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Researchers at the University of Minnesota, led by surgeon Daniel Saltzman, have developed a therapy using genetically modified Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria to carry interleukin-2, an immune-stimulating molecule, straight into tumours. Pancreatic cancer patient John Heller received the experimental treatment after starting chemotherapy for advanced disease, illustrating an early real-world test of the approach.
A Nature feature surveys six novel approaches under development for delivering drugs more precisely and effectively, ranging from advanced nanoparticle carriers to devices designed to target specific tissues. These innovations aim to overcome longstanding challenges such as poor bioavailability, degradation before reaching target sites, and off-target side effects.
Scientists are developing genetically modified bacteria designed to seek out and treat tumors from within the body. The approach relies on engineering microbes to recognize cancerous tissue and deliver therapeutic effects directly at the tumor site.
A new speculative fiction piece from Nature Futures follows Melba, an employee managing the Lost Luggage Department at a nearly abandoned interstellar flight headquarters. The story details how travelers' bags are shrunk via molecular-reduction technology before space voyages, and how some end up misrouted for decades, eventually landing in Melba's basement office filled with stacks of miniaturized suitcases.
Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis proposed training a large language model only on scientific knowledge available before 1911 to see if it could independently derive general relativity, calling it a meaningful test for artificial general intelligence. Several research teams, including one led by Ido Kaminer at Technion, have since built such 'vintage' AI models restricted to historical data, but early results have exposed shortcomings in current systems rather than demonstrating breakthrough reasoning.
A group of researchers, including members of the G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality convened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has proposed creating an International Panel on Inequality (IPI). The body would function like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, systematically reviewing evidence on the scale, causes and effects of inequality and assessing which policies actually reduce it. A founding committee has already begun developing the proposal after it was presented to G20 governments earlier this year.
Nature's careers team is organizing a 60-minute webinar examining how doctoral programmes are adjusting to the growing use of AI tools among graduate students, who increasingly rely on them for literature searches, coding, presentations and summarizing papers. Three panellists will discuss the benefits of AI in research alongside concerns that it may weaken essential skills PhD training is meant to instill.
Apple's iOS 27 update overhauls the Home app with Apple Intelligence features, letting it summarize alerts from doorbells and smoke detectors instead of flooding the lock screen with notifications. Cameras gain improved AI-based detection of faces and animals, can stitch together footage of a person moving through multiple rooms, and now record in 4K with AI-generated video descriptions and searchable events. The update also lets users update all Apple TVs at once from the Home app and improves overall app reliability.
Longshot Space is developing what it calls the world's largest gun, a cannon that uses successive bursts of compressed gas rather than traditional rocket fuel to hurl satellites into orbit. The barrel, eventually planned to stretch for miles, is designed to gradually accelerate payloads to the speeds needed to reach space. Company representatives say the ruggedized satellites they envision could survive the launch shock, though they acknowledge the method isn't suited for delicate equipment or people.
A hobbyist bought the Xteink X3 e-ink display for its programmability and, frustrated by having to upload files through a clunky hotspot-based web page, decided to make it work like an actual printer. By implementing the Internet Printing Protocol and advertising the device as an AirPrint-compatible printer named 'penguin' via Bonjour, they enabled sending documents directly from a MacBook's Print dialog to the e-ink screen.
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, currently serving as a flight engineer on the International Space Station during her Epsilon mission, wore a Delta insignia badge modeled on the one worn by actor Anson Mount as Captain Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. She recorded a video tribute marking 60 years since Star Trek's debut, linking the franchise's themes of exploration and cooperation to real-world space science, and both ESA and Paramount shared the clip on Instagram.
Meta unveiled Muse, an AI assistant app built on its Muse Spark models, that can handle tasks such as booking appointments, filling out forms and watching home security feeds. The app, internally codenamed Hatch, offers a free tier alongside $20 and $100 monthly subscription options depending on usage, according to AI chief Alexandr Wang.