Virus battles drug-resistant infections

Jumbo bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, possess unique shielded compartments protecting their genetic material and can evade bacterial immune defenses. Advances in imaging have revealed these features, suggesting that engineered jumbo phages could offer effective therapies against drug-resistant bacterial infections, addressing a growing global health threat.

Thomas G. Laughlin et al, Architecture and self-assembly of the jumbo bacteriophage nuclear shell, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05013-4

Scientists recruit bed bugs as crime scene sleuths

Tropical bed bugs can retain human DNA for up to 45 days after feeding, enabling recovery of phenotypic traits such as gender, eye, hair, and skin color using STR and SNP markers. Their limited mobility and tendency to remain hidden make them valuable forensic tools at crime scenes, though their usefulness is restricted to recent events within a 45-day window.

Reprogrammed Human Stomach Organoids Secrete Insulin

Transplanting human gastric organoids engineered to release insulin in diabetic mice reduced hyperglycemia, offering a therapeutic avenue for type 1 diabetes.

An estimated 9.5 million people all over the world live with type 1 diabetes, wherein the beta cells in their pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to keep blood glucose in check. In the long run, elevated glucose can damage organs such as the kidneys, heart, and eyes. Over the past few decades, scientists have been studying how to generate functional insulin-secreting cells which could be transplanted into patients.

Now, researchers engineered human stomach organoids to secrete insulin. Transplanting these into diabetic mice reduced hyperglycemia. Their findings, published today in Stem Cell Reports, could help develop technologies to engineer a person’s own insulin-secreting cells for diabetes treatment.

Lu J, et al. Modeling in vivo induction of gastric insulin-secreting cells using.... Stem Cell Rep. 2025.