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Reversible spin splitting effect achieved in altermagnetic RuO₂ thin films

A research team affiliated with UNIST has made a advancement in controlling spin-based signals within a new magnetic material, paving the way for next-generation electronic devices. Their work demonstrates a method to reversibly switch the direction of spin-to-charge conversion, a key step toward ultra-fast, energy-efficient spintronic semiconductors that do not require complex setups or strong magnetic fields.

Led by Professor Jung-Woo Yoo from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Changhee Sohn from the Department of Physics at UNIST, the team has experimentally shown that within the altermagnetic material ruthenium oxide (RuO₂), the process of converting spin currents into electrical signals can be precisely controlled and flipped at will.

This breakthrough is expected to accelerate the development of low-power devices capable of processing information more efficiently than current technologies. The study is published in the journal Nano Letters.

‘Devious’ Lung-Brain Cancer Connection Surprises Researchers

Lung cancer cells metastasizing to the brain can form real electrical synapses with neurons, not just hijack brain space — a discovery that may open new therapeutic targets. Researchers found that neuronal activity actually spurs tumor growth and that drugs reducing neuron signaling could slow cancer proliferation.

Two teams discover how small cell lung cancer hijacks neural pathways to proliferate faster, especially to the brain. Common neuro drugs could be the answer.

‘Listening in’ on the brain’s hidden language: Engineered protein detects the faintest incoming signals

Scientists have engineered a protein able to record the incoming chemical signals of brain cells (as opposed to just their outgoing signals). These whisper-quiet incoming messages are the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which plays a critical role in how brain cells communicate with one another but until now has been extremely difficult to capture.

The findings are published in Nature Methods and could transform how neuroscience research is done as it pertains to measuring and analyzing neural activity.

The special protein that researchers at the Allen Institute and HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus have engineered is a molecular “glutamate indicator” called iGluSnFR4 (pronounced ‘glue sniffer’). It’s sensitive enough to detect the faintest incoming signals between neurons in the brain, offering a new way to decipher and interpret their complex cascade of electrical activity that underpins learning, memory, and emotion. iGluSnFR4 could help decode the hidden language of the brain and deepen our understanding of how its complex circuitry works. This discovery allows researchers to watch neurons in the brain communicate in real time.

The protein denitrosylase SCoR2 regulates lipogenesis and fat storage

Researchers have identified protein SCoR2 as a potential drug target for obesity, hepatic steatosis in studies of mice, showing that it prevents fat accumulation and weight gain.

Learn more in.

Removal of SNO groups from hepatocyte and adipocyte proteins induces lipid synthesis and weight gain.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy for HR-Positive, ERBB2-Negative Breast Cancer

Adjuvant chemotherapy use almost doubled in premenopausal patients with node-positive tumors and with a low to intermediate genomic risk from 2019 to 2022 but decreased for patients with node-negative disease.

Question What are the patterns of adjuvant chemotherapy use for early-stage hormone receptor (HR)–positive, ERBB2-negative breast cancer by genomic risk and nodal status?

Findings In this cohort study of 504 937 women, adjuvant chemotherapy use nearly doubled in premenopausal patients with node-positive tumors and low or intermediate 21-gene recurrence score from 2019 to 2022 but decreased for women with node-negative disease.

Meaning The findings highlight the variability in genomic assay use to inform adjuvant systemic therapy recommendations in HR-positive, ERBB2-negative breast cancer.

Natural protein drug may slow neuron death linked to Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz have discovered that while brain neuron changes, including cell loss, may begin in early life, a drug long-approved for other conditions might be repurposed to slow this damage, offering new hope for those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other cognition issues.

The study was published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

“This drug improved one measure of cognition and reduced a blood measure of neuron death in people with AD in a relatively short period of time in its first clinical trial,” said the study’s senior author Professor Huntington Potter, Ph.D., director of the University of Colorado Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center at CU Anschutz.

AI-based tool predicts future cardiovascular events in patients with angina

Reduced coronary blood flow, measured with an artificial intelligence-based imaging tool, predicted future cardiovascular events in patients with suspected stable coronary artery disease. These findings were presented at EACVI 2025, the congress of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI).

Stable coronary artery disease (CAD) refers to the common syndrome of recurrent, transient episodes of chest symptoms, often manifesting as angina. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a noninvasive heart scan that is used as the first-line investigation for patients with suspected stable CAD.

AI tools and FFR-CT explained While CCTA clearly shows blockages in coronary arteries, it is limited in its ability to estimate reduced blood flow, which is necessary to diagnose angina. An artificial intelligence-based tool has been developed that analyzes CCTA images and provides an estimate of blood flow, termed CT-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR-CT).

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