The neural and neuroimmune mechanisms behind myocardial infarction-triggered cardiac events, immune responses and activation of the nervous system remain largely unexplored. The heart and the brain talk to each other in what is known as cardioception. This communication between the two organs is orchestrated through neurons of the vagus nerve or the dorsal root ganglia, among others. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego have now shown that the dynamics of these interactions may play a crucial role in modulating inflammation, repair and cardiac functioning.

The U.K.’s main research funding agency is looking to put more public money into proof of concept and pre-seed funding of putative university spinouts, to make them more investible and improve relations between academics and investors. The move by UK Research and Innovation, which in 2026 will allocate £9.22 billion (US$12.58 billion) of taxpayer money across all fields of research, is in response to a government edict that the agency prioritizes outputs over inputs.

Liver fibrosis in the course of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis could be significantly reduced using CAR T-cells generated in vivo. Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed an experimental cell therapy that eliminates only one type of liver cell, the stellate cells that express fibroblast activation protein alpha. This strategy not only reduced fibrosis but also reversed liver damage.

Google Deepmind is shedding light on the dark genome with its latest AI model, which is trained to decipher the 98% of DNA that does not code for proteins. Alphagenome is designed to predict how variants in the regulatory genome exert their effects on the expression of the genes they control.

Chemotherapy is often seen solely as a tumor-targeting treatment, yet new evidence reveals a paradox: the tissue injury it causes can reprogram the body’s defenses, influencing the risk of metastasis. Researchers from the University of Lausanne and collaborators reported that chemotherapy reshapes the gut-immune axis by inducing microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid, which reprograms myelopoiesis to curb monocyte-driven immunosuppression and metastasis in colorectal cancer.

Google Deepmind is shedding light on the dark genome with its latest AI model, which is trained to decipher the 98% of DNA that does not code for proteins. Alphagenome is designed to predict how variants in the regulatory genome exert their effects on the expression of the genes they control.

The prevalence of asthma differs between men and women, and furthermore, the difference changes over the lifespan. “Asthma is more common in boys than girls, but more common in women than men,” Clare Lloyd told BioWorld. Females are particularly susceptible to asthma during developmental periods of hormonal changes, also known as puberty, pregnancy and menopause.

Cancer cells expand through mutations – but not just through mutations. They also change their behavior in the absence of underlying genetic alterations. Such plasticity helps the cells both adapt to the cellular stress fueled by out-of-control growth and resist targeted and chemotherapies alike. Investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Huazhong Agricultural University have gained new insights into the underlying mechanisms of plasticity.

Cancer cells expand through mutations – but not just through mutations. They also change their behavior in the absence of underlying genetic alterations. Such plasticity helps the cells both adapt to the cellular stress fueled by out-of-control growth and resist targeted and chemotherapies alike. Investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Huazhong Agricultural University have gained new insights into the underlying mechanisms of plasticity.

A new method, based on gene editing with oligonucleotides and functional analyses, identifies which variants of DNA repair genes associated with Lynch syndrome are truly harmful and which are not. Scientists at The Netherlands Cancer Institute have developed this technique and classified these gene variants in both coding and noncoding regions, distinguishing those that are pathogenic from those that are benign.