Translational research articles from across Nature Portfolio

In older adults without cognitive impairment with higher levels of brain amyloid-β, physical inactivity was associated with accelerated accumulation of tau pathology and faster cognitive and functional decline. These findings suggest that even modest increases in daily physical activity might be linked to slower progression of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.

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.

As tissue engineering has developed it has become apparent that multiple inputs are needed to fully replicate tissues, neuronal-axonal networks are an important part of this. In this review, the authors explore the advances in biomanufacturing and multi cell techniques aiming to generate tissues with integrated neuronal networks.

In older adults without cognitive impairment with higher levels of brain amyloid-β, physical inactivity was associated with accelerated accumulation of tau pathology and faster cognitive and functional decline. These findings suggest that even modest increases in daily physical activity might be linked to slower progression of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.

The Basel Wearable Clinic is a device-agnostic platform for cardiac care, integrating remote electrocardiogram assessment and teleconsultation. Integrating wearables into clinical workflows allows scalable arrhythmia care and a blueprint for extended wearable-based risk stratification in clinical medicine.

Investigational research into class III active implantable devices requires rigorous design, safety and ethics. However, these barriers can be broken down and addressed by a systematic approach. An ongoing trial in paediatric epilepsy illustrates this methodology and the lessons we learned.

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.

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.