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Scientists have revealed a novel means of tracking everything from wildlife to illicit substances using environmental DNA detectable in the air around us.

The findings, outlined in a new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, show that tracking virtually anything using environmental DNA can be achieved as simply as capturing this ever-present genetic material from the air using a vacuum.

The discovery, made by a team led by David Duffy, Ph.D., reveals DNA as a powerful new tool for detecting and tracking living organisms and a range of substances in virtually any environment.

Scientists at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), Milan, have found that gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9 in combination with AAV6 vectors can trigger inflammatory and senescence-like responses in blood stem cells, compromising their long-term ability to regenerate the blood system.

The study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, outlines new strategies to overcome this hurdle, improving both the safety and efficacy of -based therapies for inherited blood disorders.

The research was led by Dr. Raffaella Di Micco, group leader at SR-Tiget, New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Investigator and Associate Professor at the School for Advanced Studies (IUSS) of Pavia, in collaboration with Professor Luigi Naldini, Director of SR-Tiget, and several European research partners.

Fibroblasts are specialised connective tissue cells that play a key role in wound healing and tissue regeneration. The recent scientific publication from the University of Leipzig Medical Center shows that fibroblasts respond differently depending on the organ and disease context. Their functions are shaped by their embryonic origin, tissue-specific signals, and pathological stimuli. These specialised cells are not only involved in tissue repair and remodelling, but also influence the immune system and the development of diseases such as cancer, fibrosis and chronic inflammatory conditions.

“Until now, our understanding of fibroblast diversity has been based primarily on studies in animal models. This new review is the first to compare and integrate extensive human studies that have used modern single-cell technologies. This approach makes it possible to combine findings from different human studies, creating a comprehensive picture of the various origins and functions of human fibroblasts,” says Professor Sandra Franz, lead author of the study from the University of Leipzig Medical Center.

This deeper understanding of cellular heterogeneity opens up new avenues for the development of targeted therapies.

New YT video, featuring RAADFest creator, James Strole!


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Machine learning models have seeped into the fabric of our lives, from curating playlists to explaining hard concepts in a few seconds. Beyond convenience, state-of-the-art algorithms are finding their way into modern-day medicine as a powerful potential tool. In one such advance, published in Cell Systems, Stanford researchers are using machine learning to improve the efficacy and safety of targeted cell and gene therapies by potentially using our own proteins.

Most human diseases occur due to the malfunctioning of proteins in our bodies, either systematically or locally. Naturally, introducing a new therapeutic protein to cure the one that is malfunctioning would be ideal.

Although nearly all therapeutic protein antibodies are either fully human or engineered to look human, a similar approach has yet to make its way to other therapeutic proteins, especially those that operate in cells, such as those involved in CAR-T and CRISPR-based therapies. The latter still runs the risk of triggering immune responses. To solve this problem, researchers at the Gao Lab have now turned to machine learning models.

Resonantly tunable quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are high-performance laser light sources for a wide range of spectroscopy applications in the mid-infrared (MIR) range. Their high brilliance enables minimal measurement times for more precise and efficient characterization processes and can be used, for example, in chemical and pharmaceutical industries, medicine or security technology. Until now, however, the production of QCL modules has been relatively complex and expensive.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF has therefore developed a semi-automated process that significantly simplifies the production of QCL modules with a MOEMS (micro-opto-electro-mechanical system) grating scanner in an external optical cavity (EC), making it more cost-efficient and attractive for industry. The MOEMS-EC-QCL technology was developed by Fraunhofer IAF in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS.