Weight loss is common in Parkinson’s disease, but its biological basis has been unclear. Researchers at Fujita Health University show that this loss reflects reduced body fat, not muscle, along with a shift in energy metabolism. Patients exhibited impaired carbohydrate metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, and increased fat breakdown with ketone body production. These changes were most pronounced in thinner patients and those with more advanced disease, revealing a hidden energy crisis in Parkinson’s disease.

A new artificial intelligence-driven pipeline developed in a collaborative research combines protein structure prediction, sequence design, and live-cell screening together to enable rapid conversion of antibody sequences into functional intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) that are stable within living cells. By preserving antigen-binding regions and improving structural stability, the approach overcomes major barriers encountered in intrabody development—emerging as a simpler, more cost-effective tool for diagnostics, imaging, and biomedical research.

Cooperation exists in board games, among researchers and among bacteria. Working closely together locally, scientists have deciphered how two species of bacteria join forces to avoid being eaten.

A team from the Universitat Politècnica de València and the company Corify Care has made a major breakthrough in cardiac electrophysiology with the publication of its patented Global Volumetric Mapping technology in the journal Nature Communications Medicine. The publication validates the first system capable of simultaneously mapping all four chambers of the heart, providing physicians with a comprehensive, real-time view of arrhythmias that current solutions cannot offer.

In two new studies on 28,000 individuals, researchers are able to show that genetic variants in 11 regions of the human genome have a clear influence on which bacteria are in the gut and what they do there. Only two genetic regions were previously known. Some of the new genetic variants can be linked to an increased risk of gluten intolerance, haemorrhoids and cardiovascular diseases.

A research team from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has made a major breakthrough in treating premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). The team discovered that finerenone, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes-related chronic kidney disease, can promote the development of follicles into mature eggs and form viable embryos in patients with POI. In contrast to traditional strategies focusing solely on direct follicle stimulation, this pioneering study is the first to focus on improving the ovarian microenvironment to treat infertility caused by POI.