Cancer cells that survive chemotherapy may release a common dietary sugar to help neighboring tumor cells break loose and spread throughout the body, according to a new study from The Wistar Institute that identifies a previously unknown pathway behind one of cancer’s deadliest processes.

The research, published in the journal Nature Aging, focused on ovarian cancer and found that fructose, a sugar widely consumed in the American diet, can act as a chemical signal released by cells that remain in the body after chemotherapy treatment. That signal appears capable of making nearby tumor cells more likely to detach and metastasize, a process responsible for the vast majority of deaths from the disease.

Cells that survive treatment keep sending signals

Nearly all ovarian cancer patients receive platinum-based chemotherapy, and the treatment typically produces a strong initial response. Despite that, the cancer returns in most patients and commonly spreads throughout the abdominal cavity, a process responsible for roughly 90% of deaths tied to the disease.

Researchers have previously suspected that cancer cells surviving chemotherapy might contribute to that recurrence by releasing a mix of signaling molecules, even after they stop actively dividing. To test that idea more directly, the Wistar-led research team designed an experiment separating surviving cancer cells from the substances those cells released into their environment.

“Some cancer cells that survive chemotherapy aren’t dividing anymore, but they’re still biologically active,” said Aidan Cole, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Katherine Aird at The Wistar Institute and the study’s first author. He explained that the cells continue releasing molecules that send signals to nearby cells, and the study is among the first to show that a nutrient, in this case fructose, can function as one of those signals.

When the team exposed other cancer cells only to the molecules released by chemotherapy-surviving cells, without exposing them to the surviving cells themselves, that exposure alone was enough to significantly boost the treated cells’ ability to spread. Cole said the finding marked the first time researchers had shown, in a preclinical model rather than simply in a lab dish, that it’s the released molecules rather than the surviving cells themselves that appear to drive the cancer’s spread.

Diet may play a larger role than previously understood

After identifying fructose as a key signaling molecule, researchers also tested whether high levels of dietary fructose, comparable to amounts found in sugary drinks, could encourage cancer spread even without prior chemotherapy exposure. That test suggested the sugar alone could promote spread, raising the possibility that everyday dietary habits might influence how the disease progresses over time.

That finding carries added significance given how widely fructose is consumed in the United States. High fructose corn syrup can account for roughly 8% to 20% of daily calorie intake for some people, according to the study. Unlike many cancer risk factors that patients have little control over, researchers noted that fructose intake is one variable people can potentially modify through diet, though they cautioned that no studies have yet tested whether reducing fructose consumption actually improves outcomes for patients.

How fructose may help cancer cells escape

To understand the mechanism behind fructose’s effect, researchers used several large-scale analytical techniques, including a CRISPR gene-editing screen, and found that fructose appears to lower cholesterol production inside neighboring cancer cells. Cholesterol plays an important structural role in helping cells remain attached to one another, functioning similarly to a biological adhesive. When cholesterol levels drop, those cellular bonds weaken, making it easier for cancer cells to separate from surrounding tissue and move elsewhere in the body.

A possible connection to a widely used class of drugs

The discovery that reduced cholesterol production may promote cancer spread also raised questions with potential clinical relevance, given that statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs used by an estimated 39 million people in the United States, work through a similar mechanism. In laboratory testing, statins alone were found to weaken the connections between cancer cells, making it easier for them to separate and spread, prompting researchers to begin investigating whether the drugs could interact with chemotherapy in ways not previously understood.

The research team was careful to stress that the findings should not be interpreted as a reason for patients to stop taking statins or any other prescribed medication. “We haven’t tested this effect in patients yet,” said Katherine Aird, professor and co-leader of the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at The Wistar Institute’s Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center and the study’s senior author. She noted that the findings raise questions worth exploring further, particularly because ovarian cancer is most common in postmenopausal women, many of whom are already taking statins for cardiovascular health reasons unrelated to their cancer treatment.

Broader implications beyond ovarian cancer

Researchers involved in the study believe the fructose-driven pathway they identified may extend beyond ovarian cancer to other cancers that commonly spread within the torso, including pancreatic, colon and liver cancers. “We think other cancers that spread within the torso — pancreatic, colon, liver — could behave similarly,” Aird said, while cautioning that the team cannot yet call the effect universal across cancer types based on current evidence.

Aird and Cole have already begun planning follow-up studies aimed at determining whether the same mechanism can be reproduced in other forms of cancer, work that could help clarify how widely applicable the fructose-related pathway may be across different types of tumors.

A large, multi-institution collaboration

The study involved dozens of researchers from institutions including the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, the University of Colorado Boulder and Anschutz Medical Campus, and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Lausanne, alongside researchers at The Wistar Institute. The work was funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, along with support from organizations including the American Cancer Society, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, among others.

While the findings offer a new and previously unrecognized explanation for how ovarian cancer may spread after chemotherapy, researchers emphasized that the connection between dietary fructose intake and cancer outcomes in actual patients remains untested. Determining whether reducing fructose consumption, adjusting statin use, or other interventions could meaningfully affect cancer progression in humans will require additional clinical research, a process the study’s authors say they are now working to pursue.

The U.S. remains ahead of China in the global artificial intelligence (AI) race, but its lead is narrowing as Beijing expands the global reach of Huawei and other Chinese technology companies, former State Department official Keith Krach told FOX Business.

The competition goes beyond which country develops the most powerful AI models. It also centers on energy, infrastructure, semiconductors, talent, exports and the technical standards other nations will rely on for years, according to Krach.

“America is still ahead, but we are not comfortably ahead,” Krach said.

His remarks come roughly one year after the Trump administration unveiled Winning the Race in July 2025, a national AI strategy featuring more than 90 federal actions.

BESSENT HIGHLIGHTS TRUMP ECONOMY, WARNS CHINA HAS ‘DONE A LOT OF KICKING LATELY’

Former State Department official Keith Krach told FOX Business the U.S. remains ahead of China in the global artificial intelligence race, but its lead is narrowing. (Obtained by FOX Business)

Krach said the U.S. still leads in private investment, advanced chips, cloud infrastructure, universities and entrepreneurial talent. China, however, has gained ground in patents, industrial deployment, research, robotics and lower-cost open models.

“We are leading today, but the race will be won by the ecosystem the world chooses to build on,” he said.

Krach, who serves as chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University and CEO of Freedom 250, said the Trump administration’s strategy correctly recognizes the broader stakes.

He argued that success should be measured through new power generation, faster data center construction, greater semiconductor capacity, wider AI adoption, allied contracts and technical talent.

Huawei is central to China’s global technology push, according to Krach, who described the company as a “vertically integrated delivery system” for technological and geopolitical influence.

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A high-tech data center is pictured here. Krach argued that success should be measured through new power generation, faster data center construction, greater semiconductor capacity, wider AI adoption, allied contracts and technical talent. (iStock)

The Chinese technology giant can offer governments wireless networks, data centers, cloud services, AI chips, software, cybersecurity tools and financing in a single package.

Once installed, those systems can become costly, disruptive and “politically difficult” to replace, Krach said.

“The real strategic asset is not the hardware,” he said. “It is long-term access to data, standards, software updates, technical dependencies and government relationships.”

Krach said China’s offering is built around integration, financing, speed and state support. 

“America must counter it with a trusted full-stack alternative that performs better and strengthens, rather than compromises, a partner country’s independence,” Krach argued.

Countries will choose American technology, Krach said, when it is not only more trusted but also easier to finance, deploy and expand.

ANTHROPIC SAYS AI MODELS ACCESSED SYSTEMS OF 3 REAL ORGANIZATIONS DURING TESTING

The U.S. and China are competing for dominance in AI and advanced technology. (iStock)

To maintain its lead, the U.S. must expand energy production, data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, cloud capacity and its skilled workforce, Krach said.

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He also called for faster permitting, support for proprietary and open American AI models and export packages that allies can easily purchase and deploy.

“China’s advantage is [on a] coordinated scale,” Krach said. “America’s advantage is freedom, innovation, capital, entrepreneurship and allies. Our task is to organize those strengths without destroying what makes them powerful.”

Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, called on Monday for the Government to clarify whether Michael Shanks, the energy minister, misled Parliament over the state of Britain’s electricity grid during June’s heatwave, after leaked documents from the National Energy System Operator recorded five constraint breaches on the transmission network on June 23.

Answering an urgent question in the Commons on July 15, Mr Shanks told MPs the incident “did not indicate any kind of emergency situation” and that it was “scaremongering to take to social media or come to the House and somehow imply that we were close to blackouts, which is simply not the case”.

He said: “Let me state very clearly that electricity supplies were maintained throughout the June heatwave. No customer demand was subject to disconnection. Statutory frequency limits were maintained throughout the event, and the largest credible loss that could have occurred was also covered.”

On the system’s spare capacity, he added: “The margin represents the cushion of spare generation above peak demand that is maintained by Neso, and at no point did we come close to breaching that.”

Two days later, internal Neso reports emerged which listed five constraint breaches across the transmission network that occurred with “no available pre or post-action mitigation options”. The reports, first reported by The Times and confirmed by Neso, also stated that “system constraints were breached and system security was compromised”.

Neso, the government body responsible for balancing supply and demand across Britain’s transmission network, has said the findings are preliminary and that a full review is under way.

Grid resilience has previously prompted data centre operators to seek priority access to electricity in the event of supply restrictions.

The Ministerial Code states that it is of “paramount importance” that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament and correct any inadvertent error “at the earliest opportunity”. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament are expected to offer their resignation.

In a letter to Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Energy Secretary, Ms Coutinho said it appeared that either Fintan Slye, Neso’s chief executive, had misled Mr Shanks “or the minister misled the House”.

Ms Coutinho told The Telegraph: “The minister for energy told the House on July 15 that ‘at no point did we come close to a breach’ of reserve standards on June 23. It has since emerged through leaked documents that Neso’s own initial assessment showed exactly this had happened. The new Secretary of State must get to the bottom of whether her minister misled the House, and if so why.”

She added: “Did he just take the chief executive of Neso’s word that everything was tickety-boo? At every stage of this scandal ministers have had their heads in the sand, initially saying I was ‘scaremongering’. It’s time for them to wake up and do their job and hold Neso to account on behalf of the British public.”

A Whitehall source said on Monday that Mr Shanks stood by his comments.

Mr Shanks said he and Ed Miliband, the then energy secretary, had been briefed by Mr Slye on allegations of a cover-up concerning the June incident after Ms Coutinho raised the matter.

Ofgem, the industry regulator, has separately commissioned Neso to produce a report establishing the circumstances of June 23 and how grid operators handled it.

Neso has also hired lawyers at Eversheds Sutherland to investigate whistleblower claims that staff in the control room were ordered to play down the risk of blackouts and cover up how key decisions were taken. That investigation is overseen by Ofgem, which said earlier this month that Mr Slye would not receive updates from the law firm unless they had been cleared by an independent panel first.

A spokesman for Neso said: “Given the seriousness of the allegations and the need to maintain independence of the investigation, we are clear that findings will not be shared with any of the Neso executive until the findings are finalised.”

A Government spokesman said: “The UK has one of the most reliable electricity systems in the world, in its 75-year history, there has never been a complete grid shutdown. We are very confident in our security of supply arrangements, and that NESO have the tools they need to manage the system. At no time has there been any concern about being able to meet demand in heatwaves.”

Paul Jones

Harvard alumni and former New York Times journalist. Editor of Business Matters for over 15 years, the UKs largest business magazine. I am also head of Capital Business Media’s automotive division working for clients such as Red Bull Racing, Honda, Aston Martin and Infiniti.

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Country music legend Randy Travis’ wife, Mary, has revealed that doctors once told her to end her husband’s life support during his harrowing recovery from a massive stroke in 2013, a moment she says she instead met with defiance because she believed he was still fighting to survive.

The revelation, shared in an interview with Fox News Digital, offers new insight into just how close the 67-year-old Country Music Hall of Fame member came to not surviving the health crisis that ultimately robbed him of his ability to sing, even as Travis continues to tour and release new music more than a decade later.

A devastating diagnosis

Travis’ stroke struck in 2013, following an earlier hospitalization for congestive heart failure tied to viral cardiomyopathy. According to Mary, the singer’s condition deteriorated further in the hospital as he developed a staph infection along with several additional hospital-acquired bacterial infections, including Serratia and Pseudomonas. That combination of complications led doctors to conclude that Travis simply did not have the physical strength to recover.

“We need to pull the plug. He’s got too many things going against him at that point,” Mary recalled doctors telling her during that period, describing it as one of the most pivotal moments of what she has called a two-and-a-half-year health battle.

Rather than accepting that recommendation, Mary said she refused to give up on her husband, drawing strength from a subtle but powerful sign he gave her at his bedside. She said Travis squeezed her hand and shed a tear at the exact moment doctors were urging her to let him go, a gesture that convinced her he was determined to keep fighting. “There was never a doubt in Randy’s mind that he could make it through it,” Mary said, reflecting on that moment.

A recovery doctors didn’t expect

The odds facing Travis at the time were extraordinarily grim. CBS News has reported that doctors gave him just a 2% chance of survival following the stroke, making his continued recovery in the years since all the more remarkable to those who have followed his story. The stroke ultimately left Travis with aphasia, a condition that severely limits both his speech and his ability to sing, effects that remain with him to this day.

Despite those lasting limitations, Travis has continued to find ways to stay connected to music and to his fans. He has toured in recent years alongside guest vocalist James Dupré and members of his original band, allowing him to remain a visible presence on stage even though he can no longer perform vocals himself. In 2024, Travis made headlines again after using artificial intelligence technology to help recreate his voice, allowing him to release new original music for the first time since his stroke, a development his wife has since described as deeply emotional for the couple.

Recognition for his resilience

Travis’ continued advocacy and public presence following his stroke have not gone unnoticed within the country music industry. He was awarded the Milestone Award at the 18th ACM Honors in recognition of both his resilience since the stroke and his advocacy work around stroke awareness and healthcare rights within the entertainment industry. Reflecting on the honor, Mary has said the word “milestone” carries deep personal meaning for the couple, capturing the full arc of what Travis has endured, from his earlier battle with viral cardiomyopathy through the stroke and its lasting aftermath.

A relationship built over decades

Mary and Randy’s relationship stretches back far longer than their marriage. The couple first knew each other beginning in 1990, though they did not begin dating until 2010, three years before his stroke. They married in 2015, two years after Travis’ health crisis nearly ended his life, and have since described their bond as central to his ongoing recovery. Mary has said she views their pairing as effortless, describing Travis as her best friend and crediting their timing together as something she believes was guided by a higher purpose.

Still performing in 2026

More than a decade removed from the stroke that nearly claimed his life, Travis remains an active presence on the road. His 2026 tour schedule includes 21 scheduled appearances beginning March 12 and running through Oct. 2, according to information listed on his official website, a pace that underscores just how far he has come since the days when doctors doubted he would survive at all.

Travis has also continued to make public appearances tied to his legacy within country music. He was seen last year at the Medallion Ceremony for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Class of 2025, walking the red carpet alongside Mary in a moment fans and industry observers alike described as significant given the severity of his earlier health struggles.

A story that continues to resonate

Mary’s account of the moment doctors urged her to remove her husband from life support has continued to circulate widely since she first shared it publicly, resonating with fans who have followed Travis’ career for decades and who have watched him defy expectations again and again in the years since his stroke. For Mary, the memory remains a defining chapter in their relationship, one she has said reinforced her belief in her husband’s determination during the darkest moment of his health battle.

With his touring schedule extending through the fall and his continued use of AI technology to keep producing new music, Travis shows no signs of stepping back from public life despite the lasting physical toll of his stroke. For Mary, the couple’s ongoing journey together remains rooted in the same resolve that carried them through his hospitalization more than a decade ago, a bond she has described as unbreakable regardless of the health challenges that continue to shape their life together.

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The UK economy would shrink by 0.2 per cent in 2027 if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until next spring, with inflation more than doubling to 6.4 per cent by the end of this year, according to EY’s latest UK Economic Outlook.

The forecast sets out two scenarios for the waterway, which normally carries 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas.

Under EY’s baseline, in which the Strait reopens by the end of September, inflation rises from its current level of 2.6 per cent to 3.5 per cent. The economy grows by 0.9 per cent in 2026 and by 1.2 per cent in 2027, and the Bank of England cuts interest rates twice next year, to 3.25 per cent.

Under the adverse scenario, in which the Strait stays shut until early or mid-2027, meaning it would have been closed for at least a year since the war with Iran began, inflation reaches 6.4 per cent. Growth this year slows to 0.5 per cent before the economy contracts by 0.2 per cent in 2027, including two quarters of negative growth in the first six months.

Inflation was last above that level in September 2023, when it was 6.7 per cent, having peaked at 11.1 per cent the year before. It fell to 2.6 per cent in June, the lowest reading since March 2025.

EY expects unemployment to rise to 5.3 per cent by the end of the year before falling over the following two years.

Peter Arnold, EY’s UK chief economist, said: “The UK economy has proved more resilient than many expected this year.

“Oil prices had started to fall back to pre-conflict levels and, while business and consumer confidence have softened, this decline remains less severe than the shock triggered by the 2022 energy crisis.

“Ongoing disruption to global energy markets will now start to test this economic resilience.

“If the Strait of Hormuz reopens in the coming months, we expect the UK to avoid a more pronounced downturn, but an extended closure into 2027 would raise inflation and could push the economy into contraction next year.”

Donald Trump, the US President, said on Sunday that he had held off on new air strikes against Iran after the “perimeters” of a deal had been agreed, including an immediate reopening of the Strait. Iran has not acknowledged any such agreement.

Escalating tensions recently took oil to $100 (£75) a barrel for the first time since May, with petrol reaching 160p a litre, its highest level since the fighting began in February.

Other forecasters have modelled a prolonged closure. In April, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said a sustained blockade would take £35 billion out of UK output over two years and push inflation above 4 per cent.

Andy Burnham, who became Prime Minister in July, has made tackling the cost of living a priority for his first weeks in office.

Arnold said the economy was likely to become more concentrated on technology and services as construction continued to suffer.

“Rising project costs, persistent labour shortages and weak productivity growth risk constraining the delivery of major infrastructure projects at a time when demand remains high,” he said.

“Enhancing productivity in the sector will be critical if the UK is to deliver its infrastructure ambitions while supporting broader economic growth.”

EY’s forecasts were published alongside figures from the recruitment site Indeed showing that UK job postings have fallen by 13 per cent since the start of the year. Summer jobs were at their lowest level in four years and graduate roles at their weakest point since the pandemic. Posted wage growth was 3.9 per cent, the lowest annual rate since February 2022.

Indeed said 9.4 per cent of roles, almost one in 10, mentioned AI in the job posting.

Jack Kennedy, of Indeed, said: “The UK’s labour market is under sustained pressure. Hiring demand is falling across most parts of the economy, while posted wage growth is gradually cooling.

“That is particularly challenging for graduates and younger workers, who are competing for fewer opportunities to gain an initial foothold.”

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk