US Restricts High-Risk Gain-of-Function Research: The Trump administration has ended federal support for research classified as dangerous gain-of-function and introduced tighter oversight of potentially risky international scientific collaborations. The policy, scheduled to take effect in mid-November, covers experiments that could increase a pathogen’s transmissibility, disease severity, or host range, as well as certain projects involving foreign researchers or institutions. Federal agencies will establish a review board to evaluate proposed studies, while investigators must continually assess risks and disclose participating personnel and overseas work. Health officials say the rules preserve research on vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and biological countermeasures while strengthening biosafety. However, the American Society for Microbiology warned that the broad restrictions could hinder efforts to understand emerging pathogens and prepare for future outbreaks, arguing that safer facilities and training may offer better protection. (CIDRAP)

xAI Challenges Minnesota’s AI Nudification Law: Elon Musk’s xAI is suing Minnesota to block an August 1 law imposing penalties of up to $500,000 for each AI-generated sexualized or nude image produced without consent. The company argues the statute is overly broad, threatens constitutionally protected expression, and could create billions of dollars in liability even when images are never distributed. xAI says the law would force it to restrict Grok Imagine’s editing features, although it maintains that users—not the platform—should be responsible for abusive outputs. The lawsuit comes amid arrests and civil claims involving Grok-generated child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual images. Minnesota officials argue that preventing such content at its source protects victims from lasting harm. The case may test whether AI-generated speech receives First Amendment protection. (Ars Technica)

Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment During Senate Hearing: Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly during a nearly three-hour Senate hearing examining his role in the COVID-19 response and the pandemic’s origins. Senator Rand Paul, who chaired the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, accused the former infectious-disease official of supporting risky research in Wuhan, misleading Congress, and suppressing discussion of a possible laboratory leak. Fauci said Paul’s repeated calls for his prosecution and what he described as slanderous accusations left him no choice but to decline answering questions on his lawyers’ advice. Republicans also blamed Fauci for lockdowns, school closures, vaccine messaging, and opposition to unproven treatments. Democratic senators condemned the proceeding as an attempt to entrap Fauci, arguing that Congress should instead examine pandemic failures and strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks. (CIDRAP)

Lactate May Lock Breast Tumors Into Treatment Resistance: A new review examines how lactate-rich conditions inside breast tumors may promote immune evasion and lasting resistance to treatment. Lactate was once considered merely a waste product of cancer metabolism, but researchers increasingly view it as a signaling molecule and possible source of protein lactylation—an epigenetic modification affecting chromatin and cellular behavior. The authors describe three interconnected effects: acidic, nutrient-poor conditions temporarily suppress cancer-killing immune cells; sustained exposure favors regulatory immune and stromal populations; and histone or non-histone lactylation may stabilize these tumor-supporting states. Evidence is currently strongest for triple-negative breast cancer, and the authors caution against treating lactylation as a universal explanation. They recommend spatial multi-omics, direct lactylation measurements and patient-derived models to determine which lactate-dependent pathways might be therapeutically targeted. (Springer)

Maternal Weight Loss Reshapes Offspring Brain Methylation: A mouse study suggests that a mother’s nutritional condition before conception can leave long-lasting epigenetic marks in her offspring’s brain. Researchers examined male mice born to mothers that underwent preconception weight loss and had previously shown reduced smell sensitivity and altered food-seeking behavior. DNA analysis of the offspring’s olfactory bulbs identified 11,055 differently methylated cytosines and 150 altered regions spanning 111 genes. These changes were concentrated in noncoding gene regions, distant regulatory elements and relatively isolated CpG sites, while promoter CpG islands were comparatively resistant. Affected genes were associated with histone regulation, energy signaling, synaptic activity and cellular differentiation. Because the work was conducted in mice, it does not demonstrate equivalent effects in humans, but it strengthens evidence that maternal metabolism before pregnancy may influence offspring neurobiology through epigenetic programming. (Springer)

Environmentally Altered Epigenomes Could Reveal Disease Risk: A new Environmental Epigenetics review evaluates how environmental exposures become biologically embedded through changes in DNA methylation and other epigenomic processes. The authors focus on common life-course exposures—including contaminants, physical conditions and social stressors—that are associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic disorders and neurological illness. Epigenetic measurements could eventually help identify mechanisms linking exposure to disease, discover biomarkers and guide preventive interventions. Major obstacles remain, however. Studies frequently identify different methylated regions even when examining similar exposures, while age, tissue type and cellular composition strongly influence epigenetic patterns. Blood measurements may also fail to reflect changes in the organ where disease develops. The researchers argue that customized methylation arrays, improved model systems and larger exposure-focused databases could help distinguish genuine exposure signatures from background biological variation. (OUP Academic)

New Atlas Reads Genetic and Epigenetic Information Together: Researchers have produced what they describe as the first body-wide atlas capable of examining genetic variation and DNA methylation from the same long DNA molecules. Conventional sequencing often separates genome sequence from epigenetic measurements, making it difficult to determine how inherited variants and regulatory chemical marks interact within individual cells and tissues. The new approach reads both layers simultaneously, allowing researchers to trace methylation patterns to particular parental chromosome copies and compare them across organs. Such information could improve studies of genomic imprinting, development, aging and diseases in which gene regulation changes without alterations to the underlying DNA sequence. The atlas also highlights substantial differences between tissues, reinforcing the need to examine disease-relevant organs rather than relying exclusively on blood. Researchers expect the resource to support future investigations into how genetic and epigenetic variation jointly shape human biology. (EurekAlert!)

AI Predicts How DNA Activates Genes Across Cells: Researchers have developed an artificial-intelligence model designed to predict how regulatory DNA sequences influence gene activity in different cell types. The system, called Corgi, incorporates expression information from numerous regulatory genes, making its architecture more representative of the cellular machinery controlling transcription. Rather than treating a DNA sequence as having one fixed effect, the model attempts to predict how its activity changes depending on cellular context. An expanded version, Corgi+, can infer epigenetic information from RNA-sequencing data, potentially filling gaps where direct chromatin or methylation measurements are unavailable. That capability may be particularly useful for rare cells, embryonic tissue and limited patient samples. The researchers believe the method could also strengthen “virtual cell” models by linking DNA sequence, regulatory activity and predicted responses to genetic perturbations within a unified computational framework. (Phys.org)

AlphaFold Helps Engineers Build Safer Gene Editors: Scientists have used AlphaFold’s protein-structure predictions to redesign gene-editing enzymes so they make fewer unintended changes. Many editing systems rely on proteins that recognize and cut particular DNA sequences, but small similarities elsewhere in the genome can produce potentially dangerous off-target activity. Researchers used structural modeling to identify portions of the editing protein that influence how tightly and selectively it interacts with DNA. They then modified those regions and tested whether the redesigned variants retained useful editing activity while reducing mistakes. The project illustrates a growing use of AI in biotechnology: not simply predicting what naturally occurring proteins look like, but guiding the engineering of proteins with improved properties. More laboratory and clinical testing will be necessary, especially regarding delivery and immune responses, but structurally guided redesign could shorten the trial-and-error process used to optimize future gene therapies. (Ars Technica)

Controlled Burns Greatly Improve Sequoia Survival: A NASA-funded study found that giant sequoias growing in forests previously treated with prescribed fire were nearly four times more likely to survive extreme wildfires. Giant sequoias are adapted to periodic low-intensity fires, which clear accumulated vegetation and help release seeds. Decades of fire suppression, however, have allowed dense fuels to build up, producing unusually intense fires capable of killing even mature trees. Researchers combined satellite observations, field measurements and fire-history information to compare survival in managed and unmanaged areas. The findings indicate that prescribed burns can reduce competition, remove dangerous surface fuels and lower the probability that flames reach the forest canopy. The study adds to evidence that carefully planned burning is not merely a method of containing wildfires but an ecological intervention that can restore forests and protect exceptionally old trees during worsening fire seasons. (NASA Science)

Radio Telescopes Become Detectors for Orbital Debris: An international team has demonstrated that existing radio telescopes can be repurposed as highly sensitive receivers for tracking satellites and debris in orbit. Conventional radar systems can readily monitor objects in low Earth orbit, but detecting objects near geostationary orbit—approximately 37,000 kilometers above Earth—requires considerably greater sensitivity and transmitter power. During a live demonstration, researchers combined scientific and commercial infrastructure as independent radar receivers, sharpening their ability to detect, locate and characterize distant objects. Geostationary orbit contains strategically important communications, navigation, military and weather satellites, making reliable surveillance increasingly important as orbital traffic grows. The approach could expand tracking coverage without constructing entirely new radar networks. It may also help distinguish functioning spacecraft from inactive satellites, potentially hostile vehicles and hazardous debris, giving operators more time to investigate close approaches or undertake protective maneuvers. (Phys.org)

Record El Niño Could Push Global Heat Higher: Climate models indicate that the developing 2026 El Niño could become the strongest observed since reliable records began. An analysis incorporating 667 simulations from 14 models projects that temperatures in the Niño 3.4 region of the tropical Pacific could peak approximately 3.6 degrees Celsius above normal—around 0.8 degrees higher than the previous record. El Niño redistributes ocean heat and reorganizes atmospheric circulation, influencing droughts, rainfall, fisheries and storms worldwide. Because its global temperature effects often peak after the event develops, researchers warn that 2027 could experience particularly high average temperatures. Economic consequences could also persist for years; one estimate places cumulative losses from the current event near $10 trillion by 2032. Scientists nevertheless emphasize uncertainty because forecasting models have few historical analogues for an El Niño of the projected magnitude. (WIRED)

Leaky Qubits Sustain Entanglement Without Transport: Physicists have demonstrated a method for generating remote quantum entanglement without first creating an entangled state and physically transmitting its components through a noisy channel. Traditional distribution methods are vulnerable to decoherence because environmental interactions gradually destroy the delicate correlations linking qubits. The new system instead allows entanglement to emerge as the stable endpoint of a deliberately engineered dissipative process. Researchers liken the mechanism to a refrigerator that continuously removes disruptive influences rather than heat. Carefully controlled “leakiness” drives separated qubits toward an entangled state and helps maintain it, turning a phenomenon normally regarded as harmful into a stabilizing resource. The experiment remains an early demonstration, but the principle could support modular quantum computers and communication networks in which distant components must share entanglement reliably without transporting fragile quantum states between them. (Phys.org)