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...

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...