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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Unraveling liver injury mechanisms in familial hypobetalipoproteinemia

Familial Hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL), caused by variants in the apolipoprotein B (APOB) gene, is a rare autosomal co-dominant monogenic disorder characterized by lifelong low plasma levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and APOB.

24 Jan 2026

Shared genetic architecture links schizophrenia with hemispheric white matter microstructure

Schizophrenia is a highly heterogeneous psychiatric disorder affecting ~1% of the global population, typically emerging in adolescence or early adulthood and characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and cognitive impairments; while its etiology remains elusive, genetic factors are widely recognized as fundamental, and GWAS have identified over 200 genome-wide significant loci.

24 Jan 2026

New assessment framework improves evaluation of cutaneous chronic graft-versus-host disease

An international task force of medical experts recently proposed major revisions to the way doctors measure treatment success for a common–and often severe–skin complication of stem cell transplantation.

24 Jan 2026

MYC cancer gene suppresses immune alarm signals to protect pancreatic tumors

The cancer gene MYC camouflages tumors by suppressing alarm signals that normally activate the immune system.

23 Jan 2026

New AI-driven method enables precise design of highly efficient custom enzymes

Enzymes with specific functions are becoming increasingly important in industry, medicine and environmental protection.

23 Jan 2026

Scientists discover a non-classical platelet mechanism linked to severe infections

Platelets are small, anucleate blood cells that play an essential role in hemostasis. Their primary task is to recognize vascular injury, become activated, and aggregate via their surface receptor integrin αIIbβ3. This leads to the formation of a stable platelet plug that seals the wound and stops bleeding. When this process becomes dysregulated, however, it can result in vessel-occluding clots - so-called thromboses - which may cause myocardial infarction or stroke.

23 Jan 2026

New findings explain how lysosomal defects trigger neuronal energy failure

Together with colleagues from Stanford University, USA, researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) have, for the first time, created a comprehensive cell type-specific atlas of lysosomes in the brain, the cell organelles which are responsible for degradation and recycling processes.

23 Jan 2026

Genetic study links vitamin B1 metabolism to gut motility and IBS risk

Research links thiamine metabolism to gut motility, identifying genetic markers that could lead to new therapies for IBS and related digestive disorders.

23 Jan 2026

Ageing slows brain protein clearance and shifts synaptic waste to microglia

Ageing slows neuronal protein degradation in mice, leading to widespread accumulation and aggregation of long-lived proteins, particularly at synapses. As neuronal clearance declines, microglia selectively accumulate synaptic proteins, suggesting a compensatory but potentially strained proteostasis pathway in the ageing brain.

22 Jan 2026

Targeted uterine mRNA treatment boosts fertility outcomes in mice

Researchers from the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine Center for Nanomedicine - which designs nanotechnology-based platforms for clinical translation across specialties - developed a strategy for delivering therapeutic messenger RNA (mRNA) to the inner lining of the uterus (endometrium) in mice via modified lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which are small capsules made of fatty molecules.

22 Jan 2026

Brain cell precursors show constant myelin-making drive

In experiments with mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists report new evidence that precursors of myelin-producing cells - one of the few brain cell types that continue to be produced in the adult brain - undergo differentiation widely and at a constant pace, rather than "as needed" in response to injury or advancing age.

22 Jan 2026

Discovery explains why people with IBD have higher risk of colorectal cancer

A chain of immune reactions in the gut—driven by a key signaling protein and a surge of white blood cells from the bone marrow—may help explain why people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of colorectal cancer, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

22 Jan 2026

Facial wound secrets revealed for scarless repair

Tweaking a pattern of wound healing established millions of years ago may enable scar-free injury repair after surgery or trauma, Stanford Medicine researchers have found.

22 Jan 2026

Methionine: A dietary key to surviving infection

As soon as you are wounded-whether from grabbing a hot pan or contracting the flu-you begin a unique journey through variable symptoms toward either recovery or death.

22 Jan 2026

Researchers decipher a key mechanism that controls pancreatic cancer growth

Could this mark a shift in how we think about cancer therapy? At least in the laboratory, evidence suggests it may be.

22 Jan 2026

Expert guidance on fecal microbiota transplantation in liver disease

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining host health and liver function. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), an emerging therapeutic modality, has demonstrated promising potential in the treatment of chronic liver diseases.

22 Jan 2026

Myosteatosis: An emerging predictor of outcomes in chronic liver disease

Myosteatosis, the pathological infiltration of fat into skeletal muscle, is increasingly recognized as a key predictor of poor clinical outcomes across a spectrum of liver diseases.

22 Jan 2026

Unfolding the role of Hsp70 chaperones in neurodegeneration

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affect millions of people worldwide, yet treatments remain largely limited to symptom management.

22 Jan 2026

Researchers develop protocol to create functional acinar cells in organoids

Organoids are three-dimensional miniature models of organs, grown in a dish.

21 Jan 2026

Study shows DHPS enzyme controls macrophage maturation across multiple organs

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that an enzyme involved in protein translation is essential for circulating immune cells, called monocytes, to mature into tissue-resident macrophages, a specialized population of immune cells that maintain organ health by clearing dead cells and debris.

21 Jan 2026