Quantum dots, a phenomenon in quantum physics that alters the energy of electrons and changes the properties of particles, caught the attention of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) for the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Alexei Ekimov and Louis Brus received the award for their discovery; Moungi Bawendi, for developing its applications. With their work, “in equal shares,” said the Secretary General of KVA Hans Ellegren, the three scientists have laid the foundations of nanotechnology, a tool that we see today in our homes, on televisions and LED lamps, or in laboratories and hospitals for designing new drugs or new strategies against cancer.

Complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) are relatively short peptide loops in antibodies where they bind to their specific antigens. Bovines, unlike humans and other vertebrates, rely on ultralong CDR H3 antibody knob regions to neutralize cryptic viral epitopes.

Researchers who follow their instincts and achieve slow results while trying to break barriers have little support. They replace it with persistence. This is the story of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman. What was once a dream in their minds was later a success. Their work together for decades was essential to achieving mRNA vaccines, and their perseverance was rewarded today with the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Quris Technologies Ltd. (Quris-AI) and Merck KGaA have extended their collaboration after a successful initial preclinical study of Quris-AI’s BioAI drug safety platform.

Deep Genomics Inc. has introduced its artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model for RNA, BigRNA, which enables discovery of disease mechanisms and candidate therapeutics.

A new gene editing method uses the CRISPR technique to modify the cells of an organ in vivo, creating a mosaic used to identify the effects of each altered gene. Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich developed this technology called AAV-Perturb-seq, based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) to target, edit and analyze single-cell genetic perturbations.

Orionis Biosciences BV has established a multiyear collaboration with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to discover novel small-molecule molecular glues for targets in major disease areas, including oncology and neurodegeneration.

Peptidream Inc. has entered into a new multitarget collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, focused on the discovery and development of novel macrocyclic peptide-radioisotope drug conjugates.

Benevolentai Ltd. has signed a strategic collaboration with Merck KGaA to identify novel drug candidates, initially for three targets in oncology, neurology and immunology.

Proteome analysis with artificial intelligence has made it possible to create a catalog of all possible missense mutations in the human genome to predict diseases. The new Alphamissense tool from the technology company Google Deepmind, available online, will allow scientists to refine diagnoses and design more tailored treatment strategies for patients suffering from pathologies associated with these variants.