Scientists thought DNA wrapped in nucleosomes was either locked away or accessible, on or off. "It's more like a volume dial," says @gladstoneinst.bsky.social's Vijay Ramani. An AI tool described in @nature.com found 14 nucleosome states- a new layer of genomic grammar. gladstone.org/index.php/ne...

ChatGPT learned language from millions of texts. @gladstoneinst.bsky.social's Geneformer learned the language of human genes from 100 million cells. Now, it can predict which genes to target to fix diseased cells. My latest for a Gladstone series on science & AI: gladstone.org/news/how-ai-...

Brain immune cells stay chronically overactivated in Alzheimer's, destroying synapses. @scripps.edu scientists traced that inflammation to a single chemical modification on one protein. Blocking the modification protects synapses in mice. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

Precise bacterial genome editing has been largely stuck in E. coli. Scientists at @gladstoneinst.bsky.social just changed that, showing that their retron-based editing tools work across 15 diverse species of bacteria. gladstone.org/news/univers...

Carbon capture and CO₂ conversion are usually two separate, expensive steps. @uchicagopme.bsky.social and Argonne scientists combined them into one system that works efficiently even under messy, real-world flue conditions. pme.uchicago.edu/news/researc...

Most liver cancer is linked to hepatitis viruses, but scientists have never had a mouse model that faithfully tracks the full disease arc from infection to cancer. Now they do, thanks to work out of @rockefeller.edu. www.rockefeller.edu/news/39337-a...

MaxToki, a new AI model developed at @gladstoneinst.bsky.social, learned how every cell type in the body ages. Now, it can predict which genes drive that aging, pointing toward new targets for heart disease and dementia. gladstone.org/news/new-ai-...

Two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer's today are women. But are women actually more prone to developing dementia? If so, why? And what can they do about it? I chatted with @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social neurologists to get answers to these questions. med.stanford.edu/news/insight...

Touch ice or taste menthol, and the protein TRPM8 opens to signal 'cold' to your brain. Scientists spent years trying to catch it in the act of opening. David Julius & Yifan Cheng at @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social just did — first atomic-level snapshots of cold sensation. www.ucsf.edu/news/2026/03...

Today in @nature.com: CAR-T therapy costs $400K+, takes weeks, and requires chemo prep. Researchers at @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social, @gladstoneinst.bsky.social skipped all of that — reprogramming cancer-fighting T cells directly inside the body with a single injection. www.ucsf.edu/news/2026/03...

Right now, molecular machines in your cells are copying your genome, repairing damage to your DNA, and controlling which genes stay on or off. When they fail, the consequences are severe. @rockefeller.edu scientists are studying this machinery of life. seek.rockefeller.edu/the-machiner...

1 in 10 people get kidney stones. For those who keep getting them, treatment options are limited. @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social's Alan Pao is developing drugs to block the formation of some types of recurrent kidney stones. stanmed.stanford.edu/new-drugs-ki...

Current tools remove the toughest stroke clots on the first try just 11% of the time. A tiny spinning device developed at @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social does it 90% of the time, by shrinking clots to just 5% of their original size. stanmed.stanford.edu/tiny-spinnin...

The gut has more neurons than your spinal cord. @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social researchers Julia Kaltschmidt & Todd Coleman are finally mapping this "second brain" and finding it holds clues to sleep, Parkinson's, IBS, and more. stanmed.stanford.edu/gut-brain-ne...

How to turn energy-storing white fat into energy-burning beige fat? The answer lies in signals produced by your gut bacteria, @broadinstitute.org's @thexavierlab.bsky.social reports today in @nature.com. Mice with the right gut bacteria had more beige fat. www.broadinstitute.org/news/gut-bac...

Inside every cell, DNA is dancing. Stretches loop and twirl until distant sections find each other, touch briefly, exchange information, and spin away. @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social scientists have developed methods to track this choreography & its role in cells. stanmed.stanford.edu/dna-movement...

Scientists at @rockefeller.edu, led by Junyue Cao, profiled nearly 7 million cells across 21 tissues in mice at three different ages, creating the most comprehensive map yet of how aging reshapes the body. www.rockefeller.edu/news/39031-s...

Children with NAXD deficiency typically die within their first few months of life. @gladstoneinst.bsky.social scientists reported in @cellpress.bsky.social that vitamin B3 therapy extended lifespan more than 40-fold in mice and eliminated symptoms. gladstone.org/news/vitamin...

People living at high altitude have less diabetes. A new study by @gladstoneinst.bsky.social @ishahjain.bsky.social shows why: In low-oxygen conditions, red blood cells soak up sugar from the bloodstream. A drug mimicking this effect reversed high blood sugar in mice. gladstone.org/news/red-blo...

Scientists at @scripps.edu developed Ribo-STAMP to measure protein production in neurons. The method, described in @nature.com, revealed that some memory cells produce proteins at higher rates than others. It could help reveal what goes wrong in diseases. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

Most HIV vaccines attach viral proteins to protein scaffolds, but the immune system produces antibodies to the HIV proteins AND the scaffold. @scripps.edu scientists designed "invisible" DNA scaffolds that boost the immune response against HIV. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

1 in 100 babies are born with holes in the wall between their heart chambers. @gladstoneinst.bsky.social scientists led by @benoitbruneau.bsky.social have uncovered why: a boundary of cells gets disrupted, causing left and right heart cells to mix. gladstone.org/news/disrupt...

In 2011, @broadinstitute.org scientists discovered a rare gene variant that protects against Crohn's disease. Now, the team, led by @thexavierlab.bsky.social, developed molecules mimicking the protective variant's effects. The compounds could one day treat IBD. www.broadinstitute.org/news/scienti...

The Berkeley Department of Chemistry now has a record number of African faculty and students, and they're building bridges back to the continent. @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social chemistry.berkeley.edu/news/chemist...

Women are dramatically more likely than men to suffer from IBS, and when male mice get estrogen, their gut pain matches females. @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social scientists finally discovered why. www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/12...

One gene can have hundreds of disease-causing mutations. Creating a separate gene therapy for each? Impractical. @gladstoneinst.bsky.social @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social scientists developed "haplotype editing" to remove an entire mutated gene, a more efficient strategy. gladstone.org/news/gene-ed...

Water & acids destroy most carbon capture materials in power plant emissions. A new solution by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @berkeleychemistry.bsky.social chemists: A three-layered nanocomposite with the CO₂-capturing core shielded on the inside. chemistry.berkeley.edu/news/three-l...

Want to prevent tendon injuries? Eccentric exercises, like Nordic hamstring curls, don't just build muscle. They strengthen tendons too. A new study by @ccstorytime.bsky.social, funded in part by @wutsaialliance.bsky.social, suggests how. humanperformancealliance.org/news/study-s...

Did you know your skin completely regenerates every month? @rockefeller.edu's Elaine Fuchs studies the skin stem cells behind this constant regeneration. Her work could transform treatments for aging, hair loss, psoriasis, and cancer. www.rockefeller.edu/news/38723-w...

When UV light hits ice—whether in Earth's polar regions or on distant planets—it triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that have long puzzled scientists. Now, @uchicagopme.bsky.social researchers have simulated how ice's crystal structure changes with UV exposure. pme.uchicago.edu/news/quantum...

@columbiamed.bsky.social researchers are achieving transplant tolerance: patients receiving new kidneys without lifelong immunosuppression. The same science could soon enable pig-to-human organ transplants, offering hope to 100,000 people waiting for organs. www.vagelos.columbia.edu/about-us/col...

50,000 students. Thousands of sequenced phage genomes. Nearly 50 patients treated for antibiotic-resistant infections. For @pnas.org, I spoke to @ghatfull.bsky.social of @hhmi.org about how strudent-driven research became a pipeline for phage therapy. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

“This mouse model provides some of the most compelling evidence to date for how mitochondrial dysfunction can cause typical late-onset Parkinson’s disease,” @gladstoneinst.bsky.social Investigator Ken Nakamura told me about his lab's new study in @science.org Advances. gladstone.org/news/evidenc...

FOXP3—identified decades ago in work that won this year's @nobelprize.org—prevents autoimmune disease. Now @marsonlab.bsky.social & colleagues at @gladstoneinst.bsky.social @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social have mapped how immune cells fine-tune FOXP3 levels. gladstone.org/news/researc...

Creating thin metal films for electronics usually takes months of trial and error. @uchicagopme.bsky.social researchers built a "self-driving" lab that does it autonomously, using robotics and AI to run experiments, measure results, and adjust parameters. pme.uchicago.edu/news/self-dr...

How does the placenta form in early pregnancy? Scientists at @scripps.edu reported in @pnas.org how sugar molecules pull placental cells together. Understanding this process could eventually help prevent complications like preeclampsia & restricted fetal growth. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

"Sugar feeds cancer" is an anxiety-inducing message for cancer patients. Is it true? A @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social oncology dietitian sets the record straight: You can't starve cancer w/ diet. Cancer cells will find fuel regardless. Focus on nourishing your body. med.stanford.edu/news/insight...

Scientists have long known an extra chromosome 21 causes heart defects in Down syndrome, but not which gene was responsible. Now they know: HMGN1. Removing extra HMGN1 in mice eliminated heart defects, @gladstoneinst.bsky.social scientists reported in @nature.com. gladstone.org/news/scienti...

1 in 100 people have celiac disease, but there's no perfect test to diagnose it. Now, researchers at @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social have developed a glowing molecule that illuminates a celiac protein, eliminating the guesswork & paving the way for new treatments. stanmed.stanford.edu/innovations-...

Female fertility decline isn't just about egg quality--it's about the entire ovarian environment. New study in @science.org from @UCSF, @chanzuckerberg.bsky.social team follows ovaries with age. Understanding the changes could extend fertility & healthspan. www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/10...

How do cells move, divide, & sense their surroundings? The answer lies in the cytoskeleton--and when it malfunctions, cancer & birth defects follow. @alushinlab.bsky.social at @rockefeller.edu is developing new tools to probe this tiny, dynamic cell scaffolding. www.rockefeller.edu/news/38446-h...

Chemical biologist Laura Dassama of @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social @stanfordchemistry.bsky.social is on a personal mission to design a simpler, more affordable sickle cell therapy. stanmed.stanford.edu/innovations-...

70 women are diagnosed with #ovariancancer daily in the U.S. Researchers like @chiappinellilab.bsky.social and Ed Seto at @gwcancercenter.bsky.social are developing epigenetic therapies that alter cancer's instructions without changing DNA—offering new hope. researchmagazine.gwu.edu/rewriting-ca...

What if vaccines and cancer therapy could be applied topically? Hertz Fellow Michael Fischbach of Stanford modified harmless skin bacteria to teach the body to fight disease—eliminating cancer in mice with just a cream. www.hertzfoundation.org/news/reimagi...

Imagine being able to test your tap water for toxic PFAS chemicals at home, instantly. @uchicagopme.bsky.social scientists are making this possible with portable AI-designed sensors that work in minutes instead of weeks. pme.uchicago.edu/news/tiny-se...

Prime editing, a precise form of gene editing, can correct the DNA mutations that cause alternating hemiplegia of childhood (ACH), a rare genetic brain disease, according to a new paper in @cellpress.bsky.social by David Liu of @broadinstitute.org. www.broadinstitute.org/news/prime-e...

The brains of people who stay sharp-witted in their 80s and 90s might hold clues to healthy aging for the rest of us. Emily Rogalski of UChicago is studying these "superagers" at the @haarccenter.bsky.social. I spoke with her for @uchicagomag.bsky.social mag.uchicago.edu/science-medi...

Sunscreen science 101. I chatted with a handful of @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social dermatologists to clear up misconceptions about sunscreen. Their consensus: sunscreen is a safe, essential tool for preventing skin cancer, but not all products are created equal. med.stanford.edu/news/insight...

My first time writing for a high school alum mag--a profile of the illustrious Mark Bear of @mit.edu @picowerinstitute.bsky.social for St. Stephen's St. Agnes School. It was a pleasure to hear him reminisce about his early years & connect the dots of his career. sssasmagazine.org/wired-for-di...

How do nutrients, including vitamins and supplements, move into cells where they do their job? Kivanc Birsoy of @rockefelleruniv.bsky.social is trying to map out nutrient highways -- work that he says has implications for the $200 billion supplement industry. www.rockefeller.edu/news/37920-m...