#optogenetics

#optogenetics

Using CRISPR-Cas9 and adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated homology-directed repair, we targeted CAR integration into the endogenous human TCR alpha locus (TRAC). TRAC-CAR T cells display dynamic CAR expression that delays exhaustion and improves tumour control in xenograft and immunocompetent models. This work has been critical for the development of allogeneic CAR T cell therapy, as it disrupts the TCR after transgene insertion—a necessary step to limit graft-versus-host disease.

Researchers have resurrected 'dead' bacterial cells by replacing their defunct DNA with the working genome of another species. This technique could open the door to re-engineered microbial life imbued with useful properties, such as the ability to make drugs or biofuels.

When mitochondria are exposed to tissue or blood, they lose the electrical gradient across their outer membrane. Mitochondria that lack such a gradient are recognized by a cell's internal machinery as damaged and quickly destroyed. The vast majority of previous studies involved injecting 'naked' mitochondria directly into the bloodstream or tissue sites, but the approach isn't very efficient, so researchers often have to use 'ridiculous' doses of mitochondria.

Before treatment began, participants underwent neuroimaging. Instead of relying on a single modality, the researchers fused structural connectivity (how regions are physically wired) with functional connectivity (how regions co-activate at rest). The goal was not to throw every possible feature at a black box, but to learn a constrained pattern-what the authors call structure-function "covariation"-that carries the most predictive signal for outcome. In other words, the model tries to find the smallest set of connections that meaningfully forecasts symptom change.

Summer passed Valerie Zeko by when she was 27, as she vegged out on the couch watching TV instead of seeing friends or exploring the overcast beach near her house. She later learned that period was her first episode of depression. I felt like the fog was in my head as well as outside, said Zeko, now 57, describing the mood disorder that would squelch her happiness, motivation and self-esteem for 28 years until she finally found effective treatment.

Scientists in the laboratory of Rendong Yang, PhD, associate professor of Urology, have developed a new large language model that can interpret transcriptomic data in cancer cell lines more accurately than conventional approaches, as detailed in a recent study published in Nature Communications. Long-read RNA sequencing technologies have transformed transcriptomics research by detecting complex RNA splicing and gene fusion events that have often been missed by conventional short-read RNA-sequencing methods.

Anthropic, however, is pushing a different idea: that AI agents may matter more in the unglamorous work between discoveries. In exclusive interviews announcing new partnerships with the Allen Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Anthropic's head of life sciences Jonah Cool and Grace Huynh, executive director of AI applications at the Allen Institute, said the elite science labs are using Claude-powered AI agents to tackle the analysis, annotation, and coordination bottlenecks that can stretch research timelines into years.

If we told them to look at the face, they could usually manage it. But they were mostly looking at the hands. The Prakash children eventually learn to look at faces when spoken to - usually a few months after their surgeries. Their experiences reveal that seeing doesn't come naturally the moment a person is cured of blindness. Newly-sighted people must learn to see.

Artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning is making a difference in assistive technology to help restore movement for the paralyzed. A new study in the American Institute of Physics journal APL Bioengineering shows how AI has the potential to restore lower-limb functions in those with severe spinal cord injuries (SCIs) by identifying patterns in brain signals captured noninvasively via electroencephalography (EEG).

The week leading up to the awards is stacked with lectures, concerts, exhibitions and discussions, and Stockholm is decorated with light displays and video shows. The whole thing feels like the Oscars. People line up on the street to catch a glimpse of celebrities as they leave the Stockholm Concert Hall. National public television dedicates more than five hours to a live broadcast of the ceremony and subsequent banquet.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II), or Hunter syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder primarily affecting boys, caused by a deficiency in the enzyme needed to break down sugar molecules. This harmful buildup in cells and tissues impacts multiple body systems, causing frequent infections, organ enlargement and developmental disabilities. Management involves supportive care and enzyme replacement therapy, as there is currently no cure,

For families living with neurodegenerative disease, the hardest part is not always the diagnosis. It is the slow erosion that follows: memory fading, personality shifting, independence shrinking. It unfolds quietly. First, forgotten appointments. Then repeated questions. Then moments when a familiar face no longer feels familiar. The illness does not isolate itself to one body. It rearranges the lives around it.

Some deep-sea fish may be able to see light in a different way from most other vertebrates, according to a new study. The fish, found in the Red Sea, have what the scientists behind the new study describe as hybrid photoreceptorslight-sensing cells in the retina that combine elements of two distinct kinds of photoreceptors, cones and rods. In human retinas, cone cells enable us to see in bright environments, detecting color and fine detail,

For years, scientists have viewed cancer as a localized glitch in which cells refuse to stop dividing. But a new study suggests that, in certain organs, tumors actively communicate with the brain to trick it into protecting them. Scientists have long known that nerves grow into some tumors and that tumors containing lots of nerves usually lead to a worse prognosis.

The team, which is being led by Jülich neurophysics professor Markus Diesmann, will leverage the Joint Undertaking Pioneer for Innovative and Transformative Exascale Research (JUPITER) supercomputer for their simulation. JUPITER is currently the fourth most powerful supercomputer in the world according to the TOP500 list, and features thousands of graphical processing units. The team demonstrated last month that a " spiking neural network " could be scaled up and run on JUPITER, effectively matching the cerebral cortex's 20 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections.