Scientists reported designing new enzymes capable of cleaving peptide bonds using an activated cysteine nucleophile, achieving success in 13 of 69 designs. The engineered proteases, whose structures differ substantially from natural proteases, accelerated the cutting reaction by up to 30 million times over background rates, and six crystal structures closely matched computational design models. The enzymes also functioned effectively when tested inside mammalian cells.
nature.com
· 2026-10-14
New data from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly indicates that GLP-1 medications, the class that includes Ozempic, may slow biological aging as measured by molecular aging clocks. These clocks track chemical changes in cells believed to correlate with the pace of aging.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-09
GLP-1 agonist drugs, approved for diabetes, kidney disease and obesity, are being used by a growing share of Americans, with a recent Gallup poll finding 11% currently take one for weight loss, up from 3% in 2024. Beyond common gastrointestinal issues, pancreatitis and gallstones, researchers and lawsuits are examining rarer possible effects including eye nerve damage, plus emerging questions about hair and nail changes.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-10-09
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk report that patients on their GLP-1 drugs show slower biological aging according to molecular 'aging clocks' measuring DNA changes and protein levels. Separately, MIT Technology Review named Energy Dome among its 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch for 2026, citing its system that stores renewable energy using compressed carbon dioxide rather than underground caverns.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-10-07
Novo Nordisk tested blood from over 10,000 trial participants using proteomic clocks and found signs that its weight-loss drug slowed biological aging, including up to a 4-year shift in a clock measuring heart protein age. Eli Lilly ran a smaller study on tirzepatide using epigenetic clocks that track DNA changes, and also found molecular aging appeared to slow in patients taking the drug compared to placebo.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-10-06
Researchers have extended Google's SynthID-text watermarking system to ProteinMPNN, a widely used protein sequence design model, creating a method called SynthIDBio-sequence. The approach embeds a detectable signal during the autoregressive sampling of amino acids, using a random seed, scoring function and tournament sampling algorithm similar to the text version. Because protein design typically uses low-temperature sampling that limits randomness, the team also developed a distortionary variant with an added filter to preserve detectability.
nature.com
· 2026-09-30
Novo Nordisk this week detailed plans to diversify its business beyond its blockbuster obesity and diabetes treatments, according to CNBC reporting. The move comes as the Danish drugmaker faces intensifying competition from Eli Lilly in the weight-loss drug market.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-25
Anthropic has confirmed to TechCrunch that it operates a physical biology lab in the Bay Area, where its AI models help design and test experiments in real life. The company says the lab focuses on fundamental biology research rather than drug discovery, and works both internally and with outside partners, building on its April acquisition of stealth biotech startup Coefficient Bio.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-18
Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company known for Ozempic and Wegovy, is rebranding itself as simply 'Novo' starting this week. The move shifts the company's public identity toward a shorter, more casual name as it markets directly to consumers rather than solely to healthcare providers.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-16
Novo Nordisk has entered a partnership with Anthropic to integrate the Claude AI model into its drug-discovery operations. The collaboration is designed to build targeted tools and workflows aimed at resolving persistent bottlenecks in pharmaceutical research.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-16
GoKawiil