Author: admin

Biotech raises oversubscribed Series B to advance first-in-class therapies for skin, lung and kidney scarring diseases. Boston biotech Mediar Therapeutics just closed an oversubscribed $76 million Series B funding round, a clear signal that investors are ready to bet on bold ideas to tackle one of medicine’s stealthiest threats – fibrosis [1]. The round was co-led by Amplitude Ventures and ICG, with additional support from Longwood Fund, Asahi Kasei Pharma Ventures, Alexandria Real Estate Equities and Mediar’s original investors. Fibrosis is the excessive scarring that can take over organs like the skin, lungs and kidneys, gradually shutting down function. It’s…

Studies in mice suggest that beige fat surrounding blood vessels actively works to keep high blood pressure in check, promoting healthy vascular function even during obesity. Building on clinical evidence that people with brown fat have lower odds of hypertension, the researchers, headed by a team at The Rockefeller University, created mouse models genetically engineered to lack functional thermogenic beige fat tissue, a type of adipose tissue that is distinct from white fat and that helps the body burn energy. In mice, beige fat is the thermogenic fat depot that most closely resembles adult human brown fat. The scientists found…

Commercial astronauts showed rapid DNA methylation changes that mostly reversed on return – a stress test for immunity and resilience. A brief trip to the International Space Station may be enough to nudge biological age markers upward – and then, rather intriguingly, back down again. In a new Aging Cell short communication, researchers report that astronauts on the nine-day Axiom-2 mission showed measurable shifts in multiple DNA methylation-based “epigenetic clocks” while in orbit, followed by partial or complete reversibility after landing [1]. The work, led by scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, adds fresh texture to a…

The discovery of a key mechanism that helps the body turn off inflammation could be a breakthrough that results in the development of novel therapies for various chronic diseases. Details of the mechanism are published in a Nature Communications paper titled “Epoxy-Oxylipins Direct Monocyte Fate in Inflammatory Resolution in Humans.”  The study, which was led by scientists at University College London (UCL), focuses on tiny fat-derived molecules called epoxy-oxylipins that act as natural brakes on the immune system. Specifically, these molecules work to prevent the overgrowth of a type of immune cell, dubbed intermediate monocytes, that can cause chronic inflammation.…

Officials at SPT Labtech say that validated automated workflows for Twist Bioscience’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation kits are now available on SPT’s firefly® liquid handling platform. Developed through a collaboration with Twist Bioscience, the workflows are designed to support higher-throughput, more reproducible NGS library preparation and are accessible directly through the firefly cloud, according to Rob Walton, CEO at SPT Labtech. Development of these workflows reflects growing demand across genomics research and core facilities for standardized automated protocols that improve consistency while reducing hands-on time as sequencing volumes continue to increase, notes Walton. The initial validate automated workflow supports…

People and institutions are grappling with the consequences of AI-written text.1 Teachers want to know whether students’ work reflects their own understanding; consumers want to know whether an advertisement was written by a human or a machine.Writing rules to govern the use of AI-generated content is relatively easy. Enforcing them depends on something much harder: reliably detecting whether a piece of text was generated by artificial intelligence.Some studies have investigated whether humans can detect AI-generated text. For example, people who themselves use AI writing tools heavily have been shown to accurately detect AI-written text. A panel of human evaluators can…

Podcast Touching Base Touching Base is the dynamic podcast series from the editors of GEN. Each episode features a rotating case of senior editors—including John Sterling, Kevin Davies, Julianna LeMieux, Alex Phillippidis, Uduak Thomas, Corinna Singleman, and Fay Lin—who delve into emerging stories, exchange ideas, and debate the latest trends in biotech. Additionally, they talk to some of the leading voices in the industry about what’s now and next. Start listening today! Stay up to date with the lasted episodes of Touching Base by subscribing to the GEN Podcast Newsletter

During the recent J.P. Morgan 44th Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, North American editor of Inside Precision Medicine, and Alex Philippidis,  senior business editor of IPM’s sister publication Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (GEN) took a break from interviewing CEOs, attending corporate presentations, and walking up the city’s famed hills to share some insights about their week at the event—and more broadly, where biopharma now stands and is expected to go in 2026.

3D simulation of the nanocourier transporting a vesicle to the cell surface. [UPF/Dylan Godfrey] An international research group led by scientists at Pompeu Fabra University has reported new discoveries that help to better understand the nanomachine that controls a process known as constitutive exocytosis, which is the uninterrupted delivery of spherical molecular packages to and fusion with the cell membrane. This is an essential activity present in virtually all organisms to preserve cell fitness and other vital functions such as communication with the cell’s exterior, cell growth and division. Studying the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae the scientists resolved the dynamic architecture…

This webinar, brought to you by Beckman Coulter, will be hosted live and available on-demand.Tuesday, February 24th, 202611:00 AM – 12:00 PM ETAdeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are popularly used as vectors for therapeutic applications, including cell and gene therapy approaches. As such, AAV characterization is an important element in ensuring that AAV production is in line with regulatory standards and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) can help facilitate robust AAV quality control and product characterization.In this webinar brought to you by Beckman Coulter, Magdalena Pacewicz from Pharmaron will discuss the critical role of AUC in the GMP environment for…