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Across all domains of life, immune defenses thwart invading viruses by making it impossible for the viruses to replicate. Most known CRISPR systems target invading pathogens’ DNA and chop it up to disable and modify genes, heading off viral infections at the (cellular) pass. Scientists at Utah State University (USU), led by Ryan Jackson, PhD, now report on research with two lesser-known CRISPR systems, Cas12a2 and Cas12a3. Their studies showed that, in contrast with CRISPR-Cas9 systems that use a guide RNA to locate a specific DNA sequence, the Cas12a2 and Cas12a3 systems target tRNA. “We’re very focused on the basic…

TECregen lands seed funding for mission to combat age-related immune decline by regenerating thymic epithelial cells. Swiss biotech TECregen emerged today with $12.6 million seed financing to develop a pipeline of therapies designed to regenerate the thymus and boost the aging immune system. The Basel-based company is built around the idea that restoring the thymus can restore immune function at its source. The thymus, a small organ that sits just behind the breastbone, functions as the immune system’s primary training ground for T cells – key immune cells that help our bodies fight infection and disease. In childhood and adolescence,…

Credit: Mehmet Girayhan Say/MIT MIT researchers have developed a pill that can report when it has been swallowed to ensure patients are taking their medication as prescribed. Results from a preclinical study in pigs, published today in Nature Communications, show that the pill can successfully send out a signal within 10 minutes of being taken, with most components breaking down in the stomach afterward.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 50% of patients in need of long-term treatment do not take their medication as prescribed. This new reporting system could be beneficial for a wide range of patient…

With countless nanoparticle formulation options to explore, researchers need a way to quickly identify scalable nanomedicine formulations that deliver their payload efficiently and consistently. Traditional approaches are slow, resource-heavy, and often make it hard to see which candidates truly stand out. Using scalable, high-throughput tools from Unchained Labs such as the Sunny Suite, Nanoworx works with scientists to explore the broad design space of nanoparticle optimization, ensuring high precision and minimal human error throughout the formulation process.In this GEN webinar, our expert speakers will show how Nanoworx combines technical expertise with scalable workflows to support the seamless development of nanomedicines from early…

Miso is a 6-year-old male border collie from Canada who knows the names of about 200 toys.Image credit:Veronica SuenMost dogs can understand lots of different words like sit, stay, and—most importantly—treat. But some dogs can learn hundreds of different words, earning these pups the name Gifted Word Learner (GWL) dogs.1Human toddlers pick up new words by a variety of mechanisms, including by eavesdropping on adults. Prior research has shown that GWL dogs can learn many different toy names just by playing with their owners, so scientists wondered if perhaps these talented canines could learn new words by overhearing people too.2Bryn,…

Credit: KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have developed a potential new therapeutic strategy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) addressing a newly characterized circuit that promotes aggressive tumor growth. In their study, published in Molecular Cell, the Cold Spring team reported on the development of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) designed to disrupt alternative splicing of Aurora kinase A (AURKA), which essentially short circuits a three-component loop involving AURKA, the splicing factor SRSF1, and the transcription factor MYC. “Our theory was that some of the changes caused by increased levels of SRSF1 were playing a role…

Illustration showing a transplanted nerve cell (gold) using its internal compass (code) to find its partner nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (green). [Su-Chun Zhang, Sanford Burnham Prebys] Some parts of the body can recover from injury fairly rapidly. The cornea, for example, can heal from minor scratches within a single day. The human brain, however, is not one of these fast-healing tissues or organs. Adult brain cells are stable and last for a lifetime— barring trauma or disease—while some cells lining the gut last only five days and must be continually replaced. Scientists would like to use…

Introduction of ChatGPT Health comes amid widespread existing use of AI for health and wellness questions. Having already made waves in biotech R&D, artificial intelligence giant OpenAI has announced its entry into the consumer health space with the introduction of ChatGPT Health – a tool designed to allow users to connect their medical records and wellness data and then ask questions grounded in a more personal context. While undoubtedly controversial, the move formalizes something that has already been happening quietly at scale. OpenAI says hundreds of millions of people globally already ask health-related questions on ChatGPT each week, seeking help…

Tree bark teems with microbial life that contributes to the cycling of atmospheric gases.Image credit:© iStock.com, Tanjina Pervin SeemaThe cracked, hard bark of woody plants carries more than just lichen, insects, and years of dust. The seemingly barren layer teems with trillions of microbes, including bacteria, algae, and fungi.1 Tree bark across the planet spans a surface area roughly similar to that of all terrestrial land, placing these bark-associated microbes all across the globe. Despite this, scientists do not fully understand the metabolism of these microbes and the roles they play in the ecosystem. Now, researchers led by Monash University…

Credit: mikkelwilliam / Getty Images A next-generation, genome-wide virtual screening engine can rapidly identify potential targets for drug treatment at a previously unimagined scale and speed. DrugCLIP has achieved the first genome-scale virtual screening for human targets, covering over 10,000 human protein targets with a 500 million compound library. The system, outlined in Science, uses an AI contrastive deep learning framework to rapidly identify small-molecule ligands for every druggable target in the human genome. The team behind it have made their genome-scale virtual, screening database freely available to researchers worldwide at drugclip.com, with one-click access and no coding required. The…