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Scientists uncover key driver of treatment-resistant cancer

University of California San Diego researchers have discovered the enzyme responsible for chromothripsis, a process in which a single chromosome is shattered into pieces and rearranged in a scrambled order, allowing cancer cells to rapidly evolve and become resistant to treatment.

Since its discovery more than a decade ago, chromothripsis has emerged as a major driver of cancer progression and treatment resistance, but scientists haven’t learned what causes it. Now, UC San Diego scientists have solved this longstanding mystery in cancer biology, opening up new possibilities for treating the most aggressive cancers. The results are published in Science.

Tiny optical modulator could enable giant future quantum computers

Researchers have made a major advance in quantum computing with a new device that is nearly 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the breakthrough optical phase modulators could help unlock much larger quantum computers by enabling efficient control of lasers required to operate thousands or even millions of qubits—the basic units of quantum information.

Critically, the team of scientists have developed these devices using scalable manufacturing, avoiding complex, custom builds in favor of those used to make the same technology behind processors already found in computers, phones, vehicles, home appliances—virtually everything powered by electricity (even toasters).

New sensor technology can detect life-threatening complications after intestinal surgery at an earlier stage

An interdisciplinary research team from Dresden University of Technology (TUD), Rostock University Medical Center (UMR) and Dresden University Hospital has developed an innovative, implantable and fully absorbable sensor film. For the first time, it enables reliable early detection of circulatory disorders in intestinal anastomoses—one of the riskiest surgical procedures in the abdominal cavity. The results have now been presented in the journal Advanced Science.

Intestinal anastomoses, which is the surgical connection of two sections of the intestine after the removal of diseased tissue, carry a considerable risk of post-operative complications. In particular, circulatory disorders or immunological reactions can lead to serious consequential damage or even death within a short period of time. However, direct monitoring of the suture site has not been possible until now, which often entails corresponding risks for patients as well as considerable costs due to follow-up operations and long hospital stays.

Based on this specific medical need, the interdisciplinary network of the Else Kröner Fresenius Center (EKFZ) for Digital Health at TUD and Dresden University Hospital brought together key experts from Dresden and Rostock.

Squashing ‘fantastic bugs’ hidden in AI benchmarks

After reviewing thousands of benchmarks used in AI development, a Stanford team found that 5% could have serious flaws with far-reaching ramifications.

Each time an AI researcher trains a new model to understand language, recognize images, or solve a medical riddle, one big question remains: Is this model better than what went before? To answer that question, AI researchers rely on batteries of benchmarks, or tests to measure and assess a new model’s capabilities. Benchmark scores can make or break a model.

But there are tens of thousands of benchmarks spread across several datasets. Which one should developers use, and are all of equal worth?

Astronomers challenge 50-year-old quasar law

Compelling evidence that the structure of matter surrounding supermassive black holes has changed over cosmic time has been uncovered by an international team of astronomers.

If true, the research led by the National Observatory of Athens and published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society would challenge a fundamental law which has existed for almost five decades.

Optimization of the Performance of Double-Skin Façades Across Six Climates: Effects of Orientation, Blinds, and Overhangs on Energy Efficiency and Carbon Emissions

The building sector accounts for nearly 40% of global energy consumption and over one-third of energy-related carbon emissions. Therefore, it is vital to adopt low-carbon design strategies. Double-Skin Façades (DSFs) offer significant potential to improve energy efficiency through the dynamic control of heat and daylight. This study evaluates the combined effects of building orientation, fixed shading devices, and adjustable blinds on the performance of DSFs across six cities representing diverse climate types: Phoenix, Stockholm, Kuala Lumpur, London, Cape Town, and Tokyo. Using a model developed in DesignBuilder, 852 scenarios were simulated with 5-min time steps over a full year. The results show that optimal orientation depends on the climate and that cooling load may be reduced up to 59%, with CO2 emission savings up to 11.7% compared to a base south-facing configuration.

Fungal allies arm plant roots against disease by rewriting the rules of infection

Scientists have discovered that beneficial root-dwelling fungi boost plant resilience to disease by remodeling the plant cell membrane at pathogen infection sites—offering critical new insights into how plants coordinate defenses in complex natural environments.

This new research reveals that the membrane interface between plant cells and invading pathogen microbes is not fixed. Instead, it can be reshaped by co-colonizing symbionts, fundamentally altering how plants interact with pathogens and potentially improving resistance to disease.

The study is published in the journal Cell Reports.

Destructured Drug Discovery: How Sequence-Based AI Speeds and Expands the Search for New Therapeutics

Predictive computational methods for drug discovery have typically relied on models that incorporate three-dimensional information about protein structure. But these modeling methods face limitations due to high computational costs, expensive training data, and inability to fully capture protein dynamics.

Ainnocence develops predictive AI models based on target protein sequence. By bypassing 3D structural information entirely, sequence-based AI models can screen billions of drug candidates in hours or days. Ainnocence uses amino acid sequence data from target proteins and wet lab data to predict drug binding and other biological effects. They have demonstrated success in discovering COVID-19 antibodies and their platform can be used to discover other biomolecules, small molecules, cell therapies, and mRNA vaccines.

Safe and effective in vivo delivery of DNA and RNA using proteolipid vehicles

Current genetic medicines are limited by tolerability, scalability, and immunogenicity issues. Utilizing components from viral and non-viral delivery platforms, we developed a lipid-based delivery vehicle formulated with a chimeric fusion protein that delivers nucleic acid cargo inside cells effectively and with broad distribution and low immunogenicity. This proteolipid vehicle platform is suitable for safe and effective repeat dosing of DNA and/or RNA in vivo.

Abstract: The antibody Teplizumab can delay type 1 diabetes, but therapeutic responses are heterogeneous

Here, Conny Gysemans & team find variable patient responses align with specific immune gene signatures, offering a tool to predict treatment success or resistance.

Address correspondence to: Conny Gysemans, Leuven Diabetes Lab, Clinical and Experimental Endocrinology (CEE), CHROMETA, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Phone: 32.16.377454; Email: [email protected].

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