It’s been a busy week in the life sciences! Discover the latest developments below in this edition of Week in Brief.
Genomic sequencing at birth identifies rare eye cancer. Four weeks after birth, a baby who was enrolled in the Generation Study was found to have changes in the RB1 gene and diagnosed with hereditary retinoblastoma. Early treatment is crucial and he has already started therapy for the disease, demonstrating the impact of this study led by Genomics England in partnership with NHS England.
New Guinness World Record set for the fastest whole human genome sequenced. Scientists at Broad Clinical Labs have set a new record, completing full sequencing and analysis of a whole human genome in less than 4 hours. This was achieved using Roche’s new sequencing by expansion technology, which is currently still in development. Their findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Emotional memories are stabilised over multiple days by astrocytes, not neurons. Astrocytes were found to undergo day-long transcriptional changes in response to fear-based experiences. The upregulation of adrenoreceptors primes them for future recall of similar emotional experiences; this discovery introduces the possibility of druggable targets for modulating traumatic experiences.
CAR-T cell therapy against B cells in multiple sclerosis show promise in Phase 1 clinical trial. Current B cell depletion therapies for multiple sclerosis struggle to target CNS-resident plasma cells. In a phase I clinical trial, five patients were treated with an anti-B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy; treatment was well tolerated and T cell expansion was observed in the CNS.
Promising results for cell replacement therapy trial in Parkinson’s Disease. In a phase 1/2a clinical trial, twelve patients received bilateral putamen transplantation of low or high dose high-purity dopaminergic progenitors. The therapies were well tolerated and at 12 months, improvements in motor function were observed, particularly in the high dose group.
Rising grant applications in 2025 are making European research increasingly competitive. Across the European academic funding landscape, 2025 marks another record year for number of grant applications. Of note, applications for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships exceeded 17,000, a 65% increase from 2024, making the success rate just 10%. While the cause of this rise is not yet clear, it is suggested that funding and political instability in the US could be having an influence.
Annual prostate cancer screening advised for men with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Men with BRCA1 mutations are three times more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer, while those with BRCA2 mutations are found to develop the disease five years before non-carriers. Scientists at the ICR who carried out this work are calling for more targeting testing of this at-risk population.
Broad Institute and Bayer Pharmaceuticals develop new therapy for HER2-positive lung cancer. Sevabertinib, a reversible HER2 inhibitor has demonstrated efficacy in models of a rare form of non-small cell lung cancer that harbour mutations in the ERBB2 gene. The therapy is currently being tested in a phase 1/2 clinical trial and is under Priority Review at the FDA.
HIV prevention therapy injection to be offered in England and Wales. As an alternative to the daily pill, individuals at risk of HIV infection will now be able to access a preventative injection of cabotegravir that lasts for two months. This treatment is already available in Scotland and is predicted to benefit up to 1,000 people per year in England who cannot take the oral medication.
mRNA-launched protein nanoparticle vaccine shows efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in mice.To improve long-term protection against viral variants, scientists have combined the features of mRNA-based and nanoparticle-based vaccines. A computationally designed mRNA vaccine that encodes nanoparticles elicited T cell responses against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in mice.
Check out last week’s Week in Brief here.
