https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-026-03020-1?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nmeth QT:{{” Generative AI technology is having substantial impacts across society, and scientific publishing is by no means immune. We highlight journal policies around the use of generative AI and discuss its responsible use in writing, peer reviewing and publishing scientific research. “}}
Archive for the 'SciLit' Category
A mechanism for adaptive genome regulation in cancer | Nature
April 25, 2026https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10269-1
Nice discussion of discrete cell types v cont. cell states
QT:{{”
Although the transcriptomic classification of cell types and states into discrete hierarchical entities is useful for standardizing and recogniz- ing functional units8, this framework could risk the reinforcement of a Platonic view, in which observed states are viewed as approximations to idealized configurations underpinned by strict gene programs (Fig. 1a). The advent of single-cell RNA sequencing has provided evidence for the notion that cells often traverse continuous and multidimensional landscapes of gene expression, shaped by varying degrees of constraint and plasticity. Such dynamics are an inherent cellular attribute that also occurs in seemingly stable physiological states, and processes in normal physiology once thought to involve binary choices are now recognized as continuous (Fig. 1b). For example, haematopoiesis reflects gradual acquisition of lineage biases rather than transitions between discrete progenitor states9. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) proceeds through multiple intermediate hybrid states with context-specific tran- scriptional profiles10. Waddington’s well-known epigenetic landscape metaphor, where cells roll down a fixed, branching landscape during cell-fate decisions and settle at valleys corresponding to stable inter- mediate or terminally differentiated states, may not fully capture the continuity of cellular-state transitions11. Instead, the landscape itself appears to be flexible, especially in disease contexts, with environmental and genetic changes reshaping the accessibility of states, thus changing the barriers that govern cell-state transitions (Fig. 1c). “}}
França, G. S., & Yanai, I. (2026). A mechanism for adaptive genome regulation in cancer. Nature, 652(8110), 581–590.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10269-1
Zebrafish reveal new insights into the biology of autism | Yale News
April 20, 2026https://news.yale.edu/2026/04/02/zebrafish-reveal-new-insights-biology-autism?utm_source=YaleToday&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=YT_YaleToday-Faculty_4-7-2026 QT{{” Here, we leverage the strengths of zebrafish as a scalable in vivo system to screen 520 US FDA-approved drugs and establish a database of their effects on sensory processing and arousal behaviors. Using this database, we nominate pharmacological candidates relevant to specific ASD genes or gene subgroups. “}}
Jamadagni, P., Dai, Y., Liu, Y., Mendes, H. W., Pruitt, A., Khan, S., Yang, L., Huang, T., Huang, X., Deans, P. J. M., Balafkan, N., Zhao, D., Xu, G., Liu, Y., Li, N., Wu, W., Fitzpatrick, S. E., Neelakantan, U., Chen, T., . . . Hoffman, E. J. (2026). Pharmaco-behavioral profiling identifies suppressors of autism gene–associated phenotypes in zebrafish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123(12), e2518846123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2518846123
Huntington disease – PubMed
March 29, 2026https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27188817/
ASO v RNAi v siRNA
QT:{{”
how a specific toxic conformation might be favoured
within the expanded polyQ of monomeric HTT exon1
is unclear37,47. More-complex conformational effects in
monomeric HTT exon1 linked to polyQ repeat length
are formally possible but challenging to establish37,49. By
contrast, the widely reported ability of HTT exon1 to
readily form a variety of aggregated structures presents
an array of plausible candidates that might mediate toxicity (see below)37. This aggregation links Huntington
disease to other neurodegenerative diseases that feature
a protein aggregation component, including Alzheimer
disease, Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
and spongiform encephalopathies.
…
bind to HTT mRNA selectively and target it for degradation
by cellular mechanisms. When the agent is a short
interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA, the HTT
mRNA is degraded by cytoplasmic RNA-induced silencing
complex (RISC) — a process known as RNA interference
(RNAi). Alternatively, a single-stranded modified
DNA molecule or antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) can
be used to direct the transcript for degradation by
nuclear ribonuclease H.
“}}
Bates, G. P., Dorsey, R., Gusella, J. F., Hayden, M. R., Kay, C., Leavitt, B. R., Nance, M., Ross, C. A., Scahill, R. I., Wetzel, R., Wild, E. J., & Tabrizi, S. J. (2015). Huntington disease. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 1(1), 15005.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2015.5
from G search {{
”
Yes, amyloid fibrils in Huntington’s disease (HD) contain a specific protein—the mutated huntingtin (Htt) protein. These fibrils are formed specifically from the N-terminal exon 1 fragment of the mutant protein, which contains an expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) tract that forms the amyloid core.
….
Although they contain the mutant protein, the amyloid fibrils in HD are distinct from those in Alzheimer’s (A
) or Parkinson’s (
-synuclein) diseases.
”
}}
A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity | Science
March 28, 2026https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1225829
Jinek, M., Chylinski, K., Fonfara, I., Hauer, M., Doudna, J. A., & Charpentier, E. (2012). A programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA
endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity. Science, 337(6096), 816–821. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1225829
Towards end-to-end automation of AI research | Nature
March 28, 2026https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10265-5
Lu, C., Lu, C., Lange, R. T., Yamada, Y., Hu, S., Foerster, J., Ha, D., & Clune, J. (2026). Towards end-to-end automation of AI research. Nature, 651(8107), 914–919. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10265-5
cost of privacy
March 14, 2026game theory papers
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abe9986
Wan, Z., Vorobeychik, Y., Xia, W., Liu, Y., Wooders, M., Guo, J., Yin, Z., Clayton, E. W., Kantarcioglu, M., & Malin, B. A. (2021). Using game theory to thwart multistage privacy intrusions when sharing data. Science Advances, 7(50), eabe9986.
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe9986
Guo, J., Clayton, E. W., Kantarcioglu, M., Vorobeychik, Y., Wooders, M., Wan, Z., Yin, Z., & Malin, B. A. (2023). A game theoretic approach to balance privacy risks and familial benefits. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 6932. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33177-0
They seem to be more focused on the cost to the attacker
Human hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood, ageing and Alzheimer’s disease
March 1, 2026Interesting paper on the Aging Brain. Featured in NY Times.
Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10169-4
Disouky, A., Sanborn, M. A., Sabitha, K. R., Mostafa, M. M., Ayala, I. A., Bennett, D. A., Lu, Y., Zhou, Y., Keene, C. D., Weintraub, S., Gefen, T., Mesulam, M., Geula, C., Maienschein-Cline, M., Rehman, J., & Lazarov, O. (2026). Human hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood, ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. Nature.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10169-4
Huntington disease | Nature Reviews Disease Primers
February 22, 2026https://www.nature.com/articles/nrdp20155
nrdp20155.pdf
Bates, G. P., Dorsey, R., Gusella, J. F., Hayden, M. R., Kay, C., Leavitt, B. R., Nance, M., Ross, C. A., Scahill, R. I., Wetzel, R., Wild, E. J., & Tabrizi, S. J. (2015). Huntington disease. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 1(1), 15005.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2015.5
Toward practical high-capacity low-maintenance storage of digital information in synthesised DNA – PMC
February 15, 2026https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3672958/
Goldman, N., Bertone, P., Chen, S., Dessimoz, C., LeProust, E. M., Sipos, B., & Birney, E. (2013). Towards practical, high-capacity, low-maintenance information storage in synthesized DNA. Nature, 494(7435), 77–80. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11875
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