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Category: biotech/medical

Presenting data from the largest integrated thyroid cancer single-cell sequencing atlas

Here, Vivian L. Weiss & team highlight stromal tumor-dynamics occurring across the spatial evolution of thyroid cancer from indolent to lethal disease, identifying a prognostic invasive cell subtype:

The figure shows two distinct patterns associated with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

6The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom.

7Institute of Interdisciplinary Research (IRIBHM), Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

8Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Organ cross-talk: molecular mechanisms, biological functions, and therapeutic interventions for diseases

3. Pathology as Network Dysregulation.

In recent years, a transformative view of physiology has emerged: the body operates not as isolated organs, but as an integrated communication network in which signals flow bidirectionally between the brain, the immune system, the gut, and peripheral organs. This comprehensive review synthesizes current mechanistic insights into this “organ cross-talk” and frames them within systems biology and neuroscience.

At its core, organ cross-talk encompasses neural, endocrine, metabolic, and immune signaling between organs that coordinate homeostasis and orchestrate responses to stress and disease. From a neuroscience vantage point, three themes stand out:

1. The Brain as a Communication Hub.

2. Peripheral Feedback to the CNS.

Continue reading “Organ cross-talk: molecular mechanisms, biological functions, and therapeutic interventions for diseases” | >

Agenus Closes Strategic Immunotherapeutic Collaboration with Zydus Lifesciences

As part of the collaboration, Agenus has granted Zydus exclusive rights to develop and commercialize BOT and BAL in India and Sri Lanka, with Agenus eligible to receive royalties on net sales in those territories.

“Closing this collaboration with Zydus strengthens our balance sheet and, critically, secures dedicated U.S. manufacturing capacity at a pivotal moment for Agenus,” continued Armen. “With these foundations in place, our focus in 2026 is disciplined execution—advancing our Phase III program, broadening paid patient access through authorized pathways, and progressing toward regulatory submission supported by one of the most substantial clinical datasets generated in [microsatellite stable] MSS colorectal cancer.”

Following the closing, the Emeryville and Berkeley, CA, biologics manufacturing facilities will be transferred to Zydus and housed under a newly formed subsidiary named Zylidac Bio. Agenus has secured committed manufacturing capacity at these U.S. sites to support BOT+BAL supply needs for its clinical trials, global access programs, and future commercialization.

AI model detects prediabetes using ECG data without need for blood tests

DiaCardia, a novel artificial intelligence model that can accurately identify individuals with prediabetes using either 12-lead or single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) data, has been developed. This breakthrough holds promise for future home-based prediabetes screening using consumer wearable devices, without requiring invasive blood tests.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the human body either cannot make enough insulin or does not use insulin well, resulting in high blood glucose levels. This condition is a growing global health burden that can reduce the quality of life and life expectancy.

Before type 2 diabetes develops, many people go through a prolonged stage called prediabetes, where blood glucose levels are above normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes is an important window wherein lifestyle changes can reduce the progression to diabetes.

Liraglutide in Acute Minor Ischemic Stroke or High-Risk Transient Ischemic Attack With Type 2 Diabetes: The LAMP Randomized Clinical Trial

Liraglutide addition for Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and minor AIS or high-risk TIA reduced 90-day stroke recurrence and improved functional outcomes.

Question Do glucagon-like peptide–1 receptor agonists (liraglutide) reduce stroke recurrence in patients with type 2 diabetes who have minor acute ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack?

Findings In this randomized clinical trial of 636 participants with type 2 diabetes, 25 patients (7.9%) who were randomly assigned to receive standard therapy plus liraglutide and 44 (13.8%) of those who received standard therapy had recurrent stroke at 90 days.

Meaning The results of this randomized clinical trial suggest that, compared with standard therapy, liraglutide might reduce recurrent stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes who had minor acute ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack.

New structural insights reveal how human respiratory chain complexes assemble

A new study shows how one of the cell’s most important energy-producing machines is built. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped late steps in the formation of the human respirasome, a large protein assembly that drives mitochondrial respiration. Their research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

The respirasome is made up of several protein complexes that work together to transfer electrons and support the production of ATP, the cell’s main energy source. Although scientists have known that these complexes can join to create larger structures, it has remained unclear whether they assemble as finished units or form step by step.

Using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, the research team at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics captured previously unknown intermediates of the respirasome. Their findings suggest that the final stages of assembly occur while one of the key components, complex IV, is still maturing. This indicates that the respirasome may act as a platform that helps guide the correct order of assembly.

Nanoscopic raft dynamics on cell membranes successfully visualized for first time

A collaborative team of four professors and several graduate students from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemical Science and Technology at National Taiwan University, together with the Department of Applied Chemistry at National Chi Nan University, has achieved a long-sought breakthrough.

By combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) with a Hadamard product–based image reconstruction algorithm, the researchers successfully visualized, for the first time, the nanoscopic dynamics of membrane rafts in live cells—making visible what had long remained invisible on the cell membrane.

Membrane rafts are nanometer-scale structures rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids, believed to serve as vital platforms for cell signaling, viral entry, and cancer metastasis. Since the concept emerged in the 1990s, the existence and behavior of these lipid domains have been intensely debated.

The world’s first room-temperature continuous-wave UV-B laser diode on a sapphire substrate

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) semiconductor lasers are highly sought for medical, biotechnology, and precision manufacturing applications; however, previous UV-B laser diodes were limited to pulsed operation or required cryogenic cooling, making continuous room-temperature operation unattainable.

Researchers in Japan report the world’s first continuous-wave UV-B semiconductor laser diode operating at room temperature on a low-cost sapphire substrate.

This breakthrough advances compact, energy-efficient UV light sources, potentially replacing bulky gas-based lasers in health care, industrial, and scientific research applications worldwide.

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