Volume 36 of SLAS Technology includes two editorials, one literature highlight, two original research articles, two reviews and two Special Issue (SI) features.

How did ancient fish perceive their environment in the deep-sea? An international team led by scientists from the Natural History Museum of Geneva (MHNG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) reveals that some coelacanths – fish living 240 million years ago – used their lung to detect sounds underwater. These findings, published in the journal Communications Biology, were obtained using synchrotron imaging, an especially powerful X-ray technique. They shed new light on the evolution of sensory systems in vertebrates.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) encompasses a spectrum of disease conditions and has an increasing prevalence worldwide. A new review highlights how elevated uric acid (UA) may actively contribute to the development and progression of the disease. Evidence suggests that UA promotes inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic disturbances in the liver. It may serve as a biomarker and therapeutic target for improving MASLD diagnosis and treatment.

The dedicator of cytokinesis 10 (DOCK10) gene has been identified as a key driver of abnormal insulin secretion in insulinomas, as reported by researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. Using surgical specimens and patient-derived organoids, the team performed comprehensive genetic and transcriptomic analyses, revealing that inhibiting a DOCK10-related pathway reduced excessive insulin release in cellular and animal models. These results pave the way for novel diagnostic biomarkers and treatment options for insulinomas.

Amebiasis is a parasitic disease caused by the microscopic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. Infection occurs through the ingestion of cysts from contaminated water or food. Worldwide, approximately 50 million symptomatic cases are estimated annually, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Fumagillin, a fungal natural product, has been studied for decades as a potential antiparasitic drug, but its more potent relative ovalicin was never developed. Now, a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reveals why: although ovalicin is highly active against amebiasis, liver enzymes rapidly break it down in the body. Researchers used a chem-bio hybrid approach to turn that insight into metabolically stable drug candidates that worked in animal models of amebiasis, including liver infection with abscess formation. 

A research team led by Dr. Kei Jokura (National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB) and Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS)) and Prof. Gáspár Jékely (Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), Heidelberg University) examined the cellular organization and neural connectivity of the ctenophore gravity-sensing organ, the statocyst. In work published in eLife, they used volume electron microscopy to reconstruct the larval statocyst in three dimensions and generate its complete connectome. Reconstructing more than 1,000 cells across 12 distinct cell types, the team found that the entire neural network is composed of just three large, morphologically complex, multinucleated neurons.

A new study revealed that the Hawaiian bobtail squid benefit from their symbiosis with bioluminescent bacteira in ways that extends far beyond light-production. The bacteria were found to play a vital role in the healthy development of the squid.