In the August 16 edition of Nature Scientific Reports, scientists at the University of Rhode Island provide concrete evidence linking the specific immune responses in HIV-negative babies to the HIV-positive status of their mothers. The work was carried out in the laboratory of Barbara Lohman-Payne, associate research professor with URI’s Institute for Immunology and Informatics within its Department of Cell and Molecular Biology,…
How do brain circuits control navigation? What gives spider silk proteins their strength? Can CRISPR help scientists design better drugs for treating tuberculosis? These questions represent a slice of the diverse and compelling science studied by the 15 new Hanna Gray Fellows announced today by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The Institute will invest up to $25 million for…
Using single nucleus transcriptomics, the authors showed that there are many different molecularly distinct cell types in the human cortex, and, surprisingly, that these types are largely conserved with mouse despite about 75 million years of evolution. At the same time, thousands of genes are expressed in different cells in human compared to mouse. Many of these genes are important for the function of neurons, including how they connect to other neurons and how they respond to drugs that are used to treat neuropsychiatric disorders.
Artificial intelligence-based drug designer Atomwise has launched two new joint venture projects—one to test its bespoke molecules in living tumor organoids and another to develop targeted inhibitors of a protein linked to triple-negative breast cancer. For the former, the company’s work with SEngine Precision Medicine aims to create targeted cancer therapies through what they describe as “in vitro clinical trials”—using organoids…
A new White House directive laying out next year’s spending priorities for federal research agencies describes a U.S. science enterprise imperiled by internal problems and foreign governments. It’s the first time this annual exercise has addressed the perceived threat to research posed by Chinese government entities. The nine-page memo also incorporates several favorite themes from recently arrived presidential science adviser Kelvin Droegemeier,…
They may grow up and move out of the house, but some part of a mother’s child always stays with her. And that can be a bad break for mom. In a new study, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have for the first time identified how the two-way traffic between mom and fetus known as “microchimerism” can sometimes…
The authors have previously found that activation of "necroptosis" is accompanied by the production of a bunch of cytokines and chemokines. What's been a mystery is how a dying cell can pull this off. This paper finds is that necroptotic cells are actually able to continue translating protein even after their cell membranes have burst. They do this by keeping the endoplasmic reticulum intact; these necroptotic cell "corpses" are thereby able to keep translating messenger RNA for several hours after they are apparently "dead".
Our immune cells usually do a great job of keeping us healthy, staving off infection and killing tumor cells. But sometimes, they betray us and join the enemy: cancer. Tumors often release factors that convince immune cells to help tumors instead of hurting them. But what if these double agent immune cells could be convinced to switch allegiance yet again?…
In a paper in Science this week, Penn researchers report the first detailed molecular characterization of how every cell changes during animal embryonic development. The work, led by the laboratories of Perelman School of Medicine’s John I. Murray, the School of Arts and Sciences’ Junhyong Kim, and Robert Waterston of the University of Washington (UW), used the latest technology in the emergent field of single cell biology to profile more…
Members of ISB’s Heath Lab and their collaborators have developed a way to sensitively detect and analyze neoantigen-specific T-cell populations from tumors and blood. This promising development may have implications for creating targeted, individual-specific cancer vaccines. The work, detailed in two separate papers, was published in Cell Reports and Lab on a Chip. The immune system’s T cells monitor diseased cells by recognizing and attacking…
