CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 2, 2025 — Insilico Medicine (‘Insilico’), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery and development company, today announced the nomination of ISM1745, a potentially best-in-class MTA cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor with AI-powered novel scaffold, as preclinical candidate (PCC) for the treatment of MTAP-deleted cancers. Based on de novo design results of Chemistry42, ISM1745 marks the fifth PCC nomination achieved by the Insilico team in the year of 2024, bringing the total number since 2021 to 22.

Piezoelectric and triboelectric tactile sensors, crucial for applications in robotics and wearable devices, face challenges in flexibility and environmental resilience. In a new study, researchers have developed innovative manufacturing strategies to enhance sensor performance by optimizing material properties and fabrication techniques. These advancements are set to drive the creation of highly sensitive, self-powered sensors for next-generation technologies, enabling breakthroughs in healthcare, robotics, and human-machine interfaces.

Steroid hormones are among the most widespread aquatic micropollutants. They are harmful to human health, and they cause ecological imbalances in aquatic environments. At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researchers have investigated how steroid hormones are degraded in an electrochemical membrane reactor with carbon nanotube membranes. They found that adsorption of steroid hormones on the carbon nanotubes did not limit the hormones’ subsequent degradation. A report on their work has been published in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52730-7).

Hula hooping is so commonplace that we may overlook some interesting questions it raises: “What keeps a hula hoop up against gravity?” and “Are some body types better for hula hooping than others?” A team of mathematicians explored and answered these questions with findings that also point to new ways to better harness energy and improve robotic positioners.