In a paper published in Molecular Biomedicine, researchers Xia Peng and Juan Du present a comprehensive review of lysine lactylation (Kla), a post-translational modification discovered in 2019. The study highlights Kla's role in linking cellular metabolism to epigenetic and signaling pathways by transferring a lactyl moiety to lysine residues, regulated by enzymes (writers/erasers) and metabolites like lactate, affecting both histone (e.g., H3K18la, H4K12la) and non-histone proteins (e.g., AARS1, ACSS2). In the review, the authors also elaborate on the mechanisms by which aberrant Kla triggers multiple disease processes. Meanwhile, the authors introduce the potential target sites of Kla.

The Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, in partnership with the Paradox Science Institute, has launched a US$53,000 essay competition to expand on Schrödinger’s fascination with the connections between quantum theory and biological processes. The competition, which opens for submissions on 23rd June, 2025, asks participants to ponder the question: how quantum is life?

Gary Ulaner, MD, PhD, who serves as James & Pamela Muzzy Endowed Chair of Molecular Imaging and Therapy at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute and is Professor of Radiology and Cancer Biology at the University of Southern California, has been elected vice president-elect of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2025 Annual Meeting, held June 21-24 in New Orleans.

In a step toward treating mitochondrial diseases, researchers in the Netherlands have successfully edited harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA using a genetic tool known as a base editor. The results, published June 24^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, offer new hope for people with rare genetic conditions.

A groundbreaking study in PLOS Biology from researchers at Harvard University, offers a fresh and compelling answer to the fundamental evolution mystery of how mammals went from sprawling like lizards to upright; revealing the path to upright posture wasn’t linear, but full of unexpected detours, evolutionary experimentation, and dramatic anatomical upheaval.

A trade-off between tooth size and jaw mobility has restricted fish evolution, Nick Peoples at the University of California Davis, US, and colleagues report June 24^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.