All Translational Science articles
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ArticleBeyond serendipity: rational design and AI’s expansion of the undruggable target landscape
For decades, drugging the ‘undruggable’ was thought to require luck rather than logic. Today, AI is transforming serendipity into strategy by enabling rational, data-driven approaches to previously inaccessible targets.
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NewsChampions Oncology to present eight studies at AACR 2026
Champions Oncology will present eight studies at AACR 2026 spanning KRAS-mutant tumours, ovarian cancer, glioblastoma and emerging therapies including radiopharmaceuticals and CAR-T, using patient-derived models to improve early-stage decision-making in oncology drug development.
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NewsMassey Cancer Center funds drug discovery projects targeting Hsp27-CerS1 and ferroptosis pathways
The VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center has awarded $50,000 each to two innovative drug discovery projects through its collaborative programme with Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
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NewsNew osteoarthritis therapy targeting joint repair advances following preclinical success
A Duke Health-led consortium has achieved key preclinical milestones in developing regenerative therapies that target cartilage and bone damage in osteoarthritis, potentially offering an alternative to symptom management and joint replacement surgery.
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NewsFGF21 hormone targets hindbrain pathways to reverse obesity
New research reveals that FGF21, a hormone under investigation for obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), works by signalling to the hindbrain rather than the hypothalamus. The discovery of this distinct neural circuit—which increases metabolic rate rather than simply suppressing appetite—could enable development of more precise therapies with fewer adverse effects than current FGF21 analogues.
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ArticleFrom fragments to maps: scaling drug–target interaction data
Most drug–target data were never designed to be compared at scale. Pharmome mapping takes a different approach, building a shared dataset intended to support more predictable discovery.
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ReportCRISPR & Genomics: Turning Data into Confident Drug Discovery Decisions
Early drug discovery has no shortage of genomic data, but confidence remains scarce. This report examines how CRISPR, functional genomics and human-relevant models are being applied to determine which signals matter, how they influence disease biology and which targets and strategies are worth pursuing.
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NewsScientists scale up neural organoid studies for drug testing
Researchers at King’s College London have developed a hybrid neural organoid approach that addresses longstanding limitations in scalability, reproducibility and longitudinal analysis. By dissociating 3D organoids and culturing pooled cells on microelectrode arrays, the team created 2D networks that retain cellular diversity whilst enabling consistent, long-term tracking of neural activity across parallel cultures.
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NewsImplantable ‘living pharmacy’ device produces multiple drugs inside the body
Scientists have developed an implantable device that acts as a ‘living pharmacy’, using engineered cells to continuously produce multiple therapeutic biologics inside the body. The wireless system, which generates its own oxygen supply, maintained stable drug levels for 30 days in preclinical studies.
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News$13.9M UCLA study maps autism and schizophrenia biology for drug discovery
A $13.9 million UCLA-led research programme will use CRISPR gene editing and ‘cell villages’ to systematically map the molecular differences underlying autism and schizophrenia, addressing the absence of medicines targeting the biological roots of both conditions.
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InterviewComputational design drives new generation of synthetic promoters
Designing gene control from scratch is becoming possible. SynGenSys is using computational design to create synthetic promoters for advanced therapies.
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InterviewPhysics-based modelling offers a new way to study drug targets
Australian start-up OmnigeniQ has demonstrated what it describes as the first deterministic, physics-based computation of a human protein in its native state.
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ArticleAnticipating adaptation: understanding and overcoming cancer drug resistance
Neil Bhowmick explores how understanding the mechanisms of cancer drug resistance has reframed our approach to treatment, revealing containment and control as realistic goals for therapeutic strategies.
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ArticleKMA and LMA antigens emerge as high value targets for plasma cell dyscrasia treatment
Research published in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia identifies Kappa Myeloma Antigen and Lambda Myeloma Antigen as highly selective immunotherapy targets across plasma cell dyscrasias.
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NewsNew evidence links autoantibodies to Long COVID
Dutch researchers have demonstrated that IgG autoantibodies from Long COVID patients can induce persistent pain-like hypersensitivity in mice, with effects lasting at least two weeks. The study identifies distinct biological subgroups and suggests that autoimmune mechanisms may drive the condition’s diverse symptomatology, opening avenues for targeted immunotherapies.
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NewsAI discovers peptide that eases ulcerative colitis symptoms
Researchers at First Hospital of Jilin University have used machine learning to identify antimicrobial peptides with therapeutic potential for ulcerative colitis. The AI-driven approach screened over 6,000 candidates, identifying a lead peptide that demonstrated superior efficacy to standard treatments in preclinical models by reducing inflammation, restoring gut barrier integrity and selectively modulating the microbiome.
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NewsCD47 protein found to drive glioblastoma growth
University of Adelaide researchers have discovered that CD47, a protein known for helping cancer cells evade immune detection, also directly promotes glioblastoma growth and invasion through a novel molecular pathway involving ROBO2 stabilisation.
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NewsToxoplasma cell cycle mapped for next-generation therapies
University of South Florida researchers have adapted fluorescent imaging to visualise the cell cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in real time, revealing an unusual branching growth pattern that enables rapid multiplication. The breakthrough could identify new therapeutic targets for toxoplasmosis, which affects one-third of the global population and has limited treatment options once chronic.
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NewsBiomarker discovery may improve schizophrenia treatment
Northwestern University scientists have identified a circulating brain protein biomarker that is significantly reduced in schizophrenia patients and developed a synthetic therapeutic that corrected abnormal brain activity in preclinical models, offering hope for treating the disorder’s debilitating cognitive symptoms.
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NewsGut microbes found to drive chronic kidney disease
A newly discovered feedback loop between impaired kidney function and gut bacteria may drive disease progression through toxic compound production. UC Davis researchers have identified a potential therapeutic target to interrupt this damaging cycle.