NHS hospitals have declared critical incidents and reported failures affecting cooling systems, diagnostic equipment and IT due to the heat.
Author Correction: Generation of modified cows and sheep from spermatid-like haploid embryonic stem cells
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 25 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03216-y
Author Correction: Generation of modified cows and sheep from spermatid-like haploid embryonic stem cells
HPV vaccination linked to dramatic reduction in cervical cancer deaths
Nature Medicine, Published online: 25 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41591-026-00033-3
A new study examines the impact of the national HPV vaccination program in England, initiated almost two decades ago — showing huge declines in cervical cancer mortality among young women.
AI Framework Surfaces New CAR T Target with Multi‑Cancer Potential
A new study in Cell describes an AI‑enabled strategy that could accelerate the search for next‑generation CAR T cell targets—an enduring bottleneck in expanding the therapy beyond blood cancers. The work, titled “AI‑driven discovery of GPNMB CAR T cells as a multi‑cancer therapy,” was led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center, with collaborators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and RWTH Aachen University.
The Penn team developed a human‑in‑the‑loop AI framework designed to systematically nominate antigens suitable for CAR T cell therapy. Rather than replacing expert judgment, the system integrates large language models (LLMs) with single-cell RNA sequencing datasets from human skin cancer and healthy tissue to generate and refine target lists that scientists then evaluate experimentally.
The challenge is well known: while CAR T therapies have transformed treatment for several hematologic malignancies, identifying safe, selective targets in solid tumors remains slow and labor‑intensive. “Discovering a good CAR target is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, except the haystack keeps growing as more sequencing data becomes available,” said lead author Daniel Baker, PhD, who completed the work under the mentorship of Carl June, MD, and Zoltan Arany, MD, PhD. LLMs, Baker added, excel at scanning broad datasets, while human experts “go deep”—a complementary pairing the team sought to formalize.
To test the framework, the researchers focused on skin cancer, integrating four publicly available single‑cell RNA‑seq datasets with additional public resources. More than 10,000 potential antigens were filtered using criteria relevant to CAR T design, including tumor composition, tissue specificity, and clinical feasibility. Multiple LLMs then repeatedly simulated target nomination—1,000 independent runs—to reduce noise and mitigate hallucinations. The resulting consensus list was reviewed by the team, who selected Glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB) as the top candidate.
The researchers then engineered a GPNMB‑directed CAR T cell and validated its activity across several preclinical models. In mouse studies, the CAR T cells eliminated tumors not only in melanoma—the original focus of the dataset—but also in monoblastic leukemia and colorectal adenocarcinoma, suggesting broader therapeutic potential. These findings align with the paper’s highlight that GPNMB is expressed across a wide range of tumor types.
The full framework is included in the methods section to enable adoption by other groups. The Penn team plans to apply the approach to additional cancer types and continue advancing the GPNMB CAR T candidate toward potential clinical translation.
According to June, “this study represents one of the first uses of large language models in the field of cell and gene therapy, including CAR T cell therapy.” The framework is intentionally modular and disease‑agnostic, designed to accommodate new datasets and future LLMs as they evolve. Arany emphasized the broader implications: “This is only the tip of the iceberg, as agentic AI is on the rise.”
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Antibiotics Trigger Protein Sharing Among Bacteria, Aiding Persister Cells
New research headed by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine suggests that when bacteria are under antibiotic attack, it is not “every man for himself.” The team developed a genetic system in Escherichia coli to track how the cells transferred proteins between them. The results indicated that bacterial populations work as a team to survive antibiotics, pooling their resources and helping quiescent or dormant cells survive. Using different techniques, including high-resolution imaging, the team found that antibiotic treatment induced the transfer of proteins between different E. coli strains, and between E. coli and other species of bacteria.
They discovered that antibiotics stimulate bacteria to differentiate into groups of what they describe as vesicle-producing, and protein-receiving cells, and that antibiotic “persisters” with reduced protein synthesis acquire proteins released by their neighbors. The discoveries may help to explain why some bacteria are hard to eliminate, and also point to potential future approaches to improve antibiotic effectiveness.
“Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria or stop them from growing,” said Christophe Herman, PhD, professor of molecular and human genetics and of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor. “Yet many times, antibiotics leave behind a small group of survivors. These survivors are not genetically resistant; instead, they temporarily shut down certain parts of their metabolism, entering a dormant-like state that allows them to endure treatment and later regrow. Understanding how survivors form and remain is a major challenge in fighting persistent infections.”
Herman is senior and co-corresponding author of the team’s published paper in Science,” (“Antibiotics stimulate protein transfer to persister cells,”) in which the team further explained, “Protein uptake enhanced the antibiotic persistence of recipient cells, revealing that vesicle exchange promotes bacterial survival during antibiotic treatment.”
Scientists have long known that bacteria can help each other resist antibiotics by sharing genes that provide antibiotic resistance. But as the authors pointed out, “Whereas horizontal gene transfer is known to spread antibiotic resistance genes, far less is understood about the mechanisms and effects of horizontal protein transfer.”
Antibiotic treatment stimulates vesicle production, so for their current study, Herman and colleagues investigated whether bacteria could also directly share proteins. Previous studies had indicated that bacteria can share proteins, but the experimental evidence was not clear. “To directly measure horizontal transfer, we constructed a genetic system in Escherichia coli consisting of a donor and a recipient strain.”
First author Alice X. Wen, a Baylor McNair Scholar in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD), working in the Herman lab, further explained, “To detect protein transfer, we designed a sensitive system using the bacterium Escherichia coli. We engineered one group of bacteria (donors) to make a special enzyme called Cre, and another group of the same bacteria (recipients) to contain a genetic ‘switch’ that could only flip if Cre protein entered the recipient.”
Using this system, investigators discovered that when donor and recipient bacteria were grown together, protein transfer occurred but was rare under normal conditions. In contrast, when the bacteria were exposed to low, non-lethal levels of antibiotics, protein transfer increased by thousands of times. “We then investigated how proteins were moving from one cell to another,” Wen said. “We found that the transfer still occurred when donor cells were removed, leaving behind only the liquid in which they had grown. This ruled out direct cell-to-cell contact and pointed to something released into the environment.”
By combining biochemical techniques and advanced microscopy, the team discovered that the proteins were transported by tiny membrane vesicles. These structures, which look like tiny bubbles, are made of bacterial membrane that pinch off from cells and float freely. “Bacterial membrane vesicles, which contain proteins, have been proposed as mediators of horizontal protein transfer,” they pointed out. “Additionally, antibiotic treatment stimulates vesicle production.”
Looking closer at their experimental system, the team found that the recipient cells showed strong signs of dormancy—these cells slowed down protein production, reduced their metabolism, and activated genes associated with persistence, such as HipA. “Recipient cells with high HipA activity were more likely to take up protein-carrying vesicles and survive antibiotic treatment,” Wen said. “When HipA was removed, both protein uptake and survival dropped.”
Protein transfer also helped dormant bacteria survive exposure to lethal antibiotic doses after vesicle transfer; that is, exposing cells to an increased concentration of vesicles before antibiotic treatment led to increased survival. “Protein uptake enhanced the antibiotic persistence of recipient cells, revealing that vesicle exchange promotes bacterial survival during antibiotic treatment,” the authors stated. The results suggested that transferred proteins helped dormant cells endure stress while their own protein production was shut down. “Uptake of key proteins, such as ribosomal components, metabolic enzymes, or DNA repair factors, from active neighbors may help persisters endure proteome-damaging stress despite reduced protein synthesis.”
Herman said, “Our study shows that antibiotics cause a genetically identical group of bacteria to differentiate into two distinct groups: donor cells that respond by releasing protein-filled vesicles, and recipient cells that become dormant but capable of taking up proteins from incoming vesicles, which helps them survive,” Herman said. “This teamwork allows vulnerable members of a bacterial population to persist in the face of a potentially deadly antibiotic attack.”
The researchers are interested in identifying the proteins in vesicles that contribute to recipient persistence. Understanding donor-recipient interactions among bacteria opens new doors in the fight against chronic and persistent infections. In conclusion, the authors stated that their work “… reveals that antibiotics stimulate the differentiation of bacteria into distinct groups of vesicle-producing and protein-receiving cells, which allows antibiotic persisters with decreased protein synthesis to acquire proteins secreted from active neighbors. New strategies to eliminate persisters could be developed by inhibiting or hijacking horizontal protein transfer.”
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New ACIP charter broadens criteria for members, calls for review of alternatives to vaccines
A new charter for the panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine use substantially refocuses the responsibilities of the committee, downplaying its role in recommending the use of new vaccines and giving it responsibility to assess alternatives for disease prevention.
Whereas previous iterations of the committee’s charter stressed the importance of vaccine research-relevant experience in the selection of its members, the new version, posted to the CDC’s website on Thursday, merely stipulates that the panel as a whole should “represent a balanced range of scientific, clinical, and public health expertise relevant to the Committee’s mission” — a broad umbrella under which people with little experience in vaccines or vaccination policy might conceivably fit.
Young Adults’ Perspectives on an Ecological Momentary Intervention for Drinking to Cope: Qualitative Study
<strong>Background:</strong> Young adults have high rates of mental health problems, such as mood or anxiety symptoms, and high rates of problematic drinking. Many young adults who undergo psychiatric hospitalization to address depression and anxiety symptoms also engage in risky drinking and tend to drink to cope with negative emotions. However, in many cases, treatment programs focusing on mood and anxiety symptoms often fail to adequately address problematic alcohol use in young adults. <strong>Objective:</strong> This study aimed to address this treatment gap by investigating patient perspectives on a potential ecological momentary intervention mobile app. Researchers used qualitative methods to gather perspectives of young adults hospitalized for psychiatric care on their use of drinking to cope with negative emotions and their feedback for a prospective app designed to suggest healthy coping strategies when participants report low mood and cravings to drink. <strong>Methods:</strong> We recruited a total of 12 young adults admitted to a partial hospitalization program to participate in a qualitative interview. To be eligible, participants needed to be aged 18-25 years and report drinking at least once weekly, binge drinking at least once monthly, drinking to cope with negative emotions, and depression and/or anxiety symptoms. <strong>Results:</strong> Qualitative analysis of our data resulted in 4 major themes. These included (1) motivations to use substances, (2) healthy coping, (3) general reactions to the proposed app, and (4) suggestions for the app. Participants generally had insight about their use of alcohol to cope and were able to identify several motivations for drinking; the most frequent motivations were to alleviate anxiety and depression, although many participants noted drinking to cope with other emotions, such as guilt or loneliness. Participants overall had positive responses to the prospective intervention and reported that they would appreciate the portability of a digital intervention in helping them “step down” from higher levels of psychiatric care. Participants also made several valuable suggestions about content, features, and usability, such as suggesting ways to “gamify” the app to increase use. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> This feedback will be crucial in designing and testing an ecological momentary intervention designed to reduce drinking to cope in young adults hospitalized for psychiatric care.
An Evaluation of the Usability and Feasibility of the 50K4Life Mobile App for Delivering Walking Challenges to Public School Administrative Employees: Beta Testing Study
Background: Mobile health apps show promise for delivering physical activity interventions, but uptake remains low due to usability barriers. Beta testing is essential to optimize user experience before full implementation. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the usability, acceptability, and feasibility of the 50K4Life mobile app prototype for delivering a 2-week walking challenge to public school administrative employees. Methods: Following the Integrate, Design, Assess, and Share framework, we conducted a single-group beta test with 12 public school administrative employees in El Paso County, Texas. Participants used the 50K4Life app built on the Pathverse platform for a 2-week walking challenge. Data collection included acceptability surveys, satisfaction questionnaires, app use metrics, and qualitative debriefing sessions. Results: All 12 participants completed the walking challenge. Acceptability was high for app design (n=12, 91.7%), layout (n=9, 75%), and battery impact (n=10, 83.3% reported no issues). However, participants experienced difficulties with navigation (n=7, 58.3%), delays in updating step counts (n=8, 66.7%), and completion of assigned tasks (n=5, 41.7% could not locate all features). App use was high: 100% (n=12) accessed the leaderboard and walking challenge page, and 91.6% (n=11) synced step data and set step goals. Results from participants’ responses in the surveys and feedback from debrief interviews identified needs for improving user engagement features, synchronization, and visual appeal. Conclusions: The application of a participatory approach and Integrate, Design, Assess, and Share framework yielded valuable insights into the acceptability of the 50K4Life app reported by this study cohort and potential for enhanced features in <i>real-world</i> use contexts.
Affiliate Updates: Summer 2026
An IOCDF Affiliate carries out the mission of the International OCD Foundation through programs at the local community level within the United States. Each Affiliate is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization run entirely by dedicated volunteers.
Below will be quarterly updates from our Affiliates, organized by state. Click the (+) to open each menu and read updates and find contact information for clinics near you.
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Cancer Immunotherapy Blossoms Are Starting to Bear Fruit
Over the last decade, there has been unprecedented success and progress in immunotherapy for cancer treatment, so says Ira Mellman, PhD, the president of research at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy during his opening keynote at the Frontiers in Cancer Immunotherapy Symposium hosted by The New York Academy of Sciences, held on June 23, 2026.
Through his talk, Mellman described the research and clinical seeds that were sown over the last two decades. He showed how these seeds have blossomed, and his expectations for which blossoms will bear fruit, with the right focus and pruning.
The last decade of cancer immunotherapy
Before considering therapeutic options, Mellman summarized the biological events required for stimulating an effective immune response in patients. He described the dual stages of T cell activation and T cell exhaustion. Most therapies have relied on interventions that activate T cells, but over time, these T cells become exhausted—they don’t die, but go into senescence.
The next logical step in therapeutic investigation was to explore methods to pull exhausted T cells from senescence back into an active state. While some new therapies are being tested, there is still significant work to be done and there have been many false starts.
Vaccine therapy has emerged to get ahead of the activation-exhaustion problem by developing primed and more efficient T cells.
“The sole purpose of vaccine therapy, as we think of it, is to generate more and better T cells by immunizing against presumptive tumor associated antigens or neo antigens and …having those cells feed into the cycle,” Mellman said. He explained that the idea behind using vaccines is akin to the goal of adaptive therapies, like CAR T, that increase the number of primed and functional T cells, but vaccines do it endogenously.
Broadening his scope further, Mellman spoke about cancers not just in terms of the direct interaction between cancer cells and T cells, but in the broader context of the body. “The tumor microenvironment (TME),” he said, “plays an immense role—both positive and negative—with respect to allowing T cells to do their jobs in the case of anti-tumor immunity.” Consideration of the interactions between cancer and the TME present both opportunities and challenges to developing therapies.
Current progress
“We’ve had unprecedented success both clinically and commercially” within the last 15 years for a variety of cancer therapies that have come from the research stage to FDA approval in a relatively short time. Mellman pointed out that these therapies not only have been created quickly, are effective across a variety of diseases, are well tolerated, and improve survival of patients.
“All of this activity together has really changed the standard of care in a wide variety of cancer types,” he stressed. “That this has happened over a 15-year period is truly extraordinary.”
Why is a renaissance needed?
With this progress, Mellman returned to his original thesis that the field of cancer immunotherapy is on the precipice of big change.
He asked, “With this success—including clinical and financial—why do we need a renaissance in this area?” He answered his own question stating, that “We are the victims of our own success.”
He described challenges and setbacks stemming from the early progress. He described that identifying new checkpoint targets have not been successful, TIL research is somewhat successful, but outcomes are inconsistent, solid tumors post problems for therapies like CAR T, and cancer vaccines efficacy is unconfirmed except in their use as a post-operative adjuvant.
Reflecting on the history and progress, Mellman presented his four top priorities in progressing cancer immunotherapy over the next ten years. First, focusing on the next generation of cell therapy, especially focusing on treating solid tumors. Second, he suggests moving past CARs to using neoantigen-driven targeting (including vaccines, synthetic neoAg, and TCR platforms). Third, prioritizing in vivo immune engineering to reduce costs and improve accessibility and scalability. Fourth, he stresses the need to focus on a holistic approach to cancer immunology, understanding and optimizing the TME cancer interactions, developing synthetic modulators and utilizing AI models guided by patient insights.
Current steps to the future
Mellman further explained that through his work over the last two decades, he’s learned many lessons. He pointed out that researchers and clinicians need to remember that there are many therapeutic opportunities derived from various approaches; he cautioned against forgetting that mice are not humans and vice versa, pointing out that what may work in one species may not in the other; he encouraged the use of new technologies, including integrating AI into analysis procedures; and finally he suggested that researchers build on clinical research not just laboratory work.
Focusing on his own work, Mellman described how his team integrated these lessons in studying the application of mRNA vaccines. He described a study comparing the outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer given mRNA vaccines intravenously (IV) or with an intramuscular (IM) dose. They were surprised to find that patients receiving IV delivery responded to the vaccine, but the response was inconsistent at first glance. Through deeper investigation, they determined that non-responsive patients previously had a splenectomy in addition to the removal of their pancreatic tumor. They reasoned that the IV infusion in responsive patients impacted immune cells developing in the spleen. While this study helped explain part of the process, Mellman pointed out that the fundamental mechanisms by which vaccines can be functional as an adjuvant are still unclear and his team is currently working on addressing these questions.
“There is a wealth of new understanding that we can generate if we move to the clinic quickly but do so in a way that really still concentrates on the underlying basic science,” he concluded. He stressed the importance of following approaches with an established proof of concept and suggested that engineering will enable research and scaling up to positively impact many patients.
Tending to the blossoming research and application of cancer therapy will allow for patients to have the opportunity to have better therapies in the future. Though he said this early in his discussion, it seems appropriate to end with Mellman’s assertion that, “This is a remarkable field.”
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