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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2

From brain scans to alloys: Teaching AI to make sense of complex research data

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to analyze medical images, materials data and scientific measurements, but many systems struggle when real-world data do not match ideal conditions. Measurements collected from different instruments, experiments or simulations often vary widely in resolution, noise and reliability. Traditional machine-learning models typically assume those differences are negligible—an assumption that can limit accuracy and trustworthiness.

To address this issue, Penn State researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence framework with potential implications for fields ranging from Alzheimer’s disease research to advanced materials design. The approach, called ZENN and detailed in a study that was featured as a showcase in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, teaches AI models to recognize and adapt to hidden differences in data quality rather than ignoring them.

ZENN, short for Zentropy-Embedded Neural Networks, was developed by Shun Wang, postdoctoral scholar of materials science and engineering; Wenrui Hao, professor of mathematics, Zi-Kui Liu, professor of materials science and engineering, and Shunli Shang, research professor of materials science and engineering.

Designer enzyme enables yeast to produce custom fatty acids, reducing need for palm oil

Whether they are laundry detergents, mascara, or Christmas chocolate, many everyday products contain fatty acids from palm oil or coconut oil. However, the extraction of these raw materials is associated with massive environmental issues: Rainforests are cleared, habitats for endangered species are destroyed, and traditional farmers lose their livelihoods.

A research team led by Prof. Martin Grininger at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, has now developed a biotechnological approach that could enable a more environmentally friendly production method. The team’s work appears in Nature Chemical Biology.

Researchers harness nonlinear Compton scattering to create sharper, multicolor gamma-ray beams

Researchers from Skoltech, MEPhI, and the Dukhov All-Russian Research Institute of Automation have proposed a new method to create compact gamma-ray sources that are simultaneously brighter, sharper, and capable of emitting multiple “colors” of gamma rays at once.

This opens up possibilities for more accurate medical diagnostics, improved material inspection, and even the production of isotopes for medicine directly in the laboratory. The work has been published as a Letter in the journal Physical Review A.

Gamma rays produced using lasers and electron beams represent a promising technology, but until now they have had a significant drawback: the emission spectrum was too “blurred.” This reduced brightness and precision, limiting their applications in areas where clarity is crucial—such as scanning dense materials or medical imaging.

Unexpected finding could offer new treatment targets for meth addiction

University of Florida neuroscientists have made a mechanistic discovery that paves the way to test immune-modulating medicines as a potential tool to break the cycle of methamphetamine addiction.

In a new preclinical study, a McKnight Brain Institute team led by Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D., Pharm. D., examined the role of neuroinflammation in meth addiction to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms at work.

“Unlike alcohol or opioids, there currently is no medicinal therapeutic approach for methamphetamine addiction,” said Khoshbouei, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry. “So this is an important societal issue.”

Two wrongs make a right: How two damaging disease variants can restore health

Scientists at Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) have overturned a long-held belief in genetics: that inheriting two harmful variants of the same gene always worsens disease. Instead, the team found that in many cases, two harmful variants can actually restore normal protein function.

Their work appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists report new immune insights and targets into LRRK2 mutations in Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a debilitating and progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra, a brain region essential for motor control. Clinically, it is marked by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability, symptoms that progressively erode independence and quality of life.

PD affects millions of people worldwide, including nearly one million individuals in the United States, making it one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders. In the U.S. alone, the disease imposes a profound health care and socioeconomic burden, with annual costs reaching tens of billions of dollars due to medical care, lost productivity and long-term disability.

While environmental factors contribute to disease risk, genetic drivers are increasingly recognized, with mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene representing one of the most common causes of both familial and sporadic PD. Understanding how LRRK2 mutations drive disease is therefore central to developing therapies that go beyond symptoms control.

Tissue repair slows in old age. These proteins speed it back up

As we age, we don’t recover from injury or illness like we did when we were young. But new research from UCSF has found gene regulators—proteins that turn genes on and off—that could restore the aging body’s ability to self-repair.

The scientists looked at fibroblasts, which build the scaffolding between cells that give shape and structure to our organs.

Fibroblasts maintain this scaffolding in the face of normal wear, disease, and injury. But over time, they slow down, and the body suffers.

Association Between Circadian Rest-Activity Rhythms and Incident Dementia in Older AdultsThe Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Weaker and more fragmented circadian rest-activity rhythms and later peak activity time were associated with elevated dementia risk in this study.

First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits

face_with_colon_three Year 2025

Dartmouth researchers conducted the first-ever clinical trial of a generative AI-powered therapy chatbot and found that the software resulted in significant improvements in participants’ symptoms, according to results published March 27 in NEJM AI.

People in the study also reported they could trust and communicate with the system, known as Therabot, to a degree that is comparable to working with a mental health professional.

The trial consisted of 106 people from across the United States diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or an eating disorder. Participants interacted with Therabot through a smartphone app by typing out responses to prompts about how they were feeling or initiating conversations when they needed to talk.

Autologous T cell therapy targeting multiple antigens shows promise in treating pancreatic cancer

A recent publication in Nature Medicine describes a novel immunotherapy targeting pancreatic cancer that has shown promising results in a first in-human phase 1/2 trial.

The TACTOPS trial, which investigated the safety and clinical effects of autologous T cell therapy targeting multiple tumor antigens, was a collaboration among researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital.

“We wanted to develop a targeted therapeutic that would hone the immune system on tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that were present on malignant cells. We targeted five different antigens to deal with the polyclonal nature of the disease,” said co-corresponding author Dr. Ann Leen, professor of pediatrics–hematology and oncology in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy.

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