Listening to conversations between a mother and her unborn child on the cellular level could inform how the pregnancy is going and prevent complications. Three scientific groups from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), in collaboration with Wayne State University and Michigan State University, have used single-cell RNA sequencing techniques to decipher these words, identify the cellular language of these interactions in the placenta and establish a cellular atlas.

Current risk genes for some diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) may have emerged in the past as protection against infection by different pathogens. A group of researchers led by scientists from the University of Copenhagen has analyzed the ancient DNA of European populations and has revealed how MS, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and diabetes arose as populations migrated. This evolution would explain the modern genetic diversity and the incidences of these pathologies observed today in the old continent.

Guangzhou Fermion Technology Co. Ltd. has announced IND clearance by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for FZ-008-145 to treat pain.

Ariceum Therapeutics GmbH has submitted an application with the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to conduct a phase I trial of [123I]-ATT-001, its iodine-123-labeled PARP inhibitor in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.