The Regenerative Medicine Project at our institute is advancing therapeutic strategis for various diseases by introducing a range of modifications to human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

We are pleased to announce that we have successfully established iPS cells with doubled chromosomes (tetraploid iPS cells) via cell fusion. By differentiating these tetraploid iPS cells into cardiomyocytes, we succeeded in developing a technology that replicates the chromosome doubling that occurs naturally in vivo during cardiomyocyte maturation, thereby enhancing cardiac function.

The research findings were published online in the British scientific journal Communications Biology on Monday, August 17, 2026.

A field‑based study reveals that mycorrhizal association and life form act as decoupled drivers governing functional trait syndromes in temperate woody species of the Qinling Mountains.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancers. One reason for its resistance to therapy is the dense tissue surrounding the tumor, which acts as a protective barrier and suppresses the immune response. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now identified a molecular mechanism that regulates this tumor-supporting environment. At the heart of this mechanism is CD44, a molecule that controls the behavior of cancer-associated fibroblasts, specialized connective tissue cells that play a crucial role in shaping the tumor microenvironment.The results have been published in Cell Death & Disease (DOI: 10.1038/s41419-026-09155-5).

Human cells contain billions of molecules. To prevent complete chaos, these molecules and the reactions between them are organized within structures known as organelles. One of the cell’s most important organelles is the endoplasmic reticulum, a dynamic network that extends throughout the cell and plays an essential role in cell growth. Using a method they developed themselves, an international team of molecular biologists and bioinformaticians has tackled the challenge of determining precisely which molecules make up the membrane of this organelle.

What if we could use a cancer’s own byproduct to make drugs that destroy tumor cells from the inside? That is exactly what researchers at the RIKEN Pioneering Research Institute (PRI) in Japan have done. The proof-of-concept study describes how a synthetically designed compound uses the excess carbon monoxide produced in tumor cells to trigger the production of anti-cancer drugs within the cells themselves. Treatment methods based on this technique would be ideal as it selectively targets tumors and avoids harming healthy cells.

A new study reveals how extreme ocean warming disrupts whale metabolism, nutrition, and reproductive success and what the developing 2026-2027 El Niño could mean next. 

Weill Cornell Medicine has received a four-year, $8.2 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to develop and test an experimental on-demand male contraceptive pill that temporarily stops sperm in their tracks.