A patient-derived KDF1 mutation was found to impair enamel formation by disrupting cell adhesion and Hippo-YAP signaling in dental epithelial cells. Using genetically engineered mice and cellular models, the scientists showed that the mutation weakened intercellular connections, increased abnormal YAP activity, and blocked proper ameloblast differentiation. Treatment with a YAP-TEAD1 inhibitor partially restored enamel-forming functions. The findings reveal a new disease mechanism underlying amelogenesis imperfecta and suggest potential therapeutic strategies for patients.

Researchers have developed a new way to program human cells to make decisions much like tiny computers. They created a new system that allows cells to process several cellular indications at the same time while using fewer computations than previous methods. This means cells could one day be programmed to recognize specific signs of disease and respond only when needed. For example, they could detect cancer-related signals and release treatments directly where they are needed, reducing harm to healthy tissue. The breakthrough brings scientists closer to creating smart, programmable cell therapies that can automatically diagnose and treat disease inside the body.

Autophagy plays a cell-specific, bidirectional role in neuropathic pain-protective in some contexts but potentially detrimental in others. This review maps the complex regulatory network across neurons, astrocytes, and microglia, and critically evaluates therapeutic strategies targeting this cellular process, offering a roadmap for developing precision treatments.

Researchers from Chongqing Medical University discovered that excessive fibrin deposition drives chronic gum inflammation in diabetes by disrupting immune-epithelial crosstalk. By utilizing an engineered peptide (377P) to block fibrin-macrophage interactions, the team successfully suppressed inflammation, restored the mucosal barrier, and promoted alveolar bone healing in diabetic mice. This study identifies fibrin as a druggable target for diabetic periodontitis and potentially other systemic diabetic complications.

Using noninvasive monitoring in eastern Honduras, researchers found that small mammals, not large wildlife like tapirs, drive cassava crop loss, highlighting the need for evidence-based, wildlife-friendly solutions. The full detailed results have been published in the open-access peer-reviewed journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

The M-channel, a heteromeric K_v7 potassium channel primarily assembled from KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 subunits, serves as a critical ‘molecular brake’ that restrains neuronal hyperexcitability. Dysfunction of M-channels is associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, underscoring their importance as therapeutic targets.

Despite their physiological and clinical significance, structural insights into heteromeric M-channels have remained elusive. Previous studies were limited to homomeric KCNQ channels, leaving fundamental questions regarding subunit assembly and pharmacological modulation unresolved. On May 27, 2026, Huang and Fan’s team at the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) reported high-resolution cryo-EM structures of human heteromeric M-channels in Vita, revealing their assembly architectures and a previously unrecognized PIP₂-assisted cooperative gating mechanism.

 

A landmark research protocol establishes China’s first standardized operational protocol (SOP) for fetal brain tissue banking, addressing critical gaps in ethical oversight, sample quality control, and technical consistency to provide a unified framework that enhances research reproducibility and accelerates neuroscience discovery in neurodevelopmental disorders.

An international team, including the University of Tokyo, has created a sensor inspired by the lateral line in fish – their “sixth sense” organ – which measures the pulse of lab-grown 3D heart tissue (cardiac organoids). The device, called a biomechanical well plate, looks like a small white box containing four liquid-filled wells. When an organoid is placed in a well, each beat causes the liquid to bulge into an air cavity below, changing the air pressure. This change bends a cantilever sensor, which sends live data wirelessly to an app. The device is precise, reusable and less labor-intensive than some other methods. Due to its scalability, hundreds of tests could potentially be monitored simultaneously, with advantages for drug screening and future personalized medicine. 

Gram, Denmark — An associated set of gigantic vertebrae belonging to the iconic extinct Megalodon or megatooth shark that had been missing in action since the 1980s was discovered, providing new information about the shark’s lifestyle. Two Museum of Southern Jutland staff, Mette Elstrup and Trine Sørensen, and a researcher at Aarhus University, Henrik Lauridsen, teamed up with a scientist in the United States and another in Australia and took a renewed look at a once-lost vertebral specimen of Otodus megalodon, the fossil shark that lived nearly worldwide about 15 to 3.6 million years ago.  The new study appears in the international journal Palaeontologia Electronica.