Penn Engineers have redesigned a key component of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the delivery vehicles used in mRNA vaccines, to steer mRNA toward lymph nodes while reducing off-target accumulation in the liver. The modified “aroLNPs” delivered at least tenfold less mRNA to the liver than the lipid used in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, while preserving strong immune responses. The advance could enable more precise, lower-dose vaccines and expand the potential of mRNA therapies for cancer and autoimmune disease.

Researchers have developed a technique to precisely manoeuvre quantum sensors through highly viscous biological environments, such as the interior of living cells, using magnetic microbots

TCF3::HLF-positive B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a rare and highly aggressive childhood cancer that causes severe damage to bones through mechanisms that remain unclear. To tackle this gap, researchers from Japan have developed a new mouse model that closely mirrors the disease as seen in humans. With it, they uncovered an inflammatory feedback loop that accelerates leukemia growth and bone destruction, highlighting a potential therapeutic target to combat disease progression and protect bone health.

A single-celled predator maintains stolen chloroplasts with its own proteins, linking the host cell and stolen organelles at the molecular level. This process, now supported by biochemical evidence, may offer clues to early steps in the evolution of plant cells.

A groundbreaking study reveals the physiological consequences of a sedentary lifestyle–effects that are challenging to demonstrate in human studies but easier to observe in king penguins. Researchers discovered that unlimited food allows penguins to grow quickly, but this ultimately contributes to accelerated aging.

Researchers in China developed a novel visual system, the VSES2-4 systems enabled rapid identification of transgenic soybean plants under natural light. Using the VSES4 system, transgenic plants could be distinguished at various developmental stages without compromising genome editing efficiency. The VSES4 system significantly accelerates transgenic line screening and reduces labor-intensive procedures in soybean genome editing.

Interactions between diet and the gut microbiome have been shown to have broad roles in shaping host metabolism and health. Now, researchers at the Human Biology Microbiome Quantum Research Center (WPI-Bio2Q, directed by Kenya Honda, M.D., Ph.D., co-senior author of the study) and Keio University, together with researchers from City of Hope and the Broad Institute, show how specific gut microbes are able to interpret diet and subsequently drive the conversion of white adipose tissue into beige fat, a metabolically active form of fat that burns energy instead of storing it.

The study, which has been published in Nature, also identified the molecular pathways that connect these aspects of dietary protein intake, microbial metabolism, and the host’s fat-burning response.

“These findings show, in a mechanistic way, how gut microbes are able to act as an important mediator of dietary cues, and how these bacteria are able to produce signals that shape host metabolism” said Scott Behie, member of WPI-Bio2Q and co-author of the study.