SAN ANTONIO — April 22, 2025 — A team of San Antonio-based biomedical researchers trained a machine learning algorithm to identify more than two dozen viable treatments for diseases caused by zoonotic pathogens that can jump from animal hosts to infect humans. Scientists from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) used SwRI-developed Rhodium™ software to study bat-borne Nipah and Hendra henipaviruses, which are endemic to some parts of the world and cause particularly lethal infections in humans.

If the protein TDP-43 is defective inside a nerve cell it can form neurotoxic aggregates, which are the cause of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Nerve cells are also damaged by TDP-43 in Alzheimer's dementia. A research team led by Goethe University has now succeeded in preventing these aggregates by manipulating the protein so that it is transported to the cell's own repair system. The study was carried out as part of the Cluster4Future PROXIDRUGS. The cluster is researching a new class of drugs that reprogram cellular systems to render disease-relevant proteins harmless.

The Chinese caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Berk.) is a valuable traditional medicine, also known throughout Asia by its Tibetan name དབྱར་རྩྭ་དགུན་འབུ (Yartsa Gunbu), meaning “summer grass, winter worm”. The mature fungus O. sinensis contains abundant active biological components, including polysaccharides, alkaloids, amino acids, inorganic elements, and others. Studies have previously confirmed that O. sinensis possesses multiple pharmacological activities. Therefore, it holds high value in the commercial market and is in increasing demand. However, the unique formation process and harsh growth environment contribute to the preciousness and scarcity of the species. To meet market demand, multiple mycelium types have been isolated from natural O. sinensis and cultivated artificially using fermentation technology. Currently, both natural and cultivated O. sinensis products are available as healthy Chinese herbal medicines on the market. However, there is a lack of comparative reviews on the two types of O. sinensis in terms of their compositions and medicinal functions. This mini-review will focus on the bioactive ingredients and medicinal functions of both natural and cultivated O. sinensis, intending to elucidate their medical values as traditional Chinese medicines for human use.