Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a tool that can be used to switch a plant’s key genetic traits on or off at will. The breakthrough was recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology and represents the first time that a synthetic genetic “toggle switch” has been used in a full-grown plant. 

A new study highlights a surprising lens for tracking pollution trends over centuries: preserved plants and animals housed at natural history museums around the world. According to Shane DuBay, a researcher at The University of Texas at Arlington, these specimens contain valuable environmental data that can help scientists reconstruct pollution trends spanning more than 200 years.

Scientists at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have uncovered a non-invasive method to boost the brain’s natural waste drainage system—a discovery that could open new avenues for tackling age-related neurological disorders.

In a study published in Nature, researchers from the IBS Center for Vascular Research, led by Director KOH Gou Young, along with senior researchers JIN Hokyung, YOON Jin-Hui, and principal researcher HONG Seon Pyo, demonstrated that precisely stimulating the lymphatics under skin on the neck and face can significantly enhance the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)—the liquid that cushions the brain and helps remove toxic waste—through lymphatic vessels. This offers a new approach to clearing brain waste using safe, non-invasive mechanical stimulation, rather than relying on drugs or surgical interventions.

What if your brain had a built-in map – not of places, but of possible futures? Researchers at the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) blend neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI) to reveal that populations of dopamine neurons in the brain don’t just track whether rewards are coming – they encode maps of when those rewards might arrive and how big they might be.

These maps adapt to context and may help explain how we weigh risks, and why some of us act on impulse while others hold back. Strikingly, this biological mechanism mirrors recent advances in AI, and could inspire new ways for machines to predict, evaluate and adapt to uncertain environments more like we do.

BUFFALO, NY — June 4, 2025 — A new editorial was published in Aging (Aging-US) Volume 17, Issue 5, on May 29, 2025, titled “Rethinking healthcare through aging biology.”

The mammalian liver has an extraordinary regenerative capacity, capable of fully restoring its mass and function after injury or partial resection. A study led by researchers at the University of Barcelona has identified the DNA regions that activate the regeneration of this organ. The study, published in the journal Cell Genomics, provides a genome-wide map of the interactions between these regulatory elements of liver regeneration and the key genes involved in this process. The results provide a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of regeneration and could have future implications for the development of regenerative medicine. 

The development of ferroptosis-based nanotherapeutics is generally limited by poor penetration depth into tumors and potential systemic toxicity. 

In a recent issue of International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Tu and coworkers from Southern Medical University addressed these challenges by proposing the design and fabrication of self-propelled ferroptosis nanoinducers, composed of only two endogenous proteins with natural bioactivity.

This work offers a strategy for constructing a biocompatible cancer treatment paradigm with enhanced diffusion to achieve deeper penetration into tumor tissues, centered around the concept of ferroptosis.