Northeastern University researchers resurrected an extinct plant gene, turning back the evolutionary clock to pave a path forward for the development and discovery of new drugs.
Specifically, the team, led by Jing-Ke Weng, a professor of chemistry, chemical biology and bioengineering at Northeastern, repaired a defunct gene in the coyote tobacco plant.
In a new paper, they detail their discovery of a previously unknown kind of cyclic peptide, or mini-protein, called nanamin that is easy to bioengineer, making it “a platform with huge potential for drug discovery,” Weng says. The paper is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Vaping and dabbing were most common among young adults aged 18–24 years. Trends in both of these routes of use have increased among adolescents and young adults.”
How does the average U.S. adult consume marijuana? This is what a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hopes to address as a team of CDC researchers investigated the range of cannabis products that are used by U.S. adults and which products are used more than others. This report has the potential to help scientists, legislators, and the public better understand cannabis use throughout the United States and develop educational and preventive measures for its use.
The report states, “As the availability and types of cannabis products expand, less is known about how persons consume cannabis. Historically, cannabis has most often been smoked; however, additional routes of use are available, including oral ingestion, vaping, and more recently, dabbing (i.e., inhalation of highly concentrated THC-based oils often heated using a blowtorch).”
For the study, the researchers conducted a survey of 138,625 participants to identify how both the frequency and method of cannabis use and broken up into several age groups. In the end, they found that 14,044 (15.3%) used cannabis with 6,848 (7.9%) using it daily. They found that 79.4% smoked cannabis while eating, vaping, and dabbing comprised 41.6%, 30.3%, and 14.6%, respectively. Additionally, 29.3% of non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals were found to participate in dabbing, along with 23% of individuals without a high school diploma.
For the first time, surgeons have successfully performed a remarkable new heart transplant in which the donor organ never skips a beat in the process, reducing the damage that can occur during such a complex operation. It ushers in a new era of more successful heart transplant surgery.
A team of surgeons at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) in Taipei undertook the revolutionary operation, during which the donor heart continues beating between the organ removal and transplantation stages. Traditionally, the donor heart would be removed and preserved in cold storage to reduce its workload – during this stage, it’s considered “ischemic time,” or the period during which the organ is cut off from blood supply. This comes with the risk of heart damage and rejection once it’s transplanted into a recipient.
When the heart is deprived of blood, ischemia – a shortage of oxygen – can damage its muscle tissue, or myocardium, reducing function and health once it is transplanted. While an organ set for transplant rarely endures more than a few hours in ischemic time, it can still lead to myocardial damage.
Controlling the uniformity in size and quantity of macroscopic three-dimensional (3D) DNA crystals is essential for their integration into complex systems and broader applications. However, achieving such control remains a major challenge in DNA nanotechnology. Here, we present a novel strategy for synthesizing monodisperse 3D DNA single crystals using microfluidic double-emulsion droplets as nanoliter-scale microreactors. These uniformly sized droplets can shrink and swell without leaking their inner contents, allowing the concentration of the DNA solution inside to be adjusted. The confined volume ensures that, once a crystal seed forms, it rapidly consumes the available DNA material, preventing the formation of additional crystals within the same droplet. This approach enables precise control over crystal growth, resulting in a yield of one DNA single crystal per droplet, with a success rate of up to 98.6% ± 0.9%. The resulting DNA crystals exhibit controlled sizes, ranging from 19.3 ± 0.9 μm to 56.8 ± 2.6 μm. Moreover, this method can be applied to the controlled growth of various types of DNA crystals. Our study provides a new pathway for DNA crystal self-assembly and microengineering.
After more than five decades of mystery, scientists have finally unveiled the detailed structure and function of a long-theorized molecular machine in our mitochondria — the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier.
This microscopic gatekeeper controls how cells fuel themselves by transporting pyruvate, a key energy source, across mitochondrial membranes. Now visualized using cryo-electron microscopy, the carrier’s lock-like mechanism could be the key to tackling diseases like cancer, diabetes, and even hair loss. By blocking or modifying this gateway, researchers believe we could reroute how cells generate energy and develop powerful, targeted treatments.
Unlocking a Mitochondrial Mystery.
Measles, a highly contagious viral infection, continues to pose a significant public health threat worldwide. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, outbreaks persist, particularly in regions with low immunization rates. In 2023, the World Health Organization observed up to a 30-fold increase in measles cases in Europe. There are currently no treatment options for measles. Instead, patients must allow the virus to take its course and let the immune system naturally clear the infection.
Erica Ollmann Saphire, a structural biologist, and her research team at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology uncovered the structure of the measles glycoprotein and engineered a neutralizing antibody against it. This therapy could be implemented to manage measles outbreaks worldwide.
Researchers uncovered the structure of the measles fusion glycoprotein and identified a neutralizing antibody capable of decreasing its virulence.
A new study has unveiled when chronic myeloid leukaemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, arises in life and how fast it grows. Researchers reveal explosive growth rates of cancerous cells years before diagnosis and variation in these rates of growth between patients. Such rapid growth rates had previously not been observed in most other cancers.
Researchers used whole genome sequencing to study when BCR::ABL1 – an abnormal fusion of the different genes called BCR and ABL1, which is known to cause chronic myeloid leukaemia. The team investigated when BCR::ABL1 first arises in a blood cell and how quickly these cells with this genetic change then multiply and expand to lead to a diagnosis of a type of leukaemia.
The research, published in Nature, contributes to the scientific understanding of how strong this abnormal fusion gene is in its ability to drive cancer.
Mitochondrial diseases caused by POLG mutations vary in severity. In young children, these diseases can quickly result in brain damage and life-threatening liver problems while others suffer muscle weakness, epilepsy, and organ failure later in childhood. POLG mutations recently received media attention when Prince Frederik of Nassau in Luxembourg died in March 2025 at just 22 years of age.