The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an imaging drug known as Cytalux (pafolacianine), which is attracted to ovarian cancer tissue and illuminates it when exposed to fluorescent light, allowing surgeons to more easily find and more precisely remove cancer.

Virginia Tech researchers discovered that the bacterium that causes Lyme disease has a highly unusual modification in its protective molecular bag – called peptidoglycan, which is common to all bacteria. There occurs an unusual sugar modification that is not known to occur in any organism. One way the bacterium gets this sugar modification is from ticks by absorbing a carbohydrate unique to ticks. The alteration is specific to ticks and allows the bacterium to better move and be more likely to cause disease.

Children with spinal muscular atrophy(SMA) carry specific gene defects which cause progressive muscle wasting and weakness. The disorder results from a genetic defect that causes a deficiency of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein in specific nerve cells in the spinal cord. Defective nerve cells are unable to transmit nerve impulses they receive from the brain to the muscles. The result is progressive muscle weakness and a lack of motor development, which also affects the muscles used for breathing. This condition usually results in early death when left untreated.

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and colleagues have demonstrated that rare variants in the ANK2 (Ankyrin 2) gene, consistently found in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), can alter architecture and organization of neurons, potentially contributing to autism and neurodevelopmental comorbidities.

Researchers from Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London have imaged a key part of the conjugation process so that better understanding of conjugation could allow them to find ways to stop the process and reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Their results are an important step forward in understanding how bacteria acquire drug resistance – and potentially how to stop them doing so.

Ever since the first barcode appeared on a pack of chewing gum in 1974, the now-ubiquitous system has enabled manufacturers, retailers and consumers to quickly and effectively identify, characterize, locate and track products and materials. In a paper first posted in the journal Cell, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and The Johns Hopkins University demonstrate how they can do the same thing at the molecular level, studying the ways cancer cells “talk” with one another using a different kind of barcode system — one made up of combinations of patterns and colors, with each set tied to a specific biochemical activity in the communication network.

We all know the thin disc of pigmented tissue that gives our eyes their distinct colors – the IRIS. Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers reported that they have genetically mapped the cell types that make up the mouse iris. The research revealed four new cell types in the iris. They mapped the genetic changes that occur when the iris dilates and provided information about how the iris forms during early development.

New research published in Advanced Functional Materials by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences suggested that effective wound healing may be aided by replicating a crucial component of our blood which is Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)- a natural healing substance in our blood. This study explored ways of enhancing the wound healing process by extracting PRP from the blood of a patient with a complex skin wound and manipulating it through 3D printing to form an implant for tissue repair which can be used to treat difficult-to-heal skin wounds in a single surgical procedure.

A new study demonstrated that, within the genetic material of these relocated stem cells, they retain memories of how they traveled from the follicle to the skin’s surface, repaired damaged skin, and finally adapted to their new home. The researchers from Rockefeller University suggested that even though these relocated stem cells are largely indistinguishable from naive epidermal stem cells, they are primed to heal wounds faster.

Researchers from Duke University have identified chemical compounds that can latch onto the loops, kinks, and folds in the single strand of RNA that makes up the coronavirus genome so that the virus’s ability to replicate can be blocked. This concept is a totally new mechanism in the management of coronavirus as these are the first molecules with an antiviral activity that specifically target the virus’s RNA.

Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory discovered that acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aggressive cancer that originates in the bone marrow, depends on a transporter to bring in the nutrient inositol. About Inositol – It is a sugar required for cells to survive. It is an abundant sugar that is made in many tissues throughout the human body. Inositol is also found in a wide variety of foods like fruits, beans, grains, and nuts. Therefore, cells can get it from outside of the body, through the bloodstream as well.

Though prevailing theories posit plaques in the brain cause Alzheimer’s disease, a new UC Riverside research study published in the Journal of Proteome Research points to cells’ slowing ability to clean themselves as the likely cause of unhealthy brain buildup.

Scientists have discovered a new route to produce complex antibiotics exploiting gene editing to re-program pathways to future medicines urgently required to combat antimicrobial resistance, treat neglected diseases and tackle future pandemics. Researchers from The University of Manchester have discovered a new way of manipulating key assembly line enzymes in bacteria which could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotic treatments.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a new biomarker to identify which patients with brain tumors called glioblastomas might benefit from immunotherapy. Glioblastomas are the most common form of malignant brain tumors in adults and have the worst prognosis. Patients are treated with radiation and chemotherapy, but the cancer inevitably recurs. Upon recurrence, there are no treatments that prolong survival.

Using high-resolution structural technologies such as cryo-electron microscopy, combined with computational modeling and the design of mutants of these proteins, the researchers have been able to observe the structure of one of the members of this protein family in atomic detail and decipher its function. They have been able to visualize the structure of a member of the HAT family at atomic resolution and determine the pocket where these proteins bind to amino acids, as well as the details of the mechanism by which this recognition occurs.

A new form of CRISPR technology that takes advantage of a compact RNA-editing protein could lead to improved diagnostic tests for COVID-19. The platform developed by bioengineers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology relies on a miniature form of the Cas13 protein that some microbes use to defend themselves from viruses. This RNA-cutting enzyme can be designed to cleave any target sequence, including parts of the genome from SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of Central Florida researchers have developed a device that detects viruses like COVID-19 in the body as fast as and more accurately than current commonly used rapid detection tests. This rapid detection test is crucial for early treatment and can help to stop the spread of viruses.

A decline in metabolism and endurance of skeletal muscle is commonly observed in obese patients, but the underlying mechanism is not well-understood. A research team led by scientists from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), uncovers a new mechanism to explain how obesity jeopardizes the functions of skeletal muscle and provides a potential treatment against the disease.

The new highly sensitive quantum sensors for the brain may in the future be able to identify brain diseases such as dementia, ALS, and Parkinson's, by spotting a slowing in the speed at which signals travel across the brain. This research finding is led by University of Sussex quantum physicists and is published in Scientific Reports journal.

UT Southwestern researchers have identified a protein in yeast that plays a previously unrecognized role in halting the cell cycle, the process by which one cell reproduces itself by splitting into two. The new study suggests the Xbp1 protein appears to suppress the cell cycle after accumulating in response to stressful events.