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New study reveals CRISPR enzyme that responds to human DNA methylation

Cancer cells excel at evading detection, but subtle chemical differences set them apart from healthy cells. Now, a team of scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Van Andel Institute has identified a way to exploit this distinction. Using a variant of CRISPR, a modern tool for editing DNA, they distinguished tumor DNA from healthy DNA and selectively cut only the former. The study, published today in Nature, is an early but promising step toward a cancer therapy that targets and destroys tumor cells with high precision.

20 Apr 2026

Proteomics and AI bring earlier risk prediction into sharper focus

This review examines how high-throughput proteomics is expanding precision medicine by improving biomarker discovery, disease prediction, and drug development. It also shows how AI is helping researchers interpret complex proteomic data while highlighting major barriers such as standardization, validation, and clinical translation.

19 Apr 2026

Synthetic biology approach boosts growth of implanted liver tissue

In patients developing end-stage liver disease, the damage has become too severe for the liver's normally extraordinary regenerative capacity to repair or compensate for it. Once this "point of no return" has been reached, the only option is an organ transplant.

17 Apr 2026

Nature-inspired vesicles offer new path for precision medicine therapies

A quiet revolution is underway in modern medicine: Drug development is aiming to move from managing disease to correcting it through RNA and gene-editing therapies.

17 Apr 2026

Key gene variants tied to developmental dysplasia of the hip and osteoarthritis

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a polygenetic disorder that increases the risk of hip osteoarthritis.

17 Apr 2026

High-resolution study maps molecular differences across six human cortical regions

A new analysis of individual brain cells across several human brain regions reveals subtle but widespread differences in gene activity between male and female brains. This may help explain why some psychiatric and neurological disorders appear to affect the biological sexes differently, researchers report.

17 Apr 2026

Scientists discover BRCA links to head and neck cancer risks

An international group led by researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan have discovered associations between pathogenic variants of the BRCA 1 and 2 genes and four types of cancer. Published in ESMO Open, the findings expand the potential for personalized medicine to several cancer types that currently have limited treatment options and poor prognoses.

17 Apr 2026

Scientists link poor sleep to decreased chemotherapy response via the gut

Sleep deprivation has long been known to weaken the immune system. Now UF Health Cancer Institute researchers have made a startling discovery: The gut microbiota drives changes to the immune system caused by chronic sleep loss. These changes promote cancer progression, disrupt circadian rhythm and weaken the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

17 Apr 2026

Study finds popular AI chatbots often give problematic health advice

Researchers audited five popular public-facing AI chatbots across 250 health prompts and found that 49.6% of responses were problematic, with especially weak performance on open-ended questions and in nutrition and athletic performance. The study also found poor citation quality, difficult readability, and very few refusals to answer, raising concerns about the reliability of chatbots for everyday health information.

16 Apr 2026

Scientists discover a biological "memory" of breastfeeding in child blood samples

Babies who are exclusively breastfed for at least three months carry markers in their blood that differ from babies who are not breastfed.

16 Apr 2026

New research reveals how bacteria "selflessly" share DNA through GTAs

Research has shed important new light on the enemies-turned-allies that allow bacteria to exchange genes, including those linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

16 Apr 2026

Epigenetic changes allow cancer cells to shift identity and survive drugs

Cancer drugs are designed to shut tumors down. But sometimes, in the very act of attacking a tumor, treatment can also help a small fraction of cancer cells become harder to kill. A new study from researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) shows that cancer cells may begin escaping therapy much earlier - as the therapy itself triggers a stress response that drives some cancer cells into a temporary drug-tolerant state.

16 Apr 2026

Migraine genes linked to worse headaches after concussion in children

A University of Calgary-led study has found evidence that children with genes predisposing to migraine might have an increased risk of having more headaches after a concussion, which are known to be linked to prolonged symptoms up to six-months after the injury.

15 Apr 2026

New RNA sequencing method improves rare disease diagnosis

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) developed a new RNA sequencing strategy that can reveal how genetic variants disrupt gene function and improve the diagnosis of rare diseases.

15 Apr 2026

Mitochondrial activity keeps dendritic cells ready to fight disease

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) show that active mitochondria maintain dendritic cells, the immune system's sentinels, in a "ready-to-respond" state, linking cellular metabolism to gene regulation and T-cell activation.

15 Apr 2026

New research reveals how parasites break out of host cells

Parasites are a major global health problem, underlying many human diseases worldwide. For example, Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for malaria, plays a well-established; however, its complex life cycle is not yet fully understood.

15 Apr 2026

Parents' genes shape children's mental health beyond inherited DNA

What if some of the risk of anxiety and depression in children is not only about the genes they inherit, but also about their parents' genetic dispositions and how these influence the home environment?

15 Apr 2026

New grant funds AI search for genetic targets to treat Alzheimer's

With a new $6.2 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging, researchers at Case Western Reserve University will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to identify possible genetic targets to treat Alzheimer's disease.

15 Apr 2026