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Retinal vascular fingerprints predict incident stroke: findings from the UK Biobank cohort study
Objective To investigate the associations between a comprehensive set of retinal vascular parameters and incident stroke to unveil new associations and explore its predictive power for stroke risk.
Methods Retinal vascular parameters were extracted from the UK Biobank fundus images using the Retina-based Microvascular Health Assessment System. We used Cox regression analysis, adjusted for traditional risk factors, to examine the associations, with false discovery rate adjustment for multiple comparisons. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess their predictive values.
Results During a median follow-up of 12.5 years, 749 incident strokes occurred among 45 161 participants. The analysis identified 29 significant parameters associated with stroke risk, with a notable dominance of density parameters (over half).
Stephen Meyer, John Lennox, and James Tour: Three Scientists on the Origins of Everything
Moving from the Big Bang and the discovery of cosmic beginnings, to the fine-tuning of the physical constants that make life possible, to the extraordinary complexity and information embedded in DNA, mathematician John Lennox, philosopher of science Stephen Meyer, and chemist James Tour, explores whether these developments point to blind, undirected processes—or to the activity of an intelligent mind. The trio challenges long-held materialist assumptions, revisits classic scientific debates, and reflects on what these questions mean not only for science but also for our understanding of human existence and purpose.
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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2026 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
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UniQure’s Path for Huntington’s Gene Therapy Clouded by Ethical Questions as Potential Phase 3 Looms
UniQure’s highly promising Huntington’s disease gene therapy BLA (biologics license application) was rejected by the FDA — because UniQure used an external control rather than a surgical sham control. Yet the latter would put control group patients at additional risk, making it ethically problematic. Hopefully some agreement will be reached which circumvents these issues! For now, it is an educational story to watch unfold.
Abi-Saab said during uniQure’s earnings call that he wouldn’t count on the four-year data altering the FDA’s decision.
“We don’t believe that there’s any reason we have today to believe that this will change the FDA’s position regarding the Phase 1/2 trials,” he told investors.
H.C. Wainwright struck a different tone, however, in the Monday note. “While the FDA appears to be enforcing a full sham surgery-controlled Phase 3 trial in Huntington’s, we believe an alternative path forward may be negotiated given the strong AMT-130 data generated to-date,” the analysts wrote. The 4-year data “should further inform the durability and magnitude of effect observed to date.”
A humanoid robot sprints past the human half-marathon world record in Beijing race
The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21-kilometer (13-mile) race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, according to a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race kicked off.
That was faster than the human world record holder, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race.
The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward from last year’s inaugural race, during which the winning robot finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds.
Stem cell gene editing to produce B cell protein factories
As a proof of concept, the team used CRISPR gene-editing tools to insert the genetic blueprint for producing rare, protective antibodies directly into hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells of mice. Once transplanted back into mice, the edited stem cells gave rise to B cells programmed to produce the engineered antibody. A conventional vaccination would then serve as the trigger.
It worked. Even when only a few dozen stem cells were edited, vaccination triggered rare cells to expand, mature into plasma cells, and produce large amounts of antibodies that persisted long-term and could be boosted if necessary. The engineered B cells behaved just like normal immune cells, and even provided protection from disease. Mice engineered to produce a broadly neutralizing influenza antibody were spared from an otherwise lethal influenza infection.
The team went on to demonstrate their novel platform’s versatility. Engineered B cells were able to secrete non-antibody proteins, pointing to potential applications in treating genetic diseases caused by missing enzymes or other essential proteins.
The researchers also showed that stem cells carrying different antibody instructions could be combined, enabling a single immune system to produce multiple antibodies at once—an approach that could limit viral escape and ultimately lead to functional cures for rapidly mutating pathogens such as HIV.
And the team showed that human stem cells edited using the same approach gave rise to functional immune cells, providing a key proof of feasibility that the platform could one day work in humans, as well. Science Mission sciencenewshighlights.
An innovative gene-editing strategy could establish a new way for the body to manufacture therapeutic proteins—including certain kinds of highly potent antibodies the are naturally difficult to produce—by reprogramming the immune system itself.
Blood test detects aggressive brain tumors early and could reduce need for risky surgery
Researchers at the University of Sussex, in collaboration with scientists from different institutes worldwide, have identified a blood test capable of early diagnosis of the most aggressive form of brain tumor. The technology has the potential to save lives. Lead author Professor Georgios Giamas and his team have identified distinctive biomarkers (molecules that act as signs of normal processes, diseases, or responses to treatment) within patient blood samples, which could signal the presence of glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain tumor.
The study published in Cell Reports Medicine investigated whether a simple blood test—analyzing the cargo of tiny particles called small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) that are released by cells into the bloodstream—could accurately detect and classify these tumors.
More than 11,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor in the U.K. each year. Glioblastoma is the most common high grade primary brain tumor in adults, which means it can grow and spread exceptionally quickly. Currently, diagnosing glioma often requires risky brain surgery.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare, chronic cholestatic liver disease characterised by biliary inflammation and fibrosis. Inflammatory bowel disease co-occurs in 50–80% of individuals with primary sclerosing cholangitis and there is an increased risk for hepatobiliary and colorectal cancers. Primary sclerosing cholangitis presentation is highly variable but there is usually a slowly progressive fibrosis of the bile ducts with strictures, development of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, and eventually a need for liver transplantation, after which primary sclerosing cholangitis can reoccur.
Sinus MCs are enriched in burn pit–exposed military veterans with CRS and in mice exposed to environmental combustion-related compounds
Address correspondence to: Taylor A. Doherty, UCSD, 9,500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093–0635, USA. Phone: 858.822.7563; Email: tdoherty@health.ucsd.edu.
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¹VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, California, USA.