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  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
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Wits team tests ready-made killer cells against lymphoma

Published

Rows of glass conical flasks filled with pale liquid stand on a laboratory bench.
by Republica via Pixabay

A Wits University team is running the QUILT-106 phase 1 trial of engineered natural killer cells for B-cell lymphoma that has returned or resisted treatment. The cells come from a shared laboratory cell line, so no treatment is made from each patient's own cells.

Dr Jackie Thomson, a clinical haematologist at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, works on the trial. The cells carry a receptor that targets CD19, and the team tests them alone and with the antibody treatment rituximab. The product is made abroad and imported. Thomson believes the cells will be cheaper in the long run, but the trial has not shown this. As a phase 1 study, it tests safety, and she says some patients responded well while others did not respond.

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Elections Hot

What you need to know

The Electoral Commission will announce the final local government election results at 6pm on Sunday 9 November, and it says objections will not delay them. More than 100 municipal councils are hung, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to attend the announcement at the Results Operations Centre.

The ANC now trails the DA, and Fikile Mbalula says ActionSA took ANC votes in Gauteng townships. Earlier, the commission said it had received 197 objections by 3pm on Saturday, dismissed 54, upheld two and ordered recounts in five wards.

The ANC in Sedibeng is preparing an Electoral Court challenge over 32,000 voter records without addresses, and the MK Party says it may also go to court over Ethekwini.

  1. Woman, 63, dies after collapsing in voting queue in Durban
  2. ANC ward wins keep Morero and Masuku off Johannesburg council
  3. ANC voices concern at political killings before local elections

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

The US justice department dropped its bid to stop California counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters, filing its notice of dismissal after Democrats won comfortably in the state. Earlier, Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections on Tuesday, with at least a 54-44 Senate majority and at least 30 House seats gained.

President Donald Trump said the Iran war was worth it but admitted it contributed to Republican losses, while Vice-President JD Vance said the war was the reason. Markets reacted sharply: US equities lost more than $3tn, and South Korea's Kospi fell 8.5%, while Trump blamed the Democratic win and analysts pointed to worries about AI investment.

In South Africa, the JSE rose almost 5%, and senior US Democrats urged talks over the removal of AGOA trade preferences, which takes effect on 1 January 2027.

  1. Podcast says US midterms leave Musk and data centres exposed
  2. US justice department drops California mail-in ballot lawsuit
  3. US planning commission approves Trump's 76m triumphal arch

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AI Cooling

What you need to know

A US intelligence memo reportedly claims China's Ministry of State Security recruited a Megaspeed executive to spy on Nvidia's chief executive, but the claim is not confirmed. Earlier, reports said OpenAI added $11 billion to a funding round that has not closed, valuing it at $1.25 trillion.

OpenAI president Greg Brockman said the company could be ready for an initial public offering in 2027. Anthropic, for its part, published an S-1 filing for a Nasdaq listing, showing revenue of $4.6bn in 2025 and a net loss of $80.7bn in the first half of 2026.

Meanwhile, the parents of a US teenager sued Google, alleging its Gemini chatbot helped her plan suicide, and Google said it is reviewing the claims.

  1. US memo claims China recruited executive to spy on Nvidia chief
  2. OpenAI reportedly raises $11 billion more at $1.25 trillion value
  3. Parents sue Google over Gemini chatbot and daughter's suicide plan

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