Genetic diseases impact almost 70–80 million people worldwide. Oftentimes, there are limited treatments that doctors can provide, leaving patients with few interventions to manage symptoms.

Recently, though, gene therapy has completely shifted the potential to care for many diseases. Advances in knowledge of responsible genes and nucleic acid technology have revolutionized the ability to specifically edit regions of the genome to correct mutations.

Today (April 18), the Breakthrough Prize Foundation awarded the Life Sciences prize to two teams of five researchers who pioneered gene therapies for two different types of genetic diseases. Physician scientist Jean Bennett, retinal surgeon Albert Maguire, and physician scientist Katherine High from the University of Pennsylvania developed a treatment to cure retinal blindness that is currently in use in the US, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland. Separately, clinical investigator Swee Lay Thein, now at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, tracked down the gene responsible for continued production of fetal hemoglobin in beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease and, with the help of physician scientist Stuart Orkin at Harvard University, brought this finding from the bench to the bedside.

CcCoV-KY43 is found in heart-nosed bats, or Cardioderma cor, an ecologically important species found mainly in eastern Africa, including eastern Sudan and northern Tanzania.

The researchers say the zoonotic (animal-to-human) and pandemic potential of alphaCoVs has remained relatively unchartered – to date, only two cellular receptors have been characterized for alphaCoVs.

They screened the CcCoV-KY43 spike against a panel of human receptors, identified direct interactions with the human CEACAM proteins CEACAM3, CEACAM5 and CEACAM6. Overexpression of human CEACAM6—a protein widely expressed in the human lung—conferred permissivity to otherwise refractory human cells.

During the study, partners provided specific expertise. They identified CcCoV-KY43’s ability to infect human cells and confirmed CEACAM6 supports human cell entry.

They measured how strongly CEACAM6 binds to the spike, and solved the spike structure and receptor binding in atomic detail. They showed that the RBD binds the amino-terminal IgV-like domain of human CEACAM6.

They also made initial CcCov detection in bats and mapped it across Kenya, and showed where CEACAM6s is expressed in the human body, testing serum from people living in CcCoV areas to see if they might have previously been infected by CcCoV-KY43.

Scientists use Allen Institute cell lines to learn how the genetic defect spreads in stem cells

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The transcription factor Nrf2 orchestrates cellular defenses against redox imbalance and lipid peroxidation, partly through regulating the expression of 2 key gatekeepers of ferroptosis: SLC7A11 and GPX4 [44]. As such, the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway is recognized as a master regulator of ferroptosis in osteoblasts [45]. Under stress conditions, Nrf2 dissociates from the Keap1–Nrf2 complex, translocates into the nucleus, and initiates the transcription of genes containing antioxidant response elements [46]. Previous studies have reported that Nrf2 activation protects osteoblasts from ferroptosis in bone tissue and alleviates osteoporosis [28,47]. Consistently, we observed that under iron overload conditions, baicalein restored nuclear Nrf2 levels and the expression of downstream targets GPX4 and SLC7A11. Both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of Nrf2 abolished the cytoprotective and pro-osteogenic effects of baicalein. These findings suggest that baicalein prevents ferroptosis in osteoblasts via activation of the Nrf2/GPX4 pathway.

Clinically, iron overload conditions, such as transfusion-induced iron overload in thalassemia and hereditary hemochromatosis, are strongly associated with low bone mass and increased fracture risk [48,49]. Current treatment options (e.g., iron chelators, phlebotomy, and anti-resorptive agents) fail to simultaneously address iron overload and bone damage. Baicalein has undergone human safety and pharmacokinetic studies, which indicate no significant side effects even at high doses [50,51]. Our study demonstrates that baicalein not only prevents bone loss by protecting osteoblasts from ferroptosis but also effectively reduces systemic iron storage. Although beyond the scope of this work, baicalein’s known anti-osteoclastogenic effects may synergistically contribute to its overall bone-protective actions in iron overload conditions. These findings suggest that baicalein is a promising therapeutic agent for iron overload-related bone disorders. Although clinical trials are warranted, the dose of baicalein used in our study was extrapolated from clinically tolerated doses in humans, thereby supporting the potential feasibility of its clinical application.

In summary, this study provides the first definitive evidence that baicalein effectively inhibits iron overload-induced ferroptosis in osteoblasts by activating the Nrf2/GPX4 signaling pathway, thereby promoting bone formation and preventing bone loss. Our findings not only elucidate the mechanism by which baicalein functions as a novel ferroptosis inhibitor in bone protection but also highlight its role as a “dual-function” therapeutic strategy—combining iron chelation and anti-bone-loss capacities. Given its favorable safety profile and existing human pharmacokinetic data, our results provide strong preclinical evidence supporting the clinical translation of baicalein for the treatment of iron overload-related bone diseases. Targeting the ferroptosis pathway, particularly via Nrf2/GPX4 activation by baicalein, represents a highly promising novel strategy for preventing and treating iron overload-induced bone loss.

Languages and human DNA both capture aspects of human diversity. But how are they related? A new international study led by the University of Zurich finds a clear but counterintuitive pattern: regions with high genetic diversity tend to have more similar languages, while isolated populations with low genetic diversity show greater linguistic diversity. The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

At first glance, the findings seem surprising. One might expect regions with greater genetic diversity, often shaped by migration and population mixing, to also show greater diversity in language. But the study reveals the opposite.

“We were struck by how robust this inverse relationship is across the globe,” says Anna Graff, lead author of the study and linguist at the University of Zurich. “Places where people have mixed more tend to be genetically diverse, but their languages are structurally more similar. In contrast, places with long-term isolation show less genetic diversity, yet much greater diversity in how languages are structured. Crucially, this relationship holds after adjusting for a wide range of confounding factors, including deep population history such as the timing of continental settlement.”