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
Breakthrough in Antibiotic Resistance: Targeting Bacterial Enzymes How the Study Uncovered a New Approach Antibiotic resistance, a global health crisis linked to 4.7 million deaths in 2019, has seen a critical breakthrough. Researchers at Scripps Research discovered that disabling a bacterial enzyme called secreted antigen A (SagA) makes vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) vulnerable to vancomycin. … Read more
Scientists are increasingly viewing gut microbes as active participants in hormone-driven cancers, moving beyond the traditional “estrobolome” model to define a bidirectional endocrine-microbiome axis. According to a review published in the journal npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, researchers are investigating how these microbial communities influence the metabolism of estrogen and contribute to the development of breast … Read more
How Did Researchers Solve a 40-Year-Old Mystery? After four decades of research, Mayo Clinic scientists have unveiled the molecular structure of protein kinase C beta (PKCβ), a protein linked to cancer and neurological diseases. The breakthrough, published in Nature Communications, provides the first detailed view of how PKCβ functions and how the breast cancer drug … Read more
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified a liver-based enzyme as a primary driver of cocaine addiction, shifting the focus of potential treatments away from the brain. Published in Nature Communications, the study utilized nearly 900 genetically diverse rats to isolate the Ces1 gene group, which regulates how the body metabolizes cocaine … Read more