In a review published in Immunity & Inflammation, Prof. Chen-Yu Zhang from the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Nanjing University has synthesized two decades of progress in extracellular RNA biology. Their article, titled “EV-encapsulated extracellular microRNAs as orchestrators of systemic communication in immunity and inflammation,” traces the remarkable evolution of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) from stable biomarkers in biofluids to active orchestrators of long-range immune regulation and inter-organ crosstalk. The review positions EV-encapsulated miRNAs as a sophisticated “molecular postal system” and “hidden language” that coordinates systemic communication in metabolism, tissue repair, and immune homeostasis.

Wastewater treatment protects rivers, cities, and public health, but it also carries a hidden climate cost. 

Vasken Dilsizian, MD, FSNMMI, MASNC, FACC, FAHA, professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, has been honored with two important distinctions at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2026 Annual Meeting. He will deliver the meeting's prestigious Henry N. Wagner, Jr., MD, lectureship and will receive the Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award.

Experiencing a traumatic event sometimes produces long-lasting biological changes that can lead to an exaggerated fear response to future stressful events, such as what occurs in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To better understand the regulatory mechanisms in the brain that produce this biological memory and exaggerated fear response, a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health.