Transposable elements play a significant role in regulating gene expression and genome architecture, influencing development, immunity, aging, and disease progression. A study from researchers in China reviews these elements' molecular mechanisms and clinical implications, highlighting their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for conditions like cancer, neurodegenerative, and autoimmune diseases. This research opens pathways for personalized medicine by targeting disease-specific transposable element signatures.

In a preclinical study, researchers applied the compound MCH11—targeting the endocannabinoid system—to mice and observed decreased ethanol intake, anxiolytic and antidepressant‐like effects, and dose-dependent sex differences. Published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, this four-year investigation from UMH, CSIC, and ISABIAL opens avenues for personalized pharmacological therapies in alcohol use disorder.

Researchers from Shandong University have engineered CYP152 peroxygenases for a green, efficient, and enantioselective one-step synthesis of (R)-mandelic acid derivatives, offering a sustainable solution for producing chiral molecules in pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals.

A commentary published in Brain Medicine by Drs. Julio Licinio and Ma-Li Wong examines groundbreaking research identifying adenosine signaling as the convergent mechanism underlying rapid-acting antidepressant therapies. The analysis synthesizes the recent Nature study by Yue and colleagues led by Professor Min-Min Luo, which unified the therapeutic effects of ketamine, electroconvulsive therapy, and acute intermittent hypoxia through adenosine surges in mood-regulatory brain circuits. The commentary explores how this metabolic mechanism operates independently of NMDA receptor antagonism, potentially enabling improved derivatives with better therapeutic indices. Most intriguingly, it raises questions about caffeine consumption patterns in treatment-resistant depression, distinguishing between potentially protective effects of chronic coffee drinking and possible interference from acute pre-treatment consumption. This provides a framework for understanding how disparate interventions achieve rapid antidepressant effects.