In Vitro Model of Vertebrate Trunk Development Academic Background The development of the vertebrate trunk is a highly coordinated process involving the generation and organization of multiple cell types. At the core of this process are progenitor cells located in the posterior of the embryo, which differentiate into tissues such as the neural tube...

Academic Background and Problem Statement In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have made significant progress in cancer treatment, particularly anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies, which have become the standard of care for first-line treatment in various cancers. However, despite the notable clinical activity of these therapies in ...

Academic Background Protein self-assembly is a ubiquitous phenomenon in biological systems, performing a wide range of functions from structural support to biochemical regulation. Despite significant progress in protein design in recent years, existing self-assembling protein structures typically rely on strict symmetry, which limits their size and...

Synaptic Basis of Feature Selectivity in Hippocampal Neurons Academic Background A central question in neuroscience is how synaptic plasticity shapes the feature selectivity of neurons in behaving animals. Hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons (CA1PNs) exhibit one of the most striking forms of feature selectivity by forming spatially and contextually s...

Academic Background Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe X-linked recessive disorder characterized by progressive muscle wasting, leading to premature mortality. The cause of DMD is mutations in the gene encoding dystrophin, a protein that, along with other proteins at the muscle cell membrane, forms the Dystrophin-Glycoprotein Complex (DG...

Design of Four-Component Protein Nanocages through Programmed Symmetry Breaking Academic Background Protein nanocages are highly symmetric protein assemblies widely used in vaccine development, drug delivery, and nanomaterial design. In nature, viruses often construct complex structures through symmetry breaking, particularly in high triangulation ...

The Respiratory Microbiome is Linked to the Severity of RSV Infections and the Persistence of Symptoms in Children Academic Background Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a leading cause of respiratory infections and hospitalizations in infants. While known risk factors for severe infections include preterm birth, congenital heart disease, and bro...

The Ongoing Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Drives Escape from mRNA Vaccine-Induced Humoral Immunity Academic Background Since its emergence in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has undergone continuous evolution, giving rise to multiple variants. These variants have enhanced their transmissibility and immune evasion capabilities through mutations, particularly agains...

Report on the Academic Paper Paper Source The paper, titled “Modulation of TCR Stimulation and Pifithrin-α Improves the Genomic Safety Profile of CRISPR-Engineered Human T Cells,” was authored by Laurenz T. Ursch, Jule S. Müschen, Julia Ritter, and others from institutions such as the Technical University of Munich and the University of Freiburg Me...

Academic Background The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a critical area in cancer research, where tumor cells interact with surrounding non-tumor cells to influence disease progression and therapeutic responses. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a pivotal role in tumor growth, angiogenesis, and immune suppression. Recently, the role of metab...