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Michael Levin’s lab takes ordinary frog skin cells and lets them reassemble into beings that have never existed in the history of life — xenobots — and then a version with a core of neurons: neurobots. With no evolutionary history as a \.
Disclaimer: Do NOT attempt without proper medical supervision.
In a paradigm-shifting breakthrough, Phase III clinical trials of DT120 — a novel, pharmaceutical-grade formulation of LSD — have demonstrated unprecedented efficacy in treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) following just a single dose. The study, encompassing 149 patients, revealed that a one-time administration of DT120 significantly outperformed a placebo, achieving the trial’s primary endpoint by reducing MADRS depression scores by an 8-point margin at six weeks. Remarkably, patients experienced rapid therapeutic relief within just one week, showcasing a massive 14-point advantage over the placebo group. Unlike conventional daily antidepressants that often take weeks to manifest effects, DT120 delivers profound and sustained symptom reduction from a single intervention. Hailed by Definium Therapeutics’ CEO Rob Burrow as a potential “best-in-class” therapy, these groundbreaking findings not only pave the way for expedited regulatory approval but also underscore the transformative potential of psychedelics to fundamentally revolutionize modern mental health care.
Definium Therapeutics has announced strong results in a phase 3 trial of its single-dosed lysergide (LSD) drug DT120 in treating adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), meeting its primary goal and all key secondary efficacy endpoints in the first trial of its kind.
The results come from the Emerge trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study featuring 149 participants aged 18 to 74 years enrolled across 20 sites. The participants all met specific MDD measures. They needed to have a DSM-5-confirmed diagnosis of MDD, a Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score of at least 26 and a Clinical Global Impression–Severity (CGI-S) score of at least 4 at screening and baseline.
The study examined the effectiveness of a single 100 µg dose of DT120 ODT compared with a placebo in alleviating MDD symptoms. In 2023, we covered an earlier trial of lysergide, which had shown positive results in treating general anxiety disorder (GAD).
Hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, yet the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms behind it remain largely unclear. A new study published in Nature, led by Gaia Novarino at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), aims to uncover these mechanisms-and in doing so, might lay the groundwork for developing medical therapies.
Autism spectrum conditions, often abbreviated as ASD in scientific and medical literature, are, for example, neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy or intellectual disability. The underlying changes begin during early brain development, while the first signs often become apparent in early childhood and can persist throughout life.
Tecedor et al. used directed evolution to engineer AAVs with enhanced ependymal and brain delivery after injection into the cerebrospinal fluid. I think it would be interesting to try lumbar puncture delivery of these AAVs as well to see if they maintain decent biodistribution. (See my other post about Hinderer et al.’s paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtm.2020.04.012).
AAV capsid variants enriched for transduction of ventricular lining cells and brain parenchyma reduce the dose required for gene therapy to the CNS.
This post was written by BrainGate2 clinical trial participant Casey Harrell (who gave us permission to use his name) and researcher Nicholas Card. Casey wrote his portions using the brain-computer interface described in the paper.
A clinical trial is exploring whether high doses of vitamin B3 could give patients with glioblastoma a better chance against the aggressive brain cancer. Scientists found that niacin may help revive immune cells that tumors shut down, allowing them to attack cancer more effectively. Early results have been promising, with patients showing significantly better progression-free survival than expected.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has reached a key early milestone in developing radiofrequency control systems for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC)—a next-generation research facility that will collide electrons with ions to reveal how the building blocks of matter are held together.
At the heart of any particle accelerator are radiofrequency (RF) systems, which use electromagnetic waves to accelerate particle beams to near-light speed and keep them tightly controlled. The system tested here—known as low-level radiofrequency (LLRF)—acts as the “brain,” precisely controlling those RF fields to ensure stable and accurate operation.
This milestone marks the first successful test of the newly built EIC common platform-based LLRF electronics on a real accelerator cavity. The common platform is a shared hardware and control system for accelerator operations, allowing teams to use the same technology rather than create separate electronics for each system.