An international team led by researchers at QUT has used artificial intelligence to create tiny “smart” proteins that switch on only when they detect a chosen target.

Every thought, memory, and feeling we experience depends on trillions of tiny connection points in the brain called synapses. These are the junctions where one neuron passes signals to another, forming the vast communication network known as the connectome—the brain’s wiring diagram. Although scientists have developed powerful tools to increase or decrease neural activity, directly redesigning the brain’s physical wiring has remained far more difficult.

A research team led by Dr. LEE Sangkyu and Director C. Justin LEE at the Center for Memory and Glioscience within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Dr. LEE Kea Joo of the Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI), has now developed a molecular tool that makes such structural editing possible. The new platform, called SynTrogo (Synthetic Trogocytosis), enables researchers to induce astrocytes to selectively remodel synaptic connections in a targeted brain circuit.

A new analytical method could improve how cancer treatments are designed – by allowing scientists to track, for the first time, exactly where inside a living cell a drug accumulates. Researchers from the University of Surrey and King’s College London developed the method, which detects trace amounts of metal inside individual living cells and their internal compartments without the need to kill the cells first. 

Researchers at China Agricultural University have developed an ovarian follicle-based angiogenesis microphysiological system, or OF-AMPS, for rapid and quantitative screening of anti-angiogenic compounds. The platform uses growing ovarian follicles as natural angiogenic microphysiological units and forms complex 3D vascular networks within 24 hours without exogenous VEGF. In a screen of 406 small molecules, OF-AMPS identified compounds with selective anti-angiogenic activity, predicted in vivo efficacy, and helped prioritize Ki8751, which later suppressed tumor growth in a human xenograft model.

In a surprising new study, Australia’s most famous plant-eating dinosaur has been described as a “picky eater with a nose for good food” when it roamed across the continent around 96 million years ago.

After examining different parts of the skull from new bones of the large-bodied ornithopod Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, fossil experts from across Australia and the US have released several new insights in a journal article published in PeerJ.

Researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) and National Institute for Basic Biology have developed a new method to detect extraterrestrial life without relying on traditional biosignatures. By modelling how life might spread between planets, they demonstrate that life could be detected through statistical patterns across planetary populations rather than on individual planets. This "agnostic biosignature" approach could assist in guiding future searches for life beyond Earth.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the predominant histological subtype of esophageal cancer, accounting for approximately 90% of cases worldwide, with a particularly high incidence in Asian populations. ESCC is characterized by aggressive behavior and pronounced tumor heterogeneity. Although surgical resection remains the primary curative treatment, patients with locally advanced disease frequently experience recurrence and distant metastasis, resulting in poor clinical outcomes.

As the “Method of the Year 2024”, spatial proteomics (SP) enables in situ characterization of protein localization, abundance, and interactions across subcellular to tissue scales, surpassing conventional bulk proteomics. This work systematically summarizes key technological advances in imaging-based and mass spectrometry-based SP platforms, AI-driven bioinformatics innovations, and multi-omics integration strategies, while highlighting transformative applications in disease stratification, therapeutic target discovery, and drug development. It also outlines current challenges and future directions, providing a comprehensive roadmap for advancing SP toward clinical translation and personalized healthcare.