Researchers at IRB Barcelona develop a computational framework that creates molecules with selective activity in specific cell types, without the need to start from a predefined molecular target.

Published in Communications Chemistry, the new strategy combines predictive and generative AI to design new chemical entities with specific biological effects.

Experimental validation confirmed that several of the AI-generated molecules displayed the activity they were designed for, achieving a success rate superior to that of traditional screening methods.

Results of a multicenter clinical trial found that adding the investigational adenoviral-based viral immunotherapy aglatimagene besadenovec (alglatimagene, CAN-2409) to standard radiation therapy improved disease-free survival for patients with intermediate- or high-risk localized prostate cancer. The study was led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, and Brady Urological Institute.

City of Hope today announced the nationwide expansion of its cancer survivorship program. The expansion coincides with a systemwide refresh of the City of Hope Line, an initiative that invites people affected by cancer to share messages of encouragement and hope during National Cancer Survivors Month in June. 

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center have found a way to improve CAR-T cancer therapy to treat lymphoma. By additionally engineering the cells to express the receptor CCR7, they show in “Cancer Immunology Research” that the CAR-T cells penetrate lymph nodes more efficiently and kill cancer cells quickly. 

In a new study presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Anthony Olszanski, MD, RPh, Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Early Clinical Drug Development Phase 1 Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and colleagues evaluated gamitrinib, an experimental therapy designed to exploit this vulnerability. Gamitrinib is a first-in-class therapy engineered to act inside cancer cell mitochondria, disrupting key survival functions tumors use to grow and resist treatment. 

A new study identifies vgll3 as a key gene that promotes rapid growth and early reproduction while increasing the risk of aging and cancer later in life. The findings provide rare experimental evidence for the theory that evolution favors early-life advantages even at the expense of long-term health. Researchers say the discovery could open new paths for understanding, and potentially separating, the biological links between development, aging, and disease.

Researchers have captured the first atomic structures of human SMUG1, an enzyme that helps cells repair damaged DNA. The findings provide new insight into how cells recognise and remove harmful DNA bases, and may support future efforts to develop drugs that target this DNA repair pathway.

Biological tissues can behave like fluids or solids, depending on mechanical properties like tissue rigidity. EMBL researchers and their collaborators have shown that the rigidity of embryonic tissues is directly regulated by factors like cell-cell adhesion – how tightly neighbouring cells connect to each other. They also show that tissue rigidity plays a critical role in tissue organisation, regulating how cells process biochemical information, ultimately determining their future identities in a maturing embryo. These new biophysical findings have important implications for what we know about embryonic development, as well as other processes involving tissue-level transitions, such as cancer metastasis.