University of Warwick research warns that popular deep learning systems trained for cancer pathology may be relying on hidden shortcuts rather than genuine biological signals.

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) have developed the first bandage-like microneedle patch that can sample the body’s immune responses painlessly from the skin, detecting inflammatory signals within minutes and collecting specialized immune cells within hours without the need for blood draws or surgical biopsies.

Researchers have developed a light-activated nanoassembly that helps anticancer drugs overcome multiple intracellular barriers and reach the cell nucleus more efficiently. This strategy significantly enhances the therapeutic effect of combined phototherapy and chemotherapy in breast cancer models.

Aging is a major risk factor for chronic diseases, and calorie restriction (CR) is a robust non-pharmacological intervention that can extend health span in multiple species. Alternative splicing (AS) generates multiple RNA isoforms from a single pre-mRNA and becomes dysregulated with age; intriguingly, prior work suggests that CR can attenuate age-associated splicing noise. What has remained unclear is whether AS responses to CR are coordinated across tissues and whether they scale with the level of restriction.

Congenital heart defects (CHD) represent the most common congenital malformations globally and constitute a leading cause of neonatal mortality, with early maternal risk factors playing significant roles in their development. A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis by Zihan Suo and colleagues investigated the relationships between various maternal factors during the first trimester and the risk of CHD in offspring, providing robust evidence for public health strategies aimed at reducing CHD incidence. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023476855), ensuring methodological transparency and rigor.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy has emerged as a transformative approach in modern medicine, demonstrating remarkable efficacy in targeting pathogenic B-cell lineages with unprecedented specificity. Originally developed for B cell malignancies, this innovative immunotherapy has recently shown extraordinary potential in treating various autoimmune diseases by depleting autoreactive B cells and effectively resetting the immune system. The review by Qi Li and colleagues provides a comprehensive examination of the progression, clinical applications, challenges, and future directions of B cell-targeted CAR-T therapy across multiple autoimmune conditions.