News Feature

Inspired by PROTACs, new degraders are emerging that harness endocytosis and autophagy to send a wide array of targets to the lysosome for destruction.

Rising costs and an uncertain global economy have left many potential buyers sitting on their hands — or partnering instead.

Nature Biotechnology’s annual survey highlights academic startups that are, among other things, designing circular RNA therapeutics, tackling cancer with arenaviruses, creating psychedelics without the trip, editing genes and cells in vivo, harnessing the power of autoantibodies and editing the epigenome.

Identifying synthetic rescue mutations in healthy people may provide new avenues for fighting disease

Defanged CRISPR systems hooked up to enzymatic domains may bring epigenome therapies to precision medicine.

Despite its checkered reputation, cryptocurrency is being considered by a handful of academics as a means to funnel funds into translational research. Is the trend likely to spread? Laura DeFrancesco and Ariel Klevecz investigate.

Two startups are developing tools to do cell and gene engineering directly in the human body

Non-hallucinogenic versions of drugs like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA could unlock their potential in mental illness.

After >20 years of research at the intersection of virology and immunology, two brothers have launched a venture seeking to turn arenaviruses into an anticancer virotherapy.

In the ascendant world of mRNA medicines, circular RNA shows promise as an alternative way for making proteins inside human cells.

Improving target selectivity and defining cell phenotypes may improve the odds of finding therapies for fibrosis.

After decades of research and development, devices for detecting infectious agents in breath are finally maturing, with SARS-CoV-2 galvanizing progress. Carrie Arnold reports.

Whole-genome sequencing may be the fastest way to diagnose rare complex diseases, but should it be incorporated into healthy newborn screening?

Can biotech’s cash cushion soften the blow as public markets tumble?

Protective encapsulating devices and gene-editing technologies could obviate the need for antirejection drugs in stem-cell-derived therapies for diabetes.

2021 witnessed regulators’ continued push to accelerate approvals and adjust to COVID-19, but has the pendulum swung too far in drug makers’ favor?

Investment in small-molecule protein degraders is surging, but their drawbacks, limitations and risks are becoming clear.

In China, the first children with germline-edited genomes are growing up. How might their edited genomes affect their lives?

Whether pan-vaccines or antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 is adding impetus to the race for broad-spectrum countermeasures against the world’s next infectious scourges.

Nature Biotechnology’s annual survey highlights university startups that are, among other things, rethinking how to deliver gene-editing therapy and tackling various metabolic conditions, immune disorders and cancer with microbiome treatments or immunotherapy. Michael Eisenstein, Ken Garber, Esther Landhuis, Caroline Seydel and Laura DeFrancesco report.