A seminal study from researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and their collaborators in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and Iceland has uncovered a new genetic cause of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The discovery offers both closure and hope to potentially thousands of families worldwide who have long been searching for answers. The study, published in the April 10 online issue of Nature Genetics [DOI: 10.1038/s41588-025-02159-5], reveals that mutations in a small, previously overlooked non-coding gene called RNU2-2 are responsible for relatively common NDD. Non-coding genes are genes that don’t produce proteins but may still play critical roles in regulating cell functions.

Laser plasma acceleration is a potentially disruptive technology: It could be used to build far more compact accelerators and open up new use cases in fundamental research, industry and health. However, on the path to real-world applications, some properties of the plasma-driven electron beam as delivered by current prototype accelerators still need to be refined. DESY’s LUX experiment has now made significant progress in this direction: Using a clever correction system, a research team was able to significantly improve the quality of electron bunches accelerated by a laser plasma accelerator. This brings the technology a step closer to concrete applications, such as a plasma-based injector for a synchrotron storage ring. The research group presents their results in the journal Nature.

Shandong University’s Cheeloo College of Medicine has launched Healthcare and Rehabilitation (H&R), a peer-reviewed open-access journal. The journal aims to tackle global healthcare challenges through interdisciplinary research, offering free publication and fostering collaboration across fields like artificial intelligence, medical-engineering, and rehabilitation.

Various types of intergenerational support was differentially associated with older adults’ satisfaction, with significant disparities between living in a rural or urban area.

According to a study published by Nature Metabolism, marathon runners experience reversible changes in their brain myelin. These findings indicate that myelin (a substance that surrounds the neurons) exhibits behaviour that was previously unknown, and that it contributes towards the brain's energy metabolism when other sources of energy are running low. Understanding how myelin in the runners recovers quickly may provide clues for developing treatments for demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis.