News & Views |
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News |
Mini-colon and brain ‘organoids’ shed light on cancer and other diseases
Tiny 3D structures made from human stem cells sometimes offer insights that animal models cannot.
- Sara Reardon
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News |
Monkeypox virus: dangerous strain gains ability to spread through sex, new data suggest
A cluster of mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sparks worries of a wider outbreak.
- Max Kozlov
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Outlook |
AI’s keen diagnostic eye
Powered by deep-learning algorithms, artificial intelligence systems could replace agents such as chemicals currently used to augment medical scans.
- Neil Savage
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News |
AI traces mysterious metastatic cancers to their source
Algorithm examines images of metastatic cells to identify the location of the primary tumour.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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Analysis
| Open AccessRefining the impact of genetic evidence on clinical success
Human genetic evidence increases the success rate of drugs from clinical development to approval but we are still far from reaching peak genetic insights to aid the discovery of targets for more effective drugs.
- Eric Vallabh Minikel
- , Jeffery L. Painter
- & Matthew R. Nelson
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News & Views |
Blocking cell death limits lung damage and inflammation from influenza
Animals that receive an inhibitor of an antiviral cell-death response called necroptosis are less likely to die of influenza even at a late stage of infection. This has implications for the development of therapies for respiratory diseases.
- Nishma Gupta
- & John Silke
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News |
How to supercharge cancer-fighting cells: give them stem-cell skills
The bioengineered immune players called CAR T cells last longer and work better if pumped up with a large dose of a protein that makes them resemble stem cells.
- Sara Reardon
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long read: Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say
Researchers are scrambling to explain why rates of multiple cancers are increasing among adults under the age of 50.
- Heidi Ledford
- & Benjamin Thompson
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News |
mRNA drug offers hope for treating a devastating childhood disease
Drug trial results show that vaccines aren’t the only use for the mRNA technology behind the most widely used COVID-19 jabs.
- Elie Dolgin
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News |
Diabetes drug slows development of Parkinson’s disease
The drug, which is in the same family as blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy, slowed development of symptoms by a small but statistically significant amount.
- David Adam
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Article |
Interim analyses of a first-in-human phase 1/2 mRNA trial for propionic acidaemia
Interim data from a clinical trial of mRNA-3927—an mRNA therapeutic for propionic acidaemia—provide early indications of the safety and efficacy of the treatment, and suggest that this approach might be applicable to other rare diseases.
- Dwight Koeberl
- , Andreas Schulze
- & Stephanie Grunewald
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News Feature |
Long COVID still has no cure — so these patients are turning to research
With key long COVID trials yet to yield results, people with the condition are trying to change how clinical trials are done.
- Rachel Fairbank
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News |
How to make an old immune system young again
Antibodies that target blood stem cells can rejuvenate immune responses in mice.
- Heidi Ledford
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Article |
Depleting myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells rejuvenates aged immunity
Antibody-mediated depletion of myeloid-biased haematopoietic stem cells in aged mice restores characteristic features of a more youthful immune system.
- Jason B. Ross
- , Lara M. Myers
- & Irving L. Weissman
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News |
Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back
Carrying a baby creates some of the same epigenetic patterns on DNA seen in older people.
- Saima Sidik
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News |
First pig kidney transplant in a person: what it means for the future
The operation’s early success has made researchers hopeful that clinical trials for xenotransplanted organs will start soon.
- Smriti Mallapaty
- & Max Kozlov
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News |
Cutting-edge CAR-T cancer therapy is now made in India — at one-tenth the cost
The treatment, called NexCAR19, raises hopes that this transformative class of medicine will become more readily available in low- and middle-income countries.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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Spotlight |
China’s medical-device industry gets a makeover
The country is keen to boost its production of medical technology to reduce its reliance on imports. Analysts discuss the impact of policies.
- Sandy Ong
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News & Views |
Whittling down the bacterial subspecies that might drive colon cancer
Understanding the factors that drive formation of particular types of cancer can aid efforts to develop better diagnostics or treatments. The identification of a bacterial subspecies with a connection to colon cancer has clinical relevance.
- Cynthia L. Sears
- & Jessica Queen
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News |
First pig liver transplanted into a person lasts for 10 days
Pig organs could provide temporary detox for people whose livers need time to recover or who are awaiting human donors.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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News |
First US drug approved for a liver disease surging around the world
A therapy called resmetirom improves hallmarks of an obesity-linked condition that can lead to liver failure.
- Heidi Ledford
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Nature Index |
Numbers highlight US dominance in clinical research
Institutions from the country make unrivaled contributions to high-quality health-sciences research in the Nature Index.
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Nature Index |
How AI is being used to accelerate clinical trials
From study design to patient recruitment, researchers are investigating ways that technology could speed up the process.
- Matthew Hutson
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Nature Index |
Researchers call for a major rethink of how Alzheimer’s treatments are evaluated
An approach that aims to quantify how long a drug can delay or halt the progression of disease is gathering steam.
- Esther Landhuis
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Nature Index |
Four change-makers seek impact in medical research
Bringing fresh perspectives to long-standing health challenges, these scientists are using techniques such as big-data analytics and AI to push the field.
- Amy Coombs
- & Sandy Ong
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Nature Index |
A spotlight on the stark imbalances of global health research
An expansion of the Nature Index to include more than 60 medical journals has revealed the clear leaders in the field.
- Bec Crew
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Obituary |
Anthony Epstein (1921–2024), discoverer of virus causing cancer in humans
Pathologist whose finding that viruses can trigger tumours in humans transformed medical research.
- Alan Rickinson
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News & Views |
Epstein–Barr virus at 60
The 1964 discovery of Epstein–Barr virus shed light on factors that contribute to human cancer. Subsequent studies set the stage for finding ways to diagnose and treat cancer, and revealed how immune defences control viral infection.
- Lawrence S. Young
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News Feature |
Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say
Clues to a modern mystery could be lurking in information collected generations ago.
- Heidi Ledford
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News |
Deadly brain cancer shrinks after CAR-T therapy — but for how long is unclear
Early studies with engineered immune cells show drastic but often short-lived results in glioblastoma, the most aggressive brain cancer.
- Heidi Ledford
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Nature Podcast |
Killer whales have menopause. Now scientists think they know why
Data suggest menopause evolved to enable older female whales to help younger generations survive, and how researchers made a cellular map of the developing human heart.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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News |
Blockbuster obesity drug leads to better health in people with HIV
Semaglutide reduces weight and fat accumulation associated with the antiretroviral regimen that keeps HIV at bay.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News Explainer |
First cell therapy for solid tumours heads to the clinic: what it means for cancer treatment
Therapy built on tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes is now being prepared for at least 20 people in the United States with advanced melanoma.
- Sara Reardon
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Obituary |
Roger Guillemin (1924–2024), neuroscientist who showed how the brain controls hormones
Nobel prizewinner whose discovery of how the brain drives hormone production had far-reaching impacts on studies of metabolism, reproduction and growth.
- Greg Lemke
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News |
Landmark study links microplastics to serious health problems
People who had tiny plastic particles lodged in a key blood vessel were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke or death during a three-year study.
- Max Kozlov
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Article
| Open AccessGenome-wide characterization of circulating metabolic biomarkers
A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for 233 circulating metabolites from 33 cohorts reveals more than 400 loci and suggests probable causal genes, providing insights into metabolic pathways and disease aetiology.
- Minna K. Karjalainen
- , Savita Karthikeyan
- & Johannes Kettunen
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Correspondence |
Personalized cancer care can’t rely on molecular testing alone
- James Larkin
- , Chloe Beland
- & Alexander R. Lyon
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Correspondence |
Forget lung, breast or prostate cancer? Why we shouldn’t abandon tumour names yet
- Albrecht Stenzinger
- & Frederick Klauschen
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World View |
Here’s what many digital tools for chronic pain are doing wrong
To address the chronic-pain crisis, digital health technologies must break out of their silos and become integrative and holistic.
- Benjamin Lipp
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Spotlight |
Stealthy stem cells to treat disease
Gene-editing strategies that allow stem cells to evade the immune system offer hope for universal cell-replacement therapies.
- Elie Dolgin
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News |
The surprising link between gut bacteria and devastating eye diseases
Finding raises hopes that antibiotics could treat some genetic diseases that can cause blindness — but also prompts doubts.
- Saima Sidik
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News Explainer |
‘Breakthrough’ allergy drug: injection protects against severe food reactions
A study suggests that the asthma treatment omalizumab can reduce the risk of dangerous allergic reactions to peanuts and other foods.
- Sara Reardon
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News |
CAR-T therapy for multiple sclerosis enters US trials for first time
Hopes are high that engineered immune cells, which are already in use to treat blood cancer, will halt the progression of a degenerative autoimmune disorder.
- Asher Mullard
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Obituary |
Judith Campisi (1948–2024), cell biologist who explored how cells age
Researcher who established the role of cellular senescence in cancer and ageing.
- Jan Vijg
- & Jan Hoeijmakers
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Article |
Monolithic silicon for high spatiotemporal translational photostimulation
A silicon-based electrode system is described that allows tunable spatiotemporal photostimulation of cardiac systems, with the optoelectronic capabilities of these devices being demonstrated in mouse, rat and pig heart models.
- Pengju Li
- , Jing Zhang
- & Bozhi Tian
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Article
| Open AccessPrevalence of persistent SARS-CoV-2 in a large community surveillance study
Using viral sequence data, individuals with persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections were identified, and had higher odds of self-reporting long COVID, in a large community surveillance study.
- Mahan Ghafari
- , Matthew Hall
- & Katrina Lythgoe
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News Feature |
Mind-reading devices are revealing the brain’s secrets
Implants and other technologies that decode neural activity can restore people’s abilities to move and speak — and help researchers to understand how the brain works.
- Miryam Naddaf
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News |
Move over, CRISPR: RNA-editing therapies pick up steam
Two RNA-editing therapies for genetic diseases have in the past few months gained approval for clinical trials, raising hopes for safer treatments.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News & Views |
Smoking’s lasting effect on the immune system
It emerges from a study of human cells that smoking can influence certain immune responses to the same extent as can age or genetics. Smoking can alter the immune system in ways that persist long after quitting the habit.
- Yang Luo
- & Simon Stent