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...

Stronger bones? A @cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social study by @drambrosi.bsky.social of @ucdavis.bsky.social, funded in part by @wutsaialliance.bsky.social, shed light on how skeletal stem cells change with age and how to boost their fracture-healing abilities. humanperformancealliance.org/news/skeleta...

A 55 cent, at-home device developed by a @uchicagopme.bsky.social team tracks levels of the hormone estradiol. The device could save time and money for IVF patients and others. pme.uchicago.edu/news/home-ho...

One of my favorite projects each year is getting to help write the award announcement for the @broadinstitute.org Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology. This year, it went to an oh-so-deserving group of researchers who pioneered CAR T-cell therapy. www.broadinstitute.org/news/2025-me...

Scientists led by Shuolong Yang of @uchicagopme.bsky.social were studying a promising quantum material when they stumbled upon a surprise: within its crystal structure, the material naturally forms one of the world’s thinnest semiconductor junctions. pme.uchicago.edu/news/scienti...

A complete genome of the northern white rhino, published in @pnas.org by Jeanne Loring of @scripps.edu and colleagues at @maxplanck.de and the San Diego Zoo, could pave the way toward stem cells that save the critically endangered species. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

Chemists at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social led by @sarponggroup.bsky.social figured out how to shuffle peripheral pieces of a molecule by twisting its interior structure, like rearranging a Rubik's cube. Their work, in @science.org, helps speed drug design. chemistry.berkeley.edu/news/twist-c...

Researchers at @uchicagopme.bsky.social used a brain-inspired neural network to design new sensors for "forever chemicals." pme.uchicago.edu/news/ai-help...

Breast surgeons at @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social are the first in the country to use a new technology that lights up cancer cells left behind when a breast tumor is removed. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

Antibodies aren't the only part of the immune system that retain a memory of past infections. Research by @savastay.bsky.social and colleagues at @uchicagopme.bsky.social showed how white blood cells called macrophages change their behavior based on previous threats. pme.uchicago.edu/news/surpris...

Scientists at @scripps.edu discovered how a chemical change in the brain—which can be triggered by air pollution & wildfire smoke—disrupts brain cell function and could contribute to brain diseases like Alzheimers. Their results were published today in @pnas.org. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

Today the @fda.gov approved Medtronic's new adaptive deep brain stimulation technology for treating Parkinson's. I spoke with @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social @stanfordneuro.bsky.social neurologist Helen Bronte-Stewart about how the new tech came about & its importance. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

High-altitude, low-oxygen air is life-saving for children with rare mitochondrial diseases. Now, @gladstoneinst.bsky.social researcher @ishahjain.bsky.social has captured the benefits of mountain air in a daily pill targeting hemoglobin. gladstone.org/news/daily-d...

Powerful, AI-driven simulations of living cells will be a reality in less than 15 years, predicts @moalquraishi.bsky.social of @columbiamed.bsky.social. His lab, focused on using machine learning to predict how proteins fold, is looking toward this future. www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/working...

Fruit flies try to win over their valentine by not only serenading her with music, but also blocking their rivals' love songs with a high-frequency buzz. A new study by Vanessa Ruta of @rockefelleruniv.bsky.social this week in @cellpress.bsky.social www.rockefeller.edu/news/37325-h...

The latest entrepreneurial award from the Hertz Foundation went to a fellow developing a low-energy, low-cost toilet system that reuses water. The system could be used during droughts or in delicate environments where septic systems are prohibited. www.hertzfoundation.org/news/hertz-f...

A $20m grant to @salkinstitute.bsky.social is funding a new Neuroimmunology Initiative to probe links between the brain and the immune system. I took a deep dive into why this kind of research is so important to understanding conditions from #LongCovid to #Alzheimers. inside.salk.edu/winter-2024/...

Is brain aging mom's fault? When brain cells rely only on X chromosomes inherited from mom, they age more quickly, UCSF researchers led by @denadubal.bsky.social reported in @nature.com. Reversing the effect could help treat brain diseases or memory loss. www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/01...

Repetitive HIV vaccinations can lead to antibodies against existing immune complexes rather than antibodies against the virus, a @scripps.edu study found. Understanding these antibodies could lead to better HIV vaccines. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

What's behind preterm birth? Scientists at @ucsfhealth.bsky.social may have gotten a big clue -- they discovered an epigenetic timer established in the earliest days of pregnancy that controls when mice give birth. www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/01...

A stem cell therapy given weeks after a stroke restores balance in brain networks, Jeanne Paz of Gladstone Institute and colleagues at SanBio reported in Molecular Therapy. gladstone.org/news/stem-ce...

Why do some vaccines last for decades & others wane after a few months? In a new @natureportfolio.bsky.social paper, @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social researchers pinned the blame on a surprising type of blood cell typically implicated in blood clotting. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

New computational tools helped @scripps.edu scientists figure out how to synthesize 25 different picrotoxanes, complex plant metabolites that can alter pathways in the brain. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

The quest to defeat HIV/AIDS didn’t just turn a deadly virus into a manageable condition. It transformed science and health care. For @ucsfhealth.bsky.social UCSF Magazine, I spoke with researchers across medicine and public health about this impact. magazine.ucsf.edu/how-hiv-chan...

Berkeley chemists, with the help of new industry funding, are launching an institute to design pollution-adsorbing materials. They say their new materials could help combat climate change. chemistry.berkeley.edu/news/institu...

How does the immune system switch between rest and activation? @gladstoneinst.bsky.social scientists pinpointed central molecular players in this decision in a @natureportfolio.bsky.social paper. Their findings could lead to new therapies for immune diseases & cancer. gladstone.org/news/underst...

My science writing feed is quiet right now because I'm enjoying a (mostly unplugged) visit to Portugal. I'll be back at my desk in December!

Jiang Zhu of @scripps.edu is using his background in physics to design vaccines based on the structures of viruses. He has tackled HIV, hepatitis, & COVID-19 in the past. Now, he's developed new vaccines against RSV and hMPV. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

Dian Yang of @columbiamed.bsky.social explores how cancers gain the ability to metastasize. Using CRISPR-based molecular recorders, he follows cancer evolution on a cell-by-cell basis. That lets him pinpoint exactly when & how a tumor transforms & spreads. www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/dian-ya...

An #AI tool predicts the activity of thousands of genes in tumor biopsy samples based only on routinely collected H&E images of the biopsies. The technology could "speed up clinical decision-making & save the health care system thousands of $,” the authors said. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

If you want to be motivated today, read about awe-inspiring @HertzFoundation Fellow Jenny Hoffman, who finds time to break world records in running while leading a prolific physics lab at @Harvard. t.co/mlFfLjbt3d

How does your body know to cough when you aspirate water? Today in @ScienceMagazine, @UCSF scientists led by @DJuliusSF & Laura Seeholzer IDed the rare neuroendocrine cells that sense water & acid in the upper airways. Important for pneumonia/chronic cough. www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/04...

Why do some people seem to get sick with viruses more often? The answer could lie in their genes. Dusan Bogunovic is launching a new center at @ColumbiaMed to study these correlations and help clinicians diagnose and treat rare immune diseases. www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/new-cen...

A chunk of fossilized wood has stories to tell. Daniel Stolper of @UCBerkeley develops new ways of purifying and precisely measuring the chemical signatures from ancient wood to learn about the Earth’s climatic past. vcresearch.berkeley.edu/heising-simo...

Can a virtual reality device help treat depression? A new study by Stanford researchers suggests that VR activities work just as well as real-life behavioral activation in boosting mood and decreasing depression scores. scopeblog.stanford.edu/2024/04/11/d...

The next time you have a suspicious mole, your dermatologist may be able to skip the scalpel & scan the spot with a noninvasive “virtual biopsy" to determine whether it contains any cancerous cells. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

Plasma-the 4th state of matter-can propel rockets & kill cancer cells. GW aerospace engineer Michael Keidar is a pioneer in both applications of plasma. I so enjoyed learning about his career and the science of plasma for this magazine feature. researchmagazine.gwu.edu/plasma-promise

Bengal #cat coats look like they come from their wild cat ancestors, but researchers at @StanfordMed traced the #Bengal patterns and irridescent sheen to domestic cat genes that were artificially selected for. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

Your microbiome might be as unique as your fingerprint. When Michael Snyder & colleagues at Stanford Medicine tracked microbiomes of 86 people over 6 years, the bacteria that persisted were those most particular to an individual, rather than those shared by all. med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

Katelin Schutz, a Hertz Foundation fellow & assistant professor at McGill has made it her mission to understand #DarkMatter. Schutz thinks existing experimental data in fields of physics and cosmology can be re-analyzed through a “dark matter lens.” www.hertzfoundation.org/news/a-dark-...

Snaking toward a universal antivenom-- Scripps research scientists have developed an antibody that can block lethal toxins in the venoms of a wide variety of snakes found throughout Africa, Asia and Australia. www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...

What's your risk of heart or kidney disease, diabetes or cancer? Can tiny variations in your genes tell you? Researchers at the Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT have optimized 10 polygenic scores for use in clinical research across many different populations. www.broadinstitute.org/news/genetic...

Henry Colecraft of Columbia Medicine has spend the past decades inventing new ways to manipulate the ion channels inside living cells, with the goal of treating conditions as wide-ranging as cystic fibrosis, chronic pain and heart disease. www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/henry-m...

Polymers are notoriously difficult to model computationally. Now, University of Chicago researchers have created a tool to represent long, complex polymers in ways that can be processed by computers & AI programs, aiding in the development of new polymers. pme.uchicago.edu/news/transla...

It's a spoon! It's a rubber band! It's pluripotent plastic! A new material developed by Stuart Rowan & Nick Boynton of University of Chicago, described today in Science, can reversibly turn into different plastics with a range of properties.