Biochemist Anna Pertl typed her prompt into Google’s Co-Scientist AI system on a rainy Tuesday in July and left the laboratory for the night, letting autonomous agents search hundreds of papers to tackle MYC, a protein that runs amok in most cancers and has long defied attack attempts. Advanced AI research assistants are transforming how … Read more
Scorpion venom peptides are emerging as targeted drug candidates for inflammatory pathways and hepatitis viruses, according to a recent review published in the journal iLIVER. Researchers summarized how these molecules, sourced from over 2,700 documented scorpion species, target receptor proteins and voltage-gated ion channels to treat chronic inflammatory and hepatic disorders without the broad toxicity … Read more
Insilico Medicine published a collaborative study in the journal npj Precision Oncology, detailing how artificial intelligence and multi-omic analysis identified therapeutic targets in inverted papilloma-associated sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (IP-SNSCC), a rare head and neck cancer. Conducted with researchers from the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, the peer-reviewed paper offers the first comprehensive … Read more
< div> According to peer-reviewed research published in July in Cancer Research, sildenafil—the active ingredient in Viagra—disrupts cancer cells’ cholesterol supply to stop the spread of metastases. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, alongside teams from the US National Cancer Institute and Clalit Health Services, found that the drug targets the protein transporting essential … Read more
Researchers at the Salk Institute have developed a patient-derived organoid platform to study chronic pancreatitis, a condition affecting approximately three million people worldwide for which no cure currently exists. By generating 37 organoids from patients, the study—published in Cell Stem Cell—identified cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) dysfunction as a key therapeutic target and uncovered … Read more
An international research team has mapped the cells and genes regulating bone formation and loss, identifying blood vessel cells as a driver of skeletal repair. Published in Nature Genetics, the study utilized genomic sequencing and data from 500,000 individuals to discover hundreds of previously unknown genes linked to bone health, offering new targets for treating … Read more
Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have developed a deep learning model capable of identifying novel antibiotic candidates to combat drug-resistant gonorrhea. Published in Science Translational Medicine, the study reveals that a graph neural network (GNN) successfully identified two compounds, MP20 and A1, which kill Neisseria gonorrhoeae through mechanisms distinct from current … Read more
Physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a laser phase plate (LPP) that significantly improves the image resolution of small proteins in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). By using an intense, continuous-wave laser to shift the electron beam phase, the system provides the contrast necessary to visualize proteins smaller than 70 kilodaltons, a range that … Read more
The Dawn of Precision Oncology: How Radioligand Therapy is Redefining Prostate Cancer Survival For years, the oncology community has chased the “holy grail” of cancer treatment: a way to deliver high-dose radiation directly to a tumor while leaving healthy tissue untouched. We are no longer chasing it; we are witnessing it unfold in real-time. The … Read more
Beyond the Mitochondria: The New Metabolic Frontier in the Fight Against Parkinson’s Disease For decades, the scientific community has viewed Parkinson’s disease (PD) through a relatively narrow lens: mitochondrial dysfunction. The prevailing wisdom suggested that the breakdown of the cell’s “powerhouse” was the primary driver of neuronal death. However, a paradigm shift is underway. New … Read more