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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Small molecule discovery could open the door to new class of treatments for hard-to-treat cancers

Researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a small molecule that can inhibit a cancer-driving protein long considered impossible to target with drugs - a discovery that could open the door to a new class of treatments for leukemia and other hard-to-treat cancers.

9 Dec 2025

Supportive marriages may shape appetite control through oxytocin and the brain–gut axis

Supportive marital relationships are associated with lower BMI, fewer food addiction symptoms, higher oxytocin, stronger frontal brain responses to food cues, and favorable gut tryptophan metabolites. These coordinated social, neural, hormonal, and gut pathways suggest a plausible biological link between emotional support and healthier eating regulation.

8 Dec 2025

Early RSV infection turns maternal allergy into a powerful driver of childhood asthma

Early-life RSV infection and parental allergy interact to substantially increase childhood asthma risk, supported by population data from more than 1.5 million children and mechanistic mouse experiments. The study shows that viral infection reprograms neonatal immune responses by altering how maternally transferred allergen-specific antibodies are handled, driving long-term allergic airway disease.

8 Dec 2025

Genome-edited immune cell therapy shows promise for treating aggressive blood cancer

A groundbreaking new treatment using genome-edited immune cells, developed by scientists at UCL (University College London) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), has shown promising results in helping children and adults fight a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer called T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).

8 Dec 2025

Study reveals new genetic insights into reticular pseudodrusen in people with AMD

A study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has revealed important insights into the genetics of deposits in the eye, known as reticular pseudodrusen (RPD), that are linked to greater risk of vision loss among people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

8 Dec 2025

Lubiprostone shows signs of slowing kidney function decline in chronic kidney disease

In adults with stage IIIb–IV chronic kidney disease, the constipation drug lubiprostone did not reduce gut-derived uremic toxins but preserved creatinine-based kidney function over 24 weeks. The benefit was linked to microbiome remodeling, increased polyamine production, and improved mitochondrial function rather than toxin lowering.

8 Dec 2025

Human researchers still outperform AI when it comes to writing trustworthy systematic reviews

Human researchers outperformed large language models across all major stages of systematic review preparation, particularly in study selection, synthesis, and final manuscript drafting. While LLMs demonstrated speed and partial accuracy in early screening and data extraction, they could not independently produce high-quality, guideline-compliant systematic reviews.

7 Dec 2025

CRISPR-based Cellgorithm technology ushers in a new era of cell programming

Syntax Bio, a synthetic biology company programming the next generation of cell therapies, today announced the publication of new research in Science Advances detailing the company's CRISPR-based Cellgorithm technology, which lays the groundwork for programmable control of gene activity in human stem cells and offers an alternative to the slow, variable manual processes researchers use today.

5 Dec 2025

Scientists uncover why SETX-deficient cancer cells rely on error-prone DNA repair

The DNA inside our cells is constantly being damaged, and one of the worst kinds of damage is a double-strand break-when both sides of the DNA helix are cut at once.

4 Dec 2025

Study uncovers strategy to sensitize estrogen receptor–positive breast tumors to immunotherapy

A study led by researchers at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute advances one of the most significant milestones in breast cancer treatment, making immunotherapy effective against the most common tumor type, estrogen receptor-positive or luminal breast cancer.

4 Dec 2025

New rapid test distinguishes real HIV infections from vaccine-related false positives

Since the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was identified in 1983, roughly 91.4 million people around the world have contracted the virus and an additional 44.1 million have died from related causes.

3 Dec 2025

Experimental RNA drug shows promise for repairing DNA and healing tissue damage

Cedars-Sinai scientists have developed an experimental drug that repairs DNA and serves as a prototype for a new class of medications that fix tissue damage caused by heart attack, inflammatory disease or other conditions.

3 Dec 2025

Human gene maps show widespread gaps in non-European representation

Human gene maps contain major blind spots because they were built largely from the DNA sequences of people with European ancestry, according to a study published today in Nature Communications.

3 Dec 2025

Hidden cellular layers in the hippocampus' CA1 region revealed

Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain's most important areas for learning and memory.

3 Dec 2025

Common water pill may be a useful add‑on to the standard HIV treatment

An FDA‑approved medication called spironolactone, often prescribed as a diuretic, or water pill, for heart and blood pressure conditions, may be a useful add‑on to the standard HIV treatment, according to new research from the Valente lab at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology.

2 Dec 2025

AI-assisted liquid biopsies show promise for early cancer detection

The prospect of diagnosing cancer through painless methods—such as a simple AI-assisted blood or urine test that detects tiny particles known as exosomes—is becoming increasingly realistic.

2 Dec 2025

Protein tied to ALS and dementia plays a role in regulating DNA mismatch repair

New Houston Methodist research has revealed that a protein associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also plays a role in regulating DNA mismatch repair, a process essential for replicating genetic information and cell health.

2 Dec 2025

Neural stem cells drive lifelong eye growth in marine bristleworms

A new study, led by the University of Vienna and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, shows how the eyes of adult marine bristleworms continue to grow throughout life – driven by a ring of neural stem cells reminiscent of vertebrate eyes.

1 Dec 2025

Automated production of lung organoids could revolutionize the development of treatments

A team of scientists have developed a simple method for automated manufacturing of lung organoids which could revolutionize the development of treatments for lung disease.

1 Dec 2025

Designing better RNA delivery polymers with computational tools

A research team led by professor Olivia Merkel, Chair of Drug Delivery at LMU and co-spokesperson of the Cluster for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Munich (CNATM) has developed the first integrated platform that combines molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and machine learning (ML) to identify new polymeric materials for therapeutic RNA delivery.

1 Dec 2025

RNA News and Research

Further Reading

Small molecule discovery could open the door to new class of treatments for hard-to-treat cancers

Supportive marriages may shape appetite control through oxytocin and the brain–gut axis

Early RSV infection turns maternal allergy into a powerful driver of childhood asthma

Genome-edited immune cell therapy shows promise for treating aggressive blood cancer

Study reveals new genetic insights into reticular pseudodrusen in people with AMD

Lubiprostone shows signs of slowing kidney function decline in chronic kidney disease

Human researchers still outperform AI when it comes to writing trustworthy systematic reviews

CRISPR-based Cellgorithm technology ushers in a new era of cell programming

Scientists uncover why SETX-deficient cancer cells rely on error-prone DNA repair

Study uncovers strategy to sensitize estrogen receptor–positive breast tumors to immunotherapy

New rapid test distinguishes real HIV infections from vaccine-related false positives

Experimental RNA drug shows promise for repairing DNA and healing tissue damage

Human gene maps show widespread gaps in non-European representation

Hidden cellular layers in the hippocampus' CA1 region revealed

Common water pill may be a useful add‑on to the standard HIV treatment

AI-assisted liquid biopsies show promise for early cancer detection

Protein tied to ALS and dementia plays a role in regulating DNA mismatch repair

Neural stem cells drive lifelong eye growth in marine bristleworms

Automated production of lung organoids could revolutionize the development of treatments

Designing better RNA delivery polymers with computational tools

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