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Identifying the root of any given disease is often the first step in developing effective therapies. Neurodegenerative diseases are notoriously difficult to study and treat. Conditions like multiple sclerosis—an autoimmune disease characterized by myelin degradation—are especially challenging to test in vivo. A team at Johns Hopkins Medicine led by Dwight Bergles, PhD, has focused their work on myelin development using oligodendrocytes. While oligodendrocyte precursor (OPCs) are the largest population of progenitor cells in the adult brain, their differentiation mechanisms are not well understood. “OPCs are fascinating because they enable one of the longest developmental programs in the brain,” Bergles told…

Cancer cachexia, also commonly known as wasting syndrome, leads to a multi-organ metabolic reprogramming, a new mouse study showed.Image credit:©iStock.com, ArtistGNDphotographyUp to 80 percent of patients with cancer struggle with cachexia, often called wasting syndrome, which is a condition characterized by the inability to gain or maintain body weight. One of the reasons these patients lose weight so dramatically is because they are eating less. However, researchers are becoming increasingly aware that metabolic changes in multiple organs—not just malnutrition—likely underlie this condition.1 To better understand how organs across the body influence cachexia, scientists recently performed transcriptomics and metabolomics in mice…

Credit: Victor Habbick Visions/Science Photo Library / Getty Images For the first time, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have been able to draw a link between structural changes in the brain and molecular signatures associated with aging in neurons. Their findings, published today in Cell, provide unprecedented insights into how cellular senescence may affect brain structures as we age, and the role these molecular processes could play in the development of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. “This is the first study to directly link senescence-related molecular networks in living human brain tissue to measurable…

The rapid rise of biosimilars is reshaping retinal therapeutics, and manufacturing science is increasingly central to that shift. As Ashish Sharma, MD, a consultant in retinal research at the Lotus Eye Hospital and Institute in Coimbatore, India, and colleagues explain, ranibizumab biosimilars have already “led the way over the past few years across various global markets,” while newly approved aflibercept biosimilars are poised to follow. Beneath regulatory milestones, however, lie profound differences in how these molecules are made—differences that might ultimately influence adoption, pricing, and patient access. Both drugs target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a family of signaling proteins…

Scientists can detect volatile organic compounds produced by gut bacteria in people’s breath.Image credit:© iStock.com, narcisaIn the depths of the human colon, gut microbes help keep the body healthy by aiding digestion and producing vital metabolites. Disruptions to this bustling microbial community are associated with diseases including asthma and serious infections in preterm infants. However, quickly identifying the gut microbiome changes that can lead to these conditions in a hospital is not feasible with current methods.“One of the key barriers to integrating our knowledge of the microbiome into clinical care is the time it takes to analyze the data on…

Credit: gorodenkoff/Getty Images Switching mammography screening eligibility from age-based to risk-based criteria could improve mortality outcomes and reduce harms associated with false-positives, while offering patients a more tailored approach to care, U.S. research suggests. “As our knowledge of individual risk factors grows, continuing with blanket recommendations becomes increasingly inefficient,” said first author Oguzhan Alagoz, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Our study demonstrates that by utilizing available risk data, we can achieve a better balance of benefits and harms, maintaining or improving breast cancer survival rates while significantly reducing the burden of over-screening.” Currently, general mammography screening guidelines target women…

Scientists in China have developed a way to synthesize medicarpin in yeast—specifically, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as baker’s yeast. Like paclitaxel in the 1990s, this tumor-attacking substance has only limited natural quantities and is considered difficult to synthesize. Developing an efficient biosynthesis method, therefore, is a key step in making the production of this antitumor and antibacterial isoflavonoid efficient and sustainable. While the Fabaceae plant family from which medicarpin is extracted is quite common and includes peas, alfalfa, acacia, and carob, the substance is in relatively low quantities within those plants. Furthermore, crops are susceptible to climate fluctuations and land…

Credit: Keith Chambers / Getty Images / Science Photo Library Targeting specific mutations during meningioma therapy is feasible and useful, according to a new study. The trial looked at using abemaciclib in patients whose tumors have NF2 or CDK mutations. The study was from The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and the paper appeared in Nature Medicine. The Alliance A071401 trial followed patients with grade 2 or 3 meningiomas with those specific mutations. All patients evaluated had previously received surgery, radiation therapy, or both. Patients received an average number of nine cycles of abemaciclib, an oral CDK inhibitor that…

Genentech increased its investment in a new Holly Springs, NC manufacturing facility. The company’s financial decision will more than double the initial total commitment for the company’s first East Coast manufacturing facility to approximately $2 billion. This investment is on top of the initial commitment in May 2025, and groundbreaking in August 2025, reflecting Genentech’s continued confidence in the region’s community, workforce, and long-term growth potential, said Ashley Magargee, Genentech’s CEO, adding that the investment is expected to add an additional 100 new jobs to the NC economy, with the project supporting more than 500 manufacturing jobs and 1,500 construction…

Credit: Medical University of South Carolina Scientists have unveiled the mechanism of action behind a genetic variant linked to longer survival and better treatment responses in patients with pancreatic cancer. Published in Cancer Research, these findings open up new opportunities for the development of targeted therapies and prognostic biomarkers for a form of cancer known for its aggressiveness. About 95% of pancreatic tumors are driven by mutations in the KRAS gene, which drive fast tumor growth and metastasis as well as treatment resistance. However, approximately 15% of these patients carry a KRAS variant known as G12R, which is associated with…