Key Study Highlights: 

Demonstrates how dual-purpose therapeutic targets may address both hepatocellular carcinoma progression and cellular senescence, supporting emerging strategies that link disease treatment with aging biology

Identifies PRPF19 and MAPK9 as targets that suppress tumor cell proliferation while reducing senescence-associated signaling in relevant cellular models

Provides evidence of senomorphic activity, reducing harmful senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) signaling without marked cytotoxicity

Illustrates the effectiveness of integrating AI-driven target discovery, multi-omic human datasets, and experimental validation to prioritize biologically relevant and translationally promising targets

Reinforces Insilico’s broader AI-guided discovery approach for uncovering shared mechanisms across disease and aging

A UC Davis study shows a deadly cat coronavirus infects multiple immune cells, helping explain persistent inflammation and long COVID–like illness.

Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Dr. Gang Hu of the Center’s Chronic Disease Epidemiology Lab was recently appointed to serve as a member of the Population Sciences and Epidemiology Integrated Review Group (IRG) for the NIH Reproductive, Perinatal and Pediatric Health (RPPH) study section. The IRG for the RPPH previews applications submitted to the NIH, makes recommendations on the applications to the appropriate national advisory council, and surveys the status of research in the field of population science and epidemiology. 

Scientists built a robot to help explain how a tropical bat spots insects perched on leaves using echolocation, a highly sophisticated behavior that requires precise, split-second decision-making on the part of the hunting bat. In a study published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology, a bat researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute teamed up with two robotics engineers from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Antwerp, respectively, to provide the first plausible explanation for how the common big-eared bat (Micronycteris microtis) can efficiently determine whether a leaf is occupied by a silent insect amidst the dense, cluttered understory of the tropical rainforest using only sound.

Smoking tobacco is known to worsen symptoms of periodontitis and reduce responsiveness to treatment. Using high-resolution spatial transcriptomics, researchers identified differences between smokers and non-smokers in the expression of genes that weaken gum epithelial integrity and cause bone damage through inflammation. They also identified CXCL12 secreted by endothelial cells in gums as a crucial mediator of immune-cell recruitment that drives excessive inflammation. CXCL12 is a possible target for new therapies against periodontitis aggravated by smoking.

Cilk1 deficiency disrupts normal tooth development by altering primary cilia function and weakening Hedgehog signaling. This reduction triggers extra diastemal teeth, enlarges them under further signaling loss, and can ultimately cause molar fusion. Researchers propose a progressive model linking Hedgehog signaling levels to sequential changes in tooth patterning. The study highlights a previously unknown role for Cilk1 in shaping tooth morphology and improving understanding of developmental dental disorders in humans.