Sequence analysis of 131 human brains has revealed the mutagenesis processes that take place throughout life, from development to senescence. In a new study published in the July 29, 2022, issue of Science, the authors described how high rates of brain somatic mutations (what they call hypermutability) correlated with age.

It is now possible to look up the 3D structure of every known protein following the latest release of Alphafold, an open database run in partnership by Deepmind, the London-based artificial intelligence company owned by Google parent Alphabet and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, U.K.

Scientists will investigate whether cutting-edge technology such as base editing could be used to cure inherited heart muscle conditions after an international team co-led by Harvard Medical School won a research challenge. The $36 million Big Beat Challenge, run by the British Heart Foundation, is one of the largest non-commercial awards ever given and will focus on inherited heart muscle diseases known as genetic cardiomyopathies.

According to a new study published in the July 27, 2022, issue of Science Translational Medicine, a lower intake of fermentable carbohydrates produces changes in the intestinal microbiota that decrease histamine production reducing chronic abdominal pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the attempts to rapidly develop a vaccine that was effective against current strains, researchers have been looking for a vaccine that could protect more broadly against multiple coronaviruses. That has prompted attempts to harness the potential of the more conserved S2 subunit of the spike protein via which SARS-CoV-2 enters human host cells.

Tumor heterogeneity is recognized as an important way in which tumors are able to grow, invade surrounding tissue, metastasize and develop resistance to therapies. But linking specific states to the overall biology of tumors has been a challenge.

The controversy about the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the accusations that it escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or even that it was deliberately engineered there, could – possibly – be brought to a close by two papers published July 26, 2022.

Two targets, double success. This is the logic behind a new approach that uses monoclonal antibody pairs to fight cancer.

Investigators at the Riken Institute have demonstrated that while tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning that it can be synthesized by the body and does not need to be taken up in the diet, it has an essential function as far as nutrient sensing is concerned.

Since the isolation of SARS-CoV-2 and the study of its infection mechanisms, scientists have been trying to understand how this virus accesses the brain and produces neurological symptoms. The receptor necessary for the virus to enter the cell by endocytosis (the receptor for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, ACE2) is only expressed by some neurons and is hardly detected in the brain.