totally repulsive,” Teasdale said. “That juxtaposition... it just creates something that’s evocative.”

Other nominees took equally cinematic approaches. The Crux, Djo’s third album, is set in a fictional hotel on a Paramount Studios backlot. The cover is a layered, almost voyeuristic tableau: a couple kissing in a window, a man arguing over a parking ticket, Djo himself dangling from a fire escape in a white suit. The entire scene, built from scratch, references films like Hitchcock’s Rear Window and features a custom neon sign designed by art director William Wesley II.

“Everything is intentional,” Wesley said. “It’s the sum of many people’s contributions.”

Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia takes a simpler route but no less potent. Shot in stark monochrome, the cover shows Tyler in a mask, his eyes locked on the lens. It was the final shot of the day, said Luis (Panch) Perez, the director of photography, who called the expression “unspoken language” built from years of collaboration. Though he was later removed from the nomination list, the image remains one of the year’s most haunting.

Perfume Genius’s Glory embraces ambiguity. A dark, intimate shot of the artist lounging in stilettos amid snaking cords and soft window light, it straddles introversion and performance. Photographer Cody Critcheloe, who co-directed the art with Andrew J.S., said the goal was to reflect a push-pull energy: comfort vs. spectacle. “People have said to both of us that they can’t figure out what the aesthetic of the album cover is,” Critcheloe said. “That’s the best thing to hear.”

And then there’s Bad Bunny’s Debi Tirar Mas Fotos (“I Should Have Taken More Photos”), which strips things down entirely. Two white plastic chairs sit beside plantain trees—symbols of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and memory itself. Shot by Eric Rojas and art-directed by Bad Bunny, the cover taps into the album’s sense of diaspora and nostalgia. A backyard, a beach, a conversation not had—simple images, loaded with meaning.

The Grammy rules emphasize design, photography, and illustration as key criteria. This year’s list wasn’t without adjustments: Chromakopia’s credited artists were changed ahead of voting, and Wet Leg’s nomination was updated to remove additional band members. But those details reflect the growing pains of a newly revived category—and the collaborative nature of the work itself.

As Krug puts it, album art is something that lives with us.

“When you have the physical vinyls in your home or your apartment, that stuff lives with you,” he said. “Whether you’re having a good day or a bad day, you’re getting married or breaking up... there’s this rediscovery of the art form.”

For the creatives behind the year’s most compelling visuals, the recognition is overdue.

“I love the idea of making things that are strange and subversive and irreverent,” Critcheloe said, “and having an audience that is bigger than it’s supposed to be.”

For the First Time in 50 Years, Grammy Voters Will Crown the Best Album Cover

CNBC

A San Francisco startup is betting big on beer—and not just any beer, but one made from recycled shower and laundry water.

Epic Cleantec, a clean-water tech company founded in 2015, has launched a line of beers brewed using water it recycles from residential buildings. The idea isn’t to become the next craft beer giant. It’s to change how people think about wastewater.

“A lot of it was psychology,” said CEO Aaron Tartakovsky. “It is getting people comfortable with the concept of recycled water. And we found that if you tell people that the water is clean, maybe they trust you, maybe they don’t. But you take those exact same molecules of recycled water, put them into a beautiful beer can, all of a sudden, people love it.”

The company started by installing on-site water recycling systems in apartment and office buildings, using a multi-step process that includes filters, biological treatment, carbon, reverse osmosis, and disinfection. For its beer, Epic collects only greywater—used water from showers and laundry—and treats it to drinking water standards. The cleaned water is then sent to Devil’s Canyon Brewing Co., where it’s turned into two beer styles: Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch.

Tartakovsky insists this isn’t about selling beer. It’s about storytelling.

“Buildings use about 15% of all the fresh water on this planet,” he said. “We need to do things differently, and that means we need to tell the story differently. We need to engage people differently.”

Each gallon of beer typically requires around 10 gallons of water. By recycling greywater, Epic is making a dent in that footprint. Their beers also use drought-resistant hops and energy-efficient ingredients, underscoring a sustainability focus from grain to glass.

The beers are currently available online in 12 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and in some California retail stores.

Jordan Langer, CEO of events company Non Plus Ultra, was an early investor in Epic. At first, he wasn’t sure the beer idea would land.

“I was a little bit skeptical. I’m not a believer in gimmicks,” he said. “But I was wrong. It blew up like crazy. It has given a lot of spotlight onto Epic Cleantec, which has made it really, quite, quite interesting.”

Epic has raised $25 million to date, with backing from J-Ventures, J-Impact, Echo River Capital, and three family offices. The company is also exploring a nonalcoholic beer offering.

Tartakovsky, who once called for an overhaul of our “flush and forget” culture, sees beer as just the beginning.

“We’re not just changing plumbing,” he said. “We’re changing perception.”

Startup Brews Beer From Shower Water to Change How We Think About Wastewater

Artnet

A medieval cargo ship long hidden beneath the waves near Copenhagen has just rewritten the history of maritime trade.

Archaeologists from Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum have uncovered what they’re calling the world’s largest known cog—a 15th-century trading vessel measuring a staggering 91 feet in length, 29 feet in width, and 19 feet in height. That size would have allowed it to carry around 300 tons of cargo, making it a true “medieval super ship,” according to the team.

The ship, dubbed Svælget 2, was found more than 12 meters deep in Øresund, the busy strait separating Denmark and Sweden. The wreck surfaced during seabed surveys tied to Copenhagen’s new Lynetteholm district. Buried under centuries of sand and silt, the ship has been remarkably preserved, including rare features that researchers say are changing what we know about shipbuilding in the Middle Ages.

“It is extraordinary to have so many parts of the rigging,” said lead archaeologist Otto Uldum. “We have never seen this before, and it gives us a real opportunity to say something entirely new about how cogs were equipped for sailing.”

Cogs were the cargo workhorses of medieval Europe. Built for durability and bulk capacity, they began to replace smaller Viking-style vessels from the 10th century onwards. Unlike sleek longships or knarrs, cogs had towering sides and wide, deep hulls—ideal for shipping goods over long distances and defending against piracy.

With a capacity far beyond what was common at the time, Svælget 2 hints at a highly developed trading system in the early 1400s. “A ship with such a large cargo capacity is part of a structured system where merchants knew there was a market for the goods they carried,” said Uldum. “Svælget 2 is a tangible example of how trade developed during the Middle Ages.”

Dendrochronological tests date the ship’s construction to around 1410, using timber sourced from regions now known as Poland and the Netherlands. While the ship’s cargo is long gone, everyday items left behind—shoes, combs, cooking pots, and ceramic bowls—offer glimpses into the daily life of its crew.

One of the more surprising discoveries is the ship’s stern castle, a raised deck at the back of the vessel. These features had previously only been seen in old illustrations—never in actual shipwrecks. “It offers archaeological proof,” said Uldum. “And not just that—20 times as much material to study.”

Also uncovered was a brick-built galley, the first of its kind ever found on a medieval ship in Danish waters. Constructed with about 200 bricks and 15 tiles, the galley allowed the crew to cook meals on an open flame while at sea. Nearby, the team found bronze and ceramic cookware, adding to the picture of a ship built not just for commerce, but also for function and comfort.

“It speaks of remarkable comfort and organization on board,” said Uldum.

While dramatic shipwreck finds often bring to mind tales of treasure, Svælget 2 tells a different story—one about infrastructure, innovation, and economy. The sheer scale of the ship implies significant investment and planning, pointing to a well-developed network of trade routes and economic demand across Europe in the 15th century.

“We now know, undeniably, that cogs could be this large—that the ship type could be pushed to this extreme,” Uldum said. “Svælget 2 gives us a tangible piece of the puzzle and makes it possible to understand how technology and society evolved side by side in an era when shipping was the driving force behind international trade.”

With so much of the ship intact, researchers say they’ve only scratched the surface of what it can reveal. But one thing is already clear: this wasn’t just a big ship. It was part of a big idea.

Archaeologists Discover World's Largest Medieval Cargo Ship Off Danish Coast

ABC News

An ancient Cherokee mound in North Carolina is one step away from being returned to its original caretakers.

The Noquisiyi Mound in Franklin, a sacred site that predates the United States by centuries, is set to be returned to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians following a unanimous vote by the town’s council on Monday. The move marks a major milestone in the decades-long effort to reclaim Indigenous lands with deep cultural, spiritual, and historical significance.

“When you think about the importance of not just our history but those cultural and traditional areas where we practice all the things we believe in, they should be in the hands of the tribe they belong to,” said Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “It’s a decision that we’re very thankful to the town of Franklin for understanding.”

The Noquisiyi Mound, whose name translates to “star place,” was once part of a Cherokee mother town. For roughly 200 years, the land was held by private owners and later the town itself. But the mound, which remains largely unexcavated, still stands tall—and so does its spiritual weight.

“It’s a big deal for Cherokees to get our piece of our ancestral territory back in general,” said Angelina Jumper, a citizen of the tribe and a board member of the Noquisiyi Initiative, a nonprofit formed in 2019 to oversee the site. “But when you talk about a mound site like that, that has so much significance and is still standing as high as it was two or three hundred years ago when it was taken, that kind of just holds a level of gravity that I just have no words for.”

The handover isn't final yet. The next step is for the tribal council to formally agree to take control, which will trigger the legal process to transfer the title. Elaine Eisenbraun, executive director of the Noquisiyi Initiative, said she’s been working with Franklin’s mayor for years to get to this point.

The movement to return the site gained new urgency in 2012 after a town employee mistakenly sprayed herbicide on the mound, killing all the grass. That incident spurred fresh talks between the tribe and the town. Then in 2019, the nonprofit was formed as a first step toward shared stewardship.

“Talking about Land Back, it’s part of a living people. It’s not like it’s a historical artifact,” said Franklin Mayor Stacey Guffey. “It’s part of a living culture, and if we can’t honor that then we lose the character of who we are as mountain people.”

Noquisiyi is part of a series of earthen mounds that served as the civic and ceremonial centers of Cherokee civilization. The Eastern Band already owns another important site nearby, the Cowee Mound, and is working to develop a cultural corridor that spans from Georgia to its current territory, the Qualla Boundary.

The mound site sits at the junction of two roads in downtown Franklin, surrounded by buildings but still largely intact. It will remain open to the public. The tribe also plans to open an interpretive center next door in a building it owns, to educate visitors on the site’s significance.

For Jordan Oocumma, the mound’s current caretaker, the return is personal. He’s the first enrolled tribal member to serve in that role since the Cherokee were forcibly removed from their land nearly two centuries ago.

“It’s also a place where when you need answers, or you want to know something, you can go there and you ask, and it’ll come to you,” Oocumma said. “It feels different from being anywhere else in the world when you’re out there.”

With this vote, Franklin becomes one of a growing number of communities recognizing that Indigenous heritage sites aren’t relics of the past—they’re living places, still central to the identity and practices of Native peoples today.

North Carolina Town Returns Land To Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians

Black News

Laila Edwards is officially headed to the 2026 Winter Olympics — and making history along the way.

The 21-year-old senior from the University of Wisconsin has been named to the U.S. women’s ice hockey roster for the upcoming Games in Milano-Cortina, becoming the first Black woman ever to represent Team USA in women’s ice hockey at the Olympics.

“It still hasn’t really kicked in yet,” Edwards said. “Getting that call is like a dream come true. Always had dreams of playing in the pros, but the biggest dream was to go to the Olympics for sure.”

Team USA announced the full 23-player lineup on January 2. Edwards joins a veteran squad that includes Olympic and world championship regulars like Alex Carpenter, Megan Keller, Taylor Heise, and Cayla Barnes. The women’s tournament kicks off February 6 and runs through February 22.

Edwards, a Cleveland Heights native, has been blazing a trail in elite hockey for years. At 19, she became the first Black woman to join the U.S. women’s national team. By 20, she was the youngest American ever to be named MVP at the women’s hockey world championships. That same year, she helped the U.S. win its 11th world title — and became the first Black woman to win an IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Her rise through the sport has been fast and barrier-breaking.

Edwards’ family is now working to make sure they’ll be in Italy to support her in person. A GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $19,000 to help cover the cost of travel. “We are asking for your help now so that we can be there to cheer Laila, to surround her with the love and support of family,” the campaign page reads.

From local rinks in Ohio to the Olympic stage in Italy, Edwards’ journey has already made history — and her Olympic chapter is just beginning.

She Just Made Olympic History as the First Black Woman on Team USA’s Women’s Ice Hockey Roster

Science Alert

More than half a century after it was first discovered, a powerful cancer-fighting compound called verticillin A has finally been artificially synthesized in the lab — opening the door to new research and potential therapies.

Verticillin A, found naturally in a rare fungus, has long intrigued scientists for its ability to kill cancer cells. But the compound has always been notoriously difficult to study. In nature, it only occurs in minuscule amounts, and its complex chemical structure made it nearly impossible to recreate synthetically — until now.

Researchers from MIT and Harvard Medical School have developed a 16-step process to build verticillin A from scratch, marking a major scientific breakthrough.

“Now we have the technology where we can not only access them for the first time, more than 50 years after they were isolated, but also we can make many designed variants,” said MIT chemist Mohammad Movassaghi, who led the synthetic work. “That can enable further detailed studies.”

The compound’s structure is deceptively tricky. It's made of two identical halves, forming what's called a dimer molecule. But getting the 3D structure just right is essential — even small deviations can make the entire molecule unstable or ineffective.

Movassaghi’s team adapted techniques he previously used to create similar compounds, but they had to significantly change the timing and order of certain steps. The synthetic process involved carefully protecting fragile bonds, rearranging the order in which molecular groups were added, and unmasking key functional groups only after the full structure had been assembled.

“What we learned was the timing of the events is absolutely critical,” Movassaghi said. “We had to significantly change the order of the bond-forming events.”

With a reliable synthetic version in hand, the team tested verticillin A — along with several related variants — on lab-grown cells of diffuse midline glioma (DMG), an aggressive pediatric brain cancer. The results were promising. Like earlier natural versions of the compound, the new synthetic version successfully killed DMG cancer cells.

Importantly, researchers also confirmed that the compound was hitting its intended protein targets inside the cells, a key step in verifying its potential as a therapeutic drug.

Jun Qi, a chemical biologist at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, said the breakthrough sets the stage for a new chapter in cancer research.

“Natural compounds have been valuable resources for drug discovery,” said Qi. “We will fully evaluate the therapeutic potential of these molecules by integrating our expertise in chemistry, chemical biology, cancer biology, and patient care.”

By finally synthesizing verticillin A, researchers now have the ability to not only study the compound in detail but also tweak its structure to potentially improve its effectiveness or reduce side effects. It’s a leap forward in a decades-long puzzle — and a step toward harnessing a powerful natural chemical in the fight against cancer.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

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