Medical research articles from across Nature Portfolio

Dormant tumour cells that survive initial therapy can awaken years later to seed metastases. New data from a phase II trial indicate that intercepting this dormancy by targeting autophagy and mTOR signalling might prevent breast cancer relapse before it begins, opening a path towards proactive prevention disease recurrence.

A synthetic peptide nanoparticle and microfluidic chip enable sterility testing of cell- and gene-based therapeutics in under 18 hours, bridging a long-standing safety gap for biopharmaceutical products that cannot undergo terminal sterilization and have limited shelf life.

Improved therapies to treat snakebite are needed. A new approach might lead to the development of more-effective treatments for use in the clinic.

In this study, a post-hoc analysis of medical records for individuals being treated with Cobenfy investigates real-world effectiveness, identifying predictors of response and suggesting the existence of biologically distinct psychosis subgroups.

As a computational neuroscientist, I study the brain through models that reduce it to data points and 3D reconstructions, yet watching Dr. Obaid perform live neurosurgeries showed me what models alone could not capture. Here I describe how witnessing the living human brain — fragile, unique, and devoid of clear landmarks — became a turning point, reminding me that our models must not only simulate the brain, but also stay grounded in its complexity and individuality.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication differences and repetitive behaviors. Recently, autism research has shifted to reflect the need for individualized, ecologically valid models of social cognition difficulties. This Special Issue brings together innovative studies exploring how autistic individuals perceive and respond to social interactions, using a broad range of methodological approaches including psychophysical experiments, neuroimaging and behavioral measures. Emerging themes include differential processing in individuals on the spectrum in social cognition, social perception, eye contact, emotion regulation/arousal, and interpersonal synchrony. The collection also introduces novel translational approaches, such as using motion synchrony during diagnostic interviews and characterizing individual motor-sensory profiles. Together, the articles in the Special Issue reflect a paradigm shift in autism research from the previous more static views of social difficulties and moving toward a nuanced understanding of heterogeneity, compensation and adaptive potential. This body of work underscores the value of precision approaches to improve social cognition and lays the foundation for inclusive, strengths-based interventions.

Biased and poorly documented dermatology datasets pose risks to the development of safe and generalizable artificial intelligence (AI) tools. We created a Dataset Nutrition Label (DNL) for multiple dermatology datasets to support transparent and responsible data use. The DNL offers a structured, digestible summary of key attributes, including metadata, limitations, and risks, enabling data users to better assess suitability and proactively address potential sources of bias in datasets.

In “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mobile Intervention Using Health Support Bubbles to Prevent Social Frailty”, Hayashi et al. investigated the effects of using a mobile health app with family or individually. Greater improvements in social behavior and frailty were noted in participants who used the app with family. In an era of remote healthcare and app-based health interventions, Hayashi et al.’s study reminds of the importance of human connection.