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Category: biotech/medical – Page 67

Similar kinases play distinct roles in the brain—what this could mean for future therapies

Structurally, they look similar: MNK1 and MNK2 belong to the same enzyme family and are best known for regulating how cells make proteins. Their starring role in such a crucial cellular function has cast them into the spotlight as potential drug targets to treat nervous system disorders and chronic pain. But would it matter whether a drug targets only one of them?

In a study published in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers led by Rosalba Olga Proce, a doctoral student in the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Behavior lab led by Dr. Hanna Hornberg at the Max Delbruck Center, set out to determine whether the two enzymes—also called kinases—perform distinct functions in the brain. The team found clear differences. Mice lacking MNK1 showed less interest in newly introduced objects than controls and impaired memory of objects. By contrast, mice without MNK2 appeared normal in object recognition tests but showed enhanced interest in social contacts.

“The behavioral differences we observed suggest that each kinase has a specialized function,” says Proce. “It might be preferable to target each kinase individually when designing drugs.”

Oral vaccine strategy used modified bacterium to combat colorectal cancer

A research team investigating the use of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes against colorectal cancer has discovered a way to build a modified version of Listeria as an oral vaccine to prime the immune system directly within the gut, where anti-tumor cells are then generated. Details of the work, led by Stony Brook immunologist Brian Sheridan, Ph.D., are published in the Journal for the ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.

Colorectal Cancer is among the most dangerous and deadly cancers worldwide. The American Cancer Society projects there will be more than 150,000 new colorectal cancer diagnoses in the U.S. in 2026 with more than 55,000 deaths. Cancer immunotherapy represents a treatment strategy that harnesses a person’s own immune system to combat cancer. Immunotherapies are used to treat a small proportion of colorectal cancers. However, most colorectal cancers are not responsive to current immunotherapies.

Listeria is a bacterium that can cause infection, but its promise as an immunotherapy for several types of cancer including colorectal cancer has reached pre-clinical and clinical trials.

Transistor-like MXene membranes enhance ion separation

By applying voltage to electrically control a new “transistor” membrane, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved real-time tuning of ion separations—a capability previously thought impossible. The recent work, which could make precision separation processes like water treatment, drug delivery and rare earth element extraction more efficient, was published in Science Advances.

The membranes are made of stacks of MXenes —2D sheets that are only a few atoms thick. Ions squeeze through nanoscale channels formed in the gaps between the stacked MXene layers.

Until now, scientists thought MXene membrane properties were intrinsic and unchangeable once created. The rate of ion transport was thought to be baked in from the beginning.

Health impacts of micro- and nanoplastic ingestion

The carcinogenic consequences of the plastic pollution crisis.

This Viewpoint by Jason A. Somarelli, Jason W. Arnold & Andrew B. West discusses the health impacts of micro-and nanoplastic ingestion: microplastics.

Address correspondence to: Jason A. Somarelli, 3,044 Genome Sciences Research Building I, 905 S. Lasalle St., Duke University Medical School, Durham, North Carolina 27,710, USA. Email: [email protected].

Routine vs Selective Calcium Supplementation After Thyroidectomy

Among adults undergoing total thyroidectomy, selective calcium and calcitriol supplementation triggered by low postoperative PTH was not superior to routine supplementation for preventing symptomatic or biochemical hypocalcemia.

Question Is selective calcium and calcitriol (C+C) supplementation, guided by postoperative PTH levels, a better strategy than routine supplementation for preventing symptomatic hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy?

Findings In this randomized clinical trial of 258 patients, the incidence of symptomatic hypocalcemia in the selective C+C supplementation group (7.8%) compared with the routine C+C supplementation group (11.1%) was not signicantly different.

Meaning Selective C+C supplementation based on postoperative PTH levels is not superior to routine supplementation; both are viable options that can be used according to available resources and clinical context.

What ‘housane’ rings are and why a light-powered route may matter for drugs

When developing new drugs, one thing is particularly important: finding and producing the right molecules that can be used as active ingredients. The key elements of some drugs, such as penicillin, are small, tri- or quadripartite ring molecules. A team led by Prof Frank Glorius from the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the University of Münster (Germany) has now developed a method for efficiently converting readily available basic materials into such small, high-grade ring molecules. The product has a structure reminiscent of a line drawing of a house, hence its name “housane.” The reaction is triggered by a photocatalyst that transfers light energy to the molecules to enable the conversion.

Artificial intelligence in medicine: How it works, how it fails

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare, with large language models emerging as important tools for clinical practice, education, and research. To use it safely and effectively, healthcare professionals need to understand how it works, and how it fails. Using practical clinical examples, the authors explain the subset of AI called large language models, highlighting their capabilities and their limitations.

Key Points

  • AI is trained on vast amounts of data, which can itself be biased, leading to biased results.

Red blood cells serve as a primary glucose sink to improve glucose tolerance at altitude

Martí-Mateos et al. show that red blood cells explain improved glucose tolerance at high altitude. By manipulating red blood cell number, they determine that these cells are necessary and sufficient for hypoxic hypoglycemia. This highlights red blood cells as unappreciated glucose regulators and reveals novel strategies to treat diabetes.

AI tool debuts with better genomic predictions and explanations

Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm. In biology, AI tools called deep neural networks (DNNs) have proven invaluable for predicting the results of genomic experiments. Their usefulness has these tools poised to set the stage for efficient, AI-guided research and potentially lifesaving discoveries—if scientists can work out the kinks. The findings are published in the journal npj Artificial Intelligence.

“Right now, there are a lot of different AI tools where you’ll give an input, and they’ll give an output, but we don’t have a good way of assessing the certainty, or how confident they are, in their answers,” explains Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Associate Professor Peter Koo. “They all come out in the same format, whether you’re using a large language model or DNNs used in genomics and other fields of biology.”

It’s one of the greatest challenges today’s researchers face. Now, Koo, former CSHL postdoc Jessica Zhou, and graduate student Kaeli Rizzo have devised a potential solution—DEGU (Distilling Ensembles for Genomic Uncertainty-aware models). DNNs trained using DEGU are more efficient and more accurate in their predictions than those learning via standard methods.

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