 pancreatic cancer is characterized by the presence of tumor-initiating cells, ticks. These cells have the ability to self-renew and produce new tumor cells, which leads to the development of metastases. In this study, researchers found that ticks are not always present in the same form throughout the course of the disease. Instead, they discovered that ticks go through cycles of activity, where certain ticks become active at different times and then stop being active again. This suggests that targeting these specific ticks may be more effective than targeting all ticks simultaneously. This article was authored by Claudia Abal, Felix Appel, Carl Roland Ehrenberg, and others.