Researchers have identified a urinary tract bacterium capable of converting the steroid precursor DHEA into testosterone under laboratory conditions, revealing a previously unknown microbial pathway that could impact prostate biology, according to a study supervised by Jason M. Ridlon. The finding does not indicate that the bacterium causes prostate cancer or that the microbial testosterone … Read more
A therapeutic approach for multiple sclerosis developed at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is moving toward clinical application, backed by a EUR 1.1 million funding boost from ForTra gGmbH for Research Transfer, according to university announcements on September 1, 2026. ForTra Funding Drives GMP Production and Phase I Trials ForTra gGmbH for Research Transfer, a nonprofit … Read more
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Folic acid prevents serious neural tube birth defects by interacting with an enzyme called ALDH1L1 to produce retinoic acid, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and NOVA Medical School discovered that without this specific enzyme pathway, vitamin B9 loses … Read more
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed an experimental drug that tricks aggressive cancer cells into consuming more sugar than usual while simultaneously blocking their backup fat metabolism. According to a study published in Nature Chemical Biology, the compound successfully treated an aggressive form of melanoma in mice by attacking both cellular … Read more
Cellular reprogramming to repair damaged heart tissue faces a major hurdle as scientists uncover how carbohydrate sulfotransferase 7 (CHST7) and CD44 receptors lock cellular identities in place, according to research published July 17, 2026, in Nature Communications by teams at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. … Read more
According to a study published in the journal Nature, researchers using artificial intelligence-based protein sequence redesign to stabilize enzyme starting points achieved superior outcomes in automated directed evolution, mitigating stability-activity trade-offs that traditionally constrain enzyme engineering. By combining the deep-learning model ProteinMPNN with the computational stabilization tool PROSS on botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) protease models, scientists … Read more
A recent cross-sectional study published in the journal Nutrients found no statistically significant link between an individual’s chronotype—their natural preference for morning or evening activity—and the presence of liver fat or fibrosis in adults with overweight or obesity. Researchers at the National Institute of Gastroenterology in Italy assessed 119 medication-naïve participants using the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire … Read more
Researchers at China Pharmaceutical University have developed a multisite bridging-mediated lateral flow immunoassay (mbLFIA) that detects mosquito-borne viruses like Chikungunya (CHIKV) with high sensitivity without the need for specialized laboratory equipment. According to a study published in Targetome on April 30, 2026, the method achieves a visual detection limit of 2 pmol·L−1, offering a portable … Read more
Directed evolution, a method for engineering enzymes by mimicking the natural process of selection, is shifting from a niche lab technique to a primary engine for industrial chemistry. According to Caltech’s Frances Arnold, who received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work, the future of the field lies in integrating machine learning with … Read more
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified that resistance to tagraxofusp in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is driven by severe mutations in the TET2 gene and reduced expression of the TXNRD1 enzyme. Published in the journal Leukemia, the study provides a potential framework for using these … Read more