A multinational research team led by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, RIKEN, and the University of Toronto has revealed how a tryptophan-rich allosteric communication network regulates receptor dynamics and activation of the human adenosine A_2A receptor (A_2AR), a major G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) drug target. By integrating experimental functional assays and residue-specific NMR with molecular simulations and fast allostery-prediction algorithms based on rigidity theory, the team mapped long-range allosteric communication pathways linking the ligand-binding pocket to the intracellular G protein–coupling machinery and identified a central role for tryptophan residues along these pathways. The study also clarifies the functional role of the receptor’s conserved sodium-binding pocket, showing that sodium egress strongly promotes activation-related conformational states, including a precoupled state that likely prepares the receptor for productive G protein interaction. These findings deepen our understanding of GPCR activation and allostery, and may support future development of allosteric GPCR drugs.

Beyond the specific mechanism, this work addresses a major bottleneck for AI in structural biology: recent advances such as AlphaFold have transformed prediction of static protein structures, but AI still cannot reliably predict the dynamics and allosteric communication that determine function, signaling, and drug response. To help close this gap, the researchers developed and applied fast computational methods for probing allosteric and dynamic regulation in protein structures and anchored these predictions with experimental NMR validation. The resulting experimentally validated, computationally generated data on allostery and dynamics—and a scalable approach to extend these datasets across diverse receptors and conditions—provide scarce, high-value training and benchmarking data for next-generation AI models aimed at predicting protein function beyond static structure, accelerating future AI-driven prediction of protein function and the design of selective GPCR therapeutics.

Topology, the branch of mathematics that says donuts and mugs are identical because they each have one opening, can protect light-based signals in chips. Now, engineers at Penn and the City University of New York have demonstrated that such systems can carry multiple signals, opening the door to scaling such networks for the first time.

For the first time ever, the Abel Prize has gone to a German—and this one is based at the University of Bonn! Mathematician Professor Gerd Faltings will receive the award in a ceremony in Oslo on May 26, 2026. The accolade has been presented every year since 2003 by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in the presence of the country’s king Harald V. Professor Faltings is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Bonn and a former director of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (MPIM) in the city.

Quantum computers outperform typical computers in many tasks, yet in many other tasks, classical computers have the upper hand. Researchers at Saarland University, together with industry partners BMW, Infineon and the quantum computing start-up planqc, want to combine the strengths of both types of computing. The team plans to employ a quantum computer to help classical computers handle highly complex optimization challenges from industrial practice.  The project is funded by a €2.3 million grant from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

Researchers in Japan have analyzed 10 years (2014-2023) of game data from Japan’s Pacific League and found that the presence or absence of the designated hitter (DH) system does not change the relationship between player talent and winning. Published in PLOS One, the study also presents a new method to measure player contributions by using performance data to compare starting players with backup players at each position.

A new 3D model reveals how mosquitoes adjust their flight patterns in response to visual and chemical cues. The research could help in the design of more effective traps and mosquito control strategies.

Researchers analyzed more than 35,000 images of women’s clothing spanning from 1869 to today. Team measured features like hemlines, necklines and waistlines. Mathematical model shows styles tend to rise in popularity, fall out of favor and return to popularity roughly every 20 years.