In 2025, science saw its breakthroughs, which BioWorld will be covering as part of our end-of-the-year wrap-up. But the biggest science story of 2025 is not about any scientific advance. It is the politicized destruction of U.S. science, and the dismantling of a scientific ecosystem that has been the envy of the world since it emerged after Germany destroyed its own pre-eminence in the 1930s.
The cardiomyositis that is a rare adverse effect of mRNA-based COVID vaccines is due to immune cell activity as a result of increased levels of the chemokines CXCL10 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Blocking CXCL10 and IFN-γ could prevent muscle cell damage in cell culture, and cardiomyositis in animal models. The findings, reported in the Dec. 10, 2025, issue of Science Translational Medicine, suggest a way of mitigating the risk of cardiomyositis.
Investigators at the Netherlands Hubrecht Institute have developed a novel gut organoid model, and used it to gain insight into the functions on human microfold (M) cells. Their experiments, which were published in the Dec. 10, 2025, issue of Nature, showed that M cells present gluten-derived antigens to T cells, which suggests a role for this cell type in the onset of celiac disease.
Investigators at the Netherlands Hubrecht Institute have developed a novel gut organoid model, and used it to gain insight into the functions on human microfold (M) cells. Their experiments, which were published in the Dec. 10, 2025, issue of Nature, showed that M cells present gluten-derived antigens to T cells, which suggests a role for this cell type in the onset of celiac disease.
Researchers at the Institut Pasteur have developed a vaccine that spurred the production of autoantibodies to immunoglobulin E antibodies, protecting vaccinated mice from anaphylaxis.
Researchers at the Institut Pasteur have developed a vaccine that spurred the production of autoantibodies to immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, protecting vaccinated mice from anaphylaxis. In their paper, which they published in Science Translational Medicine on Dec. 3, 2025, the authors noted that the polyclonal antibodies generated by their vaccine lasted “for up to 12 months postvaccination with a similar avidity as the approved anti-IgE mAb omalizumab [Xolair, Roche AG].”
On Dec. 2, 2025, the FDA released draft guidance that could reduce the use of nonhuman primates (NHPs) in preclinical testing of monoclonal antibodies. According to the guidance, which the FDA released for the purpose of soliciting comments, “In general, studies longer than 3 months in nonrodent species (e.g., NHPs, dogs, and mini-pigs) are not warranted to evaluate toxicities … when data from 3-month studies are supplemented with a weight-of-evidence (WoE) risk assessment.”
Researchers from Stanford University have reported that inhibiting the enzyme 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) promoted cartilage regeneration in mouse models of osteoarthritis due to either aging or tissue injury. An oral version of the inhibitor that the team used is in a clinical trial for sarcopenia; it improved muscle mass and strength in preclinical studies. However, the mechanism by which 15-PDGH inhibition works appears to differ in the two conditions.
At the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego this week, Catherine Woolley’s plenary lecture was an unusual combination of debunking and affirming the importance of sex differences in the brain.
At the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego this week, Catherine Woolley’s plenary lecture was an unusual combination of debunking and affirming the importance of sex differences in the brain.
