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1,177 news posts in Featured news

Featured news

18 Jul 2025

Gene essential for vitamin D absorption could help unlock treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases

Scientists have identified the human gene SDR42E1 as essential for the absorption of vitamin D from the intestine, its subsequent metabolic processing, as well as the production of lipids and steroids. Without the functional protein, the survival of cells dropped by 53%. This discovery has at least two potential applications in precision medicine. First, the experiments showed that the gene can be blocked to selectively kill cancer cells. Second, boosting SDR42E1’s expression could help treat many other diseases, for example, autoimmune and metabolic disorders, against which vitamin D and its related forms are thought to protect.

Featured news

11 Jul 2025

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Researchers here developed a monoclonal antibody specific against mugwort pollen – an important allergen causing hay fever – in mice, which is highly effective in blocking symptoms of IgE immunoglobin-mediated allergy against this pollen. The monoclonal antibodies can be delivered inside the nose, rather than intravenously, acting almost like a ‘molecular shield’. The study is a proof-of-principle, which can be extended to other pollen species.

Featured news

25 Jun 2025

New ‘designer drugs’ pose growing threat to road safety in the US

Researchers from the US have reported the initial results from the first quantitative study to focus on the contribution of multiple new psychoactive substances (NPS) from a range of classes to roadway crashes in the US. They found that 2% of 1,000 adults who visited one of two trauma centers in California within six hours after being involved in a roadway crash had traces of NPS in their blood. The most frequent were bromazolam, para-fluorofentanyl, and mitragynine. In most (88%) of these positive cases, NPS had been taken together with traditional recreational drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. These results indicate that NPS are a new concern in roadway crashes and put lives at risk.

Featured news

24 Jun 2025

Shaping the future: World Economic Forum and Frontiers reveal Top 10 Emerging Technologies for 2025

Cutting-edge technologies addressing climate, healthcare, and digital authenticity are spotlighted in the report co-published by the World Economic Forum and Frontiers. Pooling the expertise of hundreds of leading scientists from around the world, the report identifies early-stage technologies with the potential to become fully developed and adopted within the next five years.