The first weeks outside the womb are a massive learning experience for the neonatal immune system, especially in the gut as it learns to distinguish helpful from harmful antigens. In mice, maternal antibodies ingested in breast milk in the first week after birth help to regulate immune responses in the newborn gut, according to a new study by Meera Shenoy and colleagues. This process builds the important partnership between the microbiome and host at an early stage, paving the way for nutrient assimilation, avoiding inappropriate inflammation and resistance against pathogens. Shenoy et al. found that mouse maternal immunoglobin G antibodies bind to bacteria in the neonatal gut to modulate the immune response in the gut mucosa. This antibody-bacteria complex binds to antibody receptors in the gut to limit the response of T cells to food antigens during weaning and in response to experimentally induced colitis during early life. “Translating these findings to human infants will require studies integrating information on the timing of exposure to maternal antibodies, along with the development of key immune components and the intestinal microbiota,” Michael Silverman and Kathryn Knoop write in a related Perspective.

University of Oregon bioengineer Calin Plesa has developed technology that creates massive, high-quality biological datasets at unprecedented speed and scale, solving a critical bottleneck that has prevented AI from tackling biology's biggest challenges—from studying cancer-associated genes to designing new proteins to accelerating drug development.

The antibody also has potential to treat a broad array of other conditions, including autoimmune disorders, cancer and diabetes, research indicates.

Rockefeller scientists engineered an enhanced CD40 agonist antibody to fight cancer that has improved efficacy and is administered in a way that limits serious side effects. In recent clinical trial of 12 patients, six patients saw their tumors shrink, including two who experienced complete remission. The findings have sparked a number of other clinical trials involving a variety of cancers.