Life Science

In this week of research and development (R&D) updates, we see early signs of demand for clean energy plummeting after emerging as one of the fastest growing sectors among industries, with jobs in wind and solar power benefiting from that upswing. The shift comes as new legislation threatens to reshape America’s energy landscape with far-reaching…

Every three seconds, someone in the world develops dementia, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International. But misdiagnoses and slow diagnoses are common problems as other diseases can mimic dementia. Added to that is the fear and stigma surrounding cognitive decline often keeps people from seeking help until it’s too late. Now, Mayo Clinic researchers have developed…

Approximately 1% of the human genome encodes proteins. The remaining DNA is non-coding, but still influences the activity of proteins by regulating thousands of genes. These non-coding sequences may play major roles in diseases from cancer to heart disease, and might hold the key to developing novel therapeutic approaches, some with curative potential, for specific…

Why does Roche’s oncology blockbuster Herceptin (trastuzumab) have 1,536 patents in a comprehensive search of international patents but only 393 when searching for patent titles? This four-fold difference is a window into pharmaceutical strategy. For complex biologics, especially monoclonal antibodies, the platform product strategy is gaining ground. Popularized in part by Humira (adalimumab), which is…

Researchers at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are growing hearts containing human cells in pig embryos.  The pig embryos survived for 21 days, and the hearts had started beating, the researchers announced at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research annual meeting last week.  Human…

A team from MIT CSAIL, the Jameel Clinic, and Recursion has released Boltz-2, an open-source Python-based biomolecular model that performs physics-level protein-ligand affinity predictions in approximately 18 seconds on a single consumer GPU. This task previously required hours or days on cluster hardware, often costing upwards of $100 per molecule. By releasing the model, weights,…

Alongside its new Astral Zoom, Thermo Fisher Scientific also launched the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Excedion Pro mass spectrometer at ASMS 2025, a system engineered to help researchers tackle the growing complexity and size of modern biotherapeutics. This instrument introduces an extended mass range and novel fragmentation technology to help provide detailed structural data to help…

The FDA has launched ‘Elsa,’ its new AWS GovCloud-based generative AI assistant. Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary reported the tool, rolled out “ahead of schedule,” is already cutting some scientific review tasks from “two to three days” down to “six minutes.” This agency-wide deployment of Elsa, a secure in-house Large Language Model (LLM), was also achieved…

Waters unveiled the Xevo TQ Absolute XR tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer at the American Society for Mass Spectrometry meeting in Baltimore, held on June 1 to 5. The company bills the benchtop instrument as its most sensitive and robust system to date. Waters claims the new StepWave XR ion guide delivers as much as a six-fold…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) slid this week even as several companies rolled out big new R&D projects. For the week ending May 9, 2025, the index closed at 3,773.11, down 3.85% (–151.24 points). Sixteen of the 25 members fell. Eli Lilly & Co. was the biggest laggard (–10.81%) despite breaking ground on a huge…

In April, headlines crowed that pups named Romulus and Remus — and Khaleesi — heralded the return of the dire wolf. But at a GW Law webinar, neuroscientist and executive director of The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy Lori Marino, Ph.D., urged caution, drilling into the fine print, calling them “proxies.” “What is being produced”…

The University of Miami’s Systems Drug Discovery Lab routinely runs large-scale, physics-based simulations to study protein–ligand binding and support early-stage therapeutic modeling for research. In a proof-of-concept study, the Lab incorporated ALAFIA’s AIVAS Supercomputer, powered by Ampere’s 192-core AmpereOne processor, reducing simulation times from over 24 hours to just a few. This enabled more efficient…

Follow the money and you’ll spot the biology that paid off in 2024. PD-1 immunotherapy kept oncology on top, with Keytruda ringing up $29.5 billion in revenue​​. In obesity and diabetes, the top five GLP-1/GIP incretins (Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, Rybelsus and Trulicity) pulled in **$46.1 billion**, up a remarkable **37.8 %** year over year. And…

The continents of Europe, Asia, and the Americas are widely recognized as sources of innovation, but Africa is less known for its R&D efforts. Yet, despite certain economic challenges, Africa is beginning to take its place on the world stage for invention. Recent patenting activity can identify the seeds of such nascent creativity.  Patent protection…

CAS and Cleveland Clinic are joining forces, uniting CAS’s scientific knowledge management expertise with Cleveland Clinic’s AI and quantum computing capabilities to tackle drug discovery challenges in Alzheimer’s disease, while also focusing on broader research related to health, wellness, and healthy aging. The collaboration will apply Cleveland Clinic’s advanced AI algorithms to analyze CAS’s curated…

With federal layoffs across various government agencies making the weekly news, one announcement deserves far more attention than it is receiving: staffing cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Amid a wave of reductions affecting civil servants in science, health, and environmental agencies, the NIH layoffs could quietly deliver a significant blow to the…

As NASA prepares for astronauts’ return to the Moon through the Artemis program, even the most minor details inside a spacesuit can make a big difference. The top priority is ensuring astronauts can breathe safely and efficiently during long hours on the lunar surface. In pursuit of that goal, NASA has teamed up with German…

Proscia, a company developing digital and AI-based pathology software, has raised $50 million in a Series C funding round to expand the adoption of its Concentriq platform. The new investment brings the company’s total funding to $130 million as demand grows for more efficient diagnostic tools in oncology and other disease areas. The funding round…

At first glance, medical and manufacturing professionals might seem worlds apart. Doctors focus on healing individuals, while manufacturers emphasize efficiency and mass production. Clinicians work with unique, ever-changing patient conditions, whereas manufacturers aim for controlled, repeatable processes to ensure product uniformity. Yet, when it comes to imaging technology, these fields have more in common than…

Standalone instruments are out; automated workflows are in. That was a take from an interview with Andrew Whitley, VP and field officer for the HORIBA Life Science Business unit, in an interview at PittCon 2025. The company, which just announced a trio of products at the show, is applying lessons learned from its automotive testing…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending March 7, 2025, closed at 4,106.42 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index dipped –1.37% (or -56.96 basis points). Seventeen RDWI members gained value last week from 0.08% (Stellantis NV) to 12.51% (Volkswagen AG). Eight RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.25%…

For decades, probing the electrical activity of living cells has been like listening to a symphony recorded with bulky, imprecise microphones — relying on invasive electrodes and sometimes disruptive dyes. Now, engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have unveiled a potentially life-changing invention: atom-thick semiconductors that can “hear” these faint cellular signals using…

Could a new telescope unearth cosmic recipes for life? Can a cell patch rescue fading eyesight? And what’s with bubbles “galloping” in a lab? This week’s research roundup probes the surprising frontiers of astronomy, medicine, archaeology, and more — raising as many questions as it answers. Read on for highlights that challenge familiar assumptions and…

Each year, over 5 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with heart valve disease, a condition that lacks long-term treatment options. When a heart valve is damaged due to a congenital defect, lifestyle choices, or aging, blood flow can become disrupted, potentially leading to life-threatening complications. Valve replacement and repair are the only treatments…

The R&D World Index saw a slight gain last week amidst a landscape of innovation and cost-cutting within global industries. Pharma giants Eli Lilly and Merck announced a partnership with Purdue University to launch the Young Institute Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortium, aimed at bolstering domestic pharmaceutical production. However, automotive supplier Continental AG revealed further job cuts…