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Tracing brain chemistry across humanity’s family tree

The evolutionary success of our species may have hinged on minute changes to our brain biochemistry after we diverged from the lineage leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans about half a million years ago.

Two of these tiny changes that set modern humans apart from Neanderthals and Denisovans affect the stability and genetic expression of the adenylosuccinate lyase, or ADSL. This enzyme is involved in the biosynthesis of purine, one of the fundamental building blocks of DNA, RNA, and other important biomolecules.

In a study published in PNAS, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany have discovered that these changes may play an important role in our behavior, contributing new pieces to the great puzzle of who we humans are and where we come from.

Rationale engineering generates a compact new tool for gene therapy

Scientists at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have re-engineered a compact RNA-guided enzyme they found in bacteria into an efficient, programmable editor of human DNA.

The protein they created, called NovaIscB, can be adapted to make precise changes to the genetic code, modulate the activity of specific genes, or carry out other editing tasks. Because its small size simplifies delivery to cells, NovaIscB’s developers say it is a promising candidate for developing gene therapies to treat or prevent disease.

The study was led by Feng Zhang, the James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT who is also an investigator at the McGovern Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a core member of the Broad Institute. Zhang and his team reported their open-access work this month in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Researchers at MIT and the Broad Institute, led by Professor Feng Zhang, redesign a compact RNA-guided enzyme from bacteria, making it an efficient editor of human DNA.

A neurofunctional signature of affective arousal generalizes across valence domains and distinguishes subjective experience from autonomic reactivity

Using fMRI, this study developed a brain signature for affective arousal that demonstrates high sensitivity across valence while remaining distinct from autonomic arousal and wakefulness, offering broad applications.

The predictive value of endocan as a novel biomarker: an umbrella study on meta-analyses

In recent years, endocan has emerged as a potential biomarker in various medical conditions. This multifaceted molecule, involved in key processes such as inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, has shown promise in predicting disease progression and therapeutic response across a spectrum of pathologies. However, the heterogeneity of studies and the complexity of endocan’s role in different diseases necessitate a comprehensive review. This umbrella review aimed to systematically synthesize and evaluate the evidence from multiple meta-analyses, offering a view of endocan’s effectiveness as a predictive biomarker in medical diseases.

An extensive search was carried out on March 12, 2024, using the following four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The goal was to identify meta-analyses that assess endocan’s predictive efficacy. The pooled effect size and its 95% confidence interval were taken out of each discovered meta-analysis. Furthermore, power analyses were performed to assess the robustness and dependability of the results. An additional GRADE assessment was carried out to gauge the epidemiological reliability of the findings.

In the final analysis, 12 meta-analyses were included in the current umbrella review. The results showed that there is a significant correlation between a higher endocan level and COVID-19 (SMD: 1.40, 95% CI 0.21–2.58, P = 0.02), followed by chronic kidney disease (SMD: 1.34, 95% CI 0.20 to 2.48, P 0.01), obstructive sleep apnea (SMD: 1.30, 95% CI 1.06–1.54, P 0.01), diabetes mellitus (SMD: 1.00, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.19, P 0.01), coronary artery disease (SMD: 0.99, 95% CI 0.58–1.39, P 0.01), hypertension (SMD: 0.91, 95% CI 0.44–1.38, P 0.01), and preeclampsia (SMD: 0.37, 95% CI 0.13–0.62, P 0.01).

Altered protein translation elongation contributes to brain aging

The GFP gene, which has its origins in jellyfish, expresses proteins that fluoresce when illuminated with certain frequencies of light. Poeschla, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, reported his results in the journal Nature Methods.

This function is regularly used by scientists to monitor the activity of individual genes or cells in a wide variety of animals. The development and refinement of the GFP technique earned its scientific pioneers the Nobel prize for chemistry in 2008.

In the case of the glowing cats, the scientists hope to use the GM animals in the study of HIV/AIDS.

World’s largest-scale brain-like computer with 2 billion neurons unveiled

Engineers in China unveiled a new generation of brain-like computer that mimics the workings of a macaque monkey’s brain.

Called Darwin Monkey, the system reportedly supports over 2 billion spiking neurons and more than 100 billion synapses, with a neuron count approaching that of a macaque brain.

Reports have revealed that the system consumes approximately 2,000 watts of power under typical operating conditions.

Muscle-inspired sheet-like robot navigates the tightest spaces

A POSTECH research team has developed a thin, flexible robotic actuator inspired by human muscle proteins. As thin as paper, yet capable of generating strong forces, this robot can maneuver through tight spaces and manipulate objects, making it suitable for a wide range of applications—from surgical robots to industrial equipment. The study has been published in Nature Communications.

Most conventional robots are built with rigid metal components, giving them strength but limiting their ability to perform delicate motions or operate in confined environments.

In the medical field, there is a growing need for robots that can assist with surgeries inside the . In industrial settings, flexible robots are needed for tasks like inspecting complex machinery or cleaning narrow pipelines. However, technologies that combine both flexibility and strength have been lacking—until now.

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