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Atherosclerosis Profiling Reveals BHLHE40 as a Candidate Modulator of VSMC

BACKGROUND: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a central role in atherosclerosis by undergoing phenotypic modulation from a quiescent, contractile state to a range of synthetic phenotypes, including fibroblast-like, macrophage-like, and lipid-laden foam cell–like states. However, a comprehensive multimodal characterization and understanding of the transcriptional programs driving these transitions remain incomplete. METHODS: To comprehensively define the phenotypic diversity of VSMCs during atherosclerosis progression, we performed in-depth profiling using cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing and bulk RNA sequencing in a VSMC-lineage–tracing atherosclerotic mouse model. Insights from these data sets guided the design of targeted in vitro experiments to investigate candidate regulatory mechanisms.

Plasma and graphene combine to protect metal surfaces from corrosion

Plasma is an ionized gas, often referred to as the fourth state of matter. Plasmas, which are created artificially by applying energy to a gas, are found in the fluorescent tubes that illuminate kitchens. However, they have many other possible applications, such as the production of graphene.

The Plasma Innovation Laboratory (LIPs) at the University of Córdoba has already made progress in using plasma to produce graphene, the revolutionary material that earned its discoverers the Nobel Prize. Recently, a new technological design boosted graphene production by more than 22%. Continuing along this line of research, the team is now proposing two methods for applying graphene—also highly anticorrosive—to metal surfaces using microwave plasmas at atmospheric pressure, with the aim of not altering the properties of the metals.

The research is published in the journal Surfaces and Interfaces.

Rethinking mRNA vaccines: Liver targeting can suppress immunity, while muscle boosts it

A new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai overturns a longstanding assumption about how mRNA vaccines generate immunity, revealing that certain non-immune cells help determine vaccine effectiveness.

The study, published in Nature Biotechnology, also introduces a powerful and versatile technology to control the expression of mRNA drugs, which the researchers demonstrate can enhance the effectiveness of mRNA cancer vaccines in preclinical studies of lymphoma. The paper is titled “mRNA vaccine immunity is enhanced by hepatocyte detargeting and not dependent on dendritic cell expression.”

The findings provide a new framework for designing mRNA vaccines and mRNA therapeutics, with immediate implications for cancer immunotherapy, infectious disease vaccines, and gene-editing treatments.

Molecular mechanics behind heart cell restructuring revealed

Microtubules, part of heart muscle cells’ internal “skeleton,” help determine how the heart changes shape under stress, and a common signaling pathway called the ERK pathway acts as a key controller of where the building materials for these cells’ growth are delivered inside them, a pair of new studies show. These findings, from a team at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, point to possible new ways to address harmful heart remodeling that can be linked to heart failure.

“The molecular decision behind how a heart cell, and by extension the heart, changes in size and shape has been a mystery, even though we’ve known that heart cells do change in length and width over a person’s life in response to different conditions,” said the studies’ senior author Benjamin Prosser, Ph.D., a professor of Physiology.

“But now that we know what is doing the work and what guides it, that opens the door to targeting these mechanisms and correcting abnormal growth.”

Humanoid Robot Review: A comparison table for humanoid robots in the market

Humanoid robots are rapidly evolving, demonstrating significant advancements in capabilities and applications across various industries. A detailed comparison among the most prominent models available today reveals significant distinctions and areas of specialization, each catering to different sectors and operational requirements. Here is a comparison table for humanoid robots in the market.

One injection reversed osteoarthritis in weeks

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, CU Anschutz, and Colorado State University have developed a set of experimental treatments that may help aging and damaged joints repair themselves in a matter of weeks. The therapies have shown promising results in animal studies, where they reversed signs of osteoarthritis and restored joint health.

The new approaches include a regenerative injection designed to be administered directly into a joint, as well as a biomaterial-based repair system that encourages the body’s own cells to rebuild damaged cartilage.

The work recently received a major boost from the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which announced that the team will move forward to the next stage of a project worth up to $33.5 million. The research is part of the ARPA-H Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis (NITRO) program, led by ARPA-H Program Manager Dr. Ross Uhrich.

Takes Back Philosophy’s Questions | Alex Rosenberg

Can biology answer questions that once belonged only to philosophy?

Alex Rosenberg argues that Darwinian biology transformed not only science but also our understanding of morality, meaning, mind, and human purpose, bringing traditionally philosophical questions into the scientific domain.

0:00 What Is the Philosophy of Biology 1:14 How Darwin Changed the Nature of Inquiry 4:27 How Philosophers Help Biologists 6:48 Biology and the Philosophy of Mind 9:43 Can Biology Answer Philosophy’s Biggest Questions.

Alexander Rosenberg is an American philosopher and novelist. He is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University, well known for contributions to philosophy of biology and philosophy of economics. Rosenberg describes himself as a \.

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