Welcome to The Pulse, a weekly roundup of health-focused news. Each Thursday, we bring you updates on health policy, community surveys, new clinical studies, programs and services in Southwest and Southside Virginia.
Got a tip or story idea? Email me at emily@cardinalnews.org.
UVa researchers identify trigger that ‘wakes up’ dormant cells
Much like a bear waking up from hibernation after a long winter, cancer cells can lie dormant for months or years before becoming active again.
Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown trigger that helps these dormant cells “wake up” after periods of nutrient deprivation.
The discovery centers on ribosomes, cellular structures that translate genetic instructions into proteins that drive cell functions, according to a press release from UVa.
Researchers named the newly discovered trigger “SNOR,” inspired by the sleepy Pokémon character Snorlax, which is known for sleeping most of the time and waking mainly to eat.
Ahmad Jomaa of UVa’s Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics co-led the research alongside collaborators from EMBL Heidelberg, with additional contributions from researchers at Vanderbilt University and Cornell University.
The findings could help researchers develop new cancer treatments and therapies for drug-resistant fungal infections.
Using advanced imaging tools, researchers created detailed 3D images of cellular structures to better understand how ribosomes enter and exit dormant states.
“By combining imaging directly inside cells with high-resolution structural methods, we were able to see how ribosomes are held in a dormant state and how they are prepared to restart,” Mattei, team leader at the EMBL Imaging Centre and co-senior investigator of the study, said in the press release.
“This allowed us to capture a key transition in the life of the ribosome and visualize how cells preserve their protein-making machinery during stress and then ready it for rapid reactivation when conditions improve.”
The findings were published in Nature, a scientific journal.
Roanoke nonprofit plans home-away-from-home for patients and caregivers
An undisclosed Carilion Clinic donation will help a Roanoke nonprofit establish affordable, home-like lodging for adult hospital patients and their families.
Hospitality House of the Blue Ridge plans to open a 25-room facility serving adult patients and family caregivers traveling to Roanoke for medical care. The facility will support families receiving care at any of the region’s medical centers.
The building designs are underway, but completion of the project will depend on the success of the capital campaign. Brian Wells, chair of the nonprofit’s board, said he hopes the facility will be open before the Taubman Cancer Center’s opening in 2028.
The organization will need to raise about $6.5 million to redevelop an existing structure in South Roanoke, located at 2110 Carolina Ave., Wells said.
Guests will pay using a sliding-scale model, only paying what they can afford. Long-term sustainability will rely on community sponsorships and planned endowment. The organization said the approach mirrors hospitality house models used elsewhere in the country.
“Too many families are forced into impossible choices when a loved one is hospitalized, paying for a hotel for days or weeks, sleeping in waiting rooms, or even sleeping in their car,” Wells said in a press release.
“This early support is more than a gift, it’s a powerful signal that keeping families close to care is part of supporting healing. It validates what families already know: stable lodging reduces stress, helps caregivers stay present, and allows patients to focus on recovery.”
Virginia smoking rates tick upward after years of decline
After seven consecutive years of declining smoking rates, Virginia saw a slight increase in adult smoking in 2024, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health.
About 11% of Virginia adults reported smoking in 2024, compared with 10.9% in 2023.
While the increase is small, state health officials described it as a notable shift after years of steady progress.
In a recent newsletter, the health department cited data from Truth Initiative, a nonprofit focused on reducing tobacco and nicotine addiction.
According to the organization, 51% of the top 152 box office movies released in 2024 included tobacco imagery, up from 41% the year before.
“When smoking shows up more often in entertainment, it weakens the progress we’ve made in making tobacco less socially acceptable. It also undermines the public health messages that have helped lower smoking rates since the early 2000s,” according to the newsletter.
