Scientists at the Salk Institute and collaborators combined multiple detection techniques to identify over 4,300 previously unrecognized 'microproteins' in postmortem brain tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, comparing samples from people with and without Alzheimer's disease. Dozens of these tiny proteins, each under 150 amino acids, showed altered levels in Alzheimer's patients, and the findings were published in Nature Aging on September 14.
nature.com
· 2026-09-16
Researchers applied mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyze adhesives and glues found on a range of ancient Egyptian artifacts without damaging them, publishing their findings in Science Advances. Alongside expected animal collagens and egg proteins, they identified plant-derived proteins from sesame and moringa (drumstick tree) sources, expanding the known palette of binding materials used by ancient craftspeople.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-11
Researchers at Westlake University built an AI-based 'virtual cell model' trained on over 38 million protein measurements from breast cancer cell lines, most of them triple-negative. Tested on real patient biopsies, the model successfully identified which drugs would be effective against individual tumours, matching actual clinical outcomes. The findings, published in Nature, mark the first time such a virtual cell model has moved from lab experiments to clinical testing.
nature.com
· 2026-09-09
The provided text is a bibliography of academic papers and preprints on computational and AI-based approaches to modeling cells, including foundation models for single-cell biology, perturbation prediction, and optimal transport methods for tracking cellular dynamics. It compiles work from research groups building toward what scientists call a 'virtual cell'—computational systems that simulate how cells respond to genetic or chemical changes. No new announcement, product, or specific finding is presented; it is purely a citation list.
nature.com
· 2026-09-09
Researchers led by Nikolai Slavov, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz and Tsui-Fen Chou used single-cell proteomics to analyze the two earliest daughter cells formed after a fertilized mammalian egg divides. They found that these 'alpha' and 'beta' cells already carry distinct protein profiles linked to different developmental fates, with beta cells more often producing viable embryos while alpha cells tend to form supporting extra-embryonic tissue. The team traced these differing identities back to the moment of fertilization.
nature.com
· 2026-09-07
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