Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., have developed a small-molecule inhibitor of the cellular stress-protective transcription factor, heat-shock factor 1, which showed developmental promise against treatment-resistant prostate cancer and other cancers. The small molecule, Direct Targeted HSF1 InhiBitor (DTHIB), may also be a useful research tool for investigating the regulation and role of HSF1 in basic stress biology and in cancer.