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Some types of CD8+ T cells (killer T cells) may play a role in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). This is according to data from a new study published in Nature Immunology. Specifically, scientists found specific T cells that are abundant in people with MS, which also target the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). They suggest that this points to a possible role for the virus in triggering the immune response seen in the autoimmune disease.    Full details are published in a paper titled “Antigen specificity of clonally enriched CD8+ T cells in multiple sclerosis.” For Joe Sabatino, MD, PhD, senior author on the study and an assistant professor of…

CREDIT: horillaz/Getty Images Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified a biological mechanism of excess nerve growth in aging spines that could provide a way to treat lower back pain in the elderly. The study, published the journal Bone Research, suggests that lower back pain linked to aging may be caused not only by spinal degeneration, but also from misdirected nerve signals that can potentially be reversed. The team showed how treating this condition with parathyroid hormone (PTH) reduced pain-related behaviors in mouse models of spinal degeneration by rewiring how pain-sensing nerves interact with deteriorating spinal…

A biomanufacturing framework addresses the challenges of scaleup and scaledown, enabling biomanufacturers to scale more quickly and efficiently, whether they’re going from bench- to pilot-scale, or enhancing legacy processes. Developed by North Carolina State University (NC State University) and BioMADE, “the framework uses a statistical model of bioprocesses at both the microbioreactor scale as well as pilot scale. It combines all the data collected during fermentation batches,” Kurt Selle, PhD, director of operations, Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) at NC State University, tells GEN. “Cross-comparison allows us to predict how changes at the smaller scale would transfer to the…

Credit: Pakorn Supajitsoontorn / iStock / Getty Images Plus For patients who stop taking GLP-1 drugs, weight loss rarely fades quietly—it snaps back. Hunger returns first, often as an intrusive “food noise,” followed by intense cravings for sugar and, soon after, a steady climb on the scale. The biology that once defended obesity reasserts itself with remarkable speed, exposing the central paradox of the GLP-1 era: medicine has learned how to drive weight loss, but not how to maintain it. Fractyl Health believes that paradox originates not in willpower or fat cells, but in disrupted communication between the gut and…

One of the central pillars of malaria control efforts in Africa is the use of bed nets that contain an insecticide; pyrethroids have become the backbone of mosquito net programs worldwide. However, the heavy reliance on the compound has led to the growing issue of pyrethroid resistance. Now, a team has identified that the E205D amino acid change in the metabolic resistance cytochrome P450 CYP6P3 that drives pyrethroid resistance in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito—one of the main vectors of malaria in Africa. The team also developed a DNA test that could track the spread of this mutation across West and…

Luffu targets collective health and wellbeing across families by tracking changes to normal ‘rhythms’ over time. With the longevity conversation increasingly dominated by discussion of biomarkers, diagnostics and clinical interventions, one of the areas often forgotten in all the hubbub is the importance of relationships – particularly those within families. Research suggests that close, supportive family bonds are physiologically protective in ways that can be as consequential for life expectancy as quitting smoking or maintaining a healthy weight. It is against this backdrop that Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman have launched their latest venture: Luffu, an app built…

Credit: melitas / iStock / Getty Images Plus Menstrual blood is an easy and effective way to screen for cervical cancer that matches the current standard of care, research shows. In a large, community-based study, reported in The BMJ, menstrual blood provided a convenient and noninvasive alternative to traditional clinician sampling of cells in the cervix. Blood collected in a “minipad” cotton strip attached to the center of a regular sanitary pad was as able to detect high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV), which is linked with the development of cervical cancer. HPV testing using menstrual blood detected high-grade cervical lesions…

Research by scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the University Hospital of Tübingen, and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute has discovered a key molecular mechanism that drives the growth of liver cancer cells, while simultaneously suppressing the body’s immune response to the tumor. Results from the team’s study, including work in human tissues and experiments in mouse models, identified persistently activated ATF6α as a tumor driver for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The mechanism, they suggested, is paradoxically also linked to increased sensitization to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) immunotherapy, and could in the future help identify patients who respond…

Longevity Investors Lunch reflects a maturing field as science, capital and policy begin to converge beyond alpine optics. After years of flirting with the edges of the World Economic Forum, longevity is starting to behave as though it belongs in the room – not as spectacle, but as substance. During Davos 2026, the Longevity Investors Lunch convened a small, invitation-only group of investors, founders, scientists and policymakers to interrogate what comes next for a field that now spans drug discovery, preventive medicine, AI infrastructure and national health strategy. The setting was familiar; the tone was notably restrained. Hosted alongside the…

Credit: WashU Medicine A clinical study involving over 800 participants has shown that targeting neuromodulation treatments to a specific brain region involved in Parkinson’s disease can increase their efficacy up to 2.5-fold. Published today in Nature, these findings reveal the central role that the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) brain region plays in Parkinson’s, uncovering its potential as a diagnostic biomarker as well as a novel treatment target. “This work demonstrates that Parkinson’s is a SCAN disorder, and the data strongly suggest that if you target the SCAN in a personalized, precise manner you can treat Parkinson’s more successfully than was…