So far this year, Communities’ members have shared their wide ranging work; from exploring key advancements from cancer biomarker discovery to the role of epigenetics in disease progression. Let’s take a closer look at some of the quarter’s most popular blog posts. 

 Growing meat on autoclaved vegetables  

Would you eat meat that has been grown in the lab? Cultured meat promises a sustainable future but growing it in the lab is no simple task. This article by @Ye Liu follows the team’s unexpected breakthrough - discovering that autoclaved vegetables like Chinese chives, shiitake mushrooms, and loofahs can serve as natural scaffolds for muscle and fat cell growth. Read this fascinating journey, beginning as a series of failed experiments that evolved into a simple and effective scaffolding method which could help shape the future of food. 

Identifying biologically meaningful DNA methylation biomarkers with high accuracy 

 Biomarkers offer powerful insights for early disease detection and precision medicine, but identifying reliable markers remains a major challenge. @Xinlu Tang and @xiaohua qian 's post explores the development of a novel deep learning framework which can identify biologically meaningful DNA methylation biomarkers with high accuracy. The framework has already contributed to successful colorectal cancer screening efforts in China, demonstrating a real-world impact and potential to transform clinical diagnostics and biomarker discovery. Read the whole blog post here.  

Guiding clinical decision-making during radium-223 therapy 

Why is it important to identify patients who may respond better to treatment? Radium-223 is a life-prolonging therapy for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases, but it is important to assess how patients’ cancer responds to the treatment first to ensure the treatment is as successful as possible. Read this Behind the Paper post by @Joe O'Sullivan to learn which responses to radium-223 therapy may serve as useful, early markers to guide clinical decision-making and improve patient management during radium-223 therapy.

The genetic puzzle of the silkie chickens 

This Behind the Paper post explores the genetically intriguing Black Bone Chicken. These chickens are not just black feathered; their skin, muscles and bones are black. The genetic basis for this remained elusive. @Nagarjun Vijay  and @Ashutosh Sharma shared a blog post detailing how the team behind this work deepened their understanding of pigmentation genetics, highlighting the complex interplay of genetic structural variations in evolution. 

A wearable device to protect dialysis patients' lifelines 

Chronic kidney disease affects millions globally and for many patients, hemodialysis is their only lifeline. A new study introduced a wearable thermal sensor to monitor vascular access patency, the state of an artery or vein,  in hemodialysis patients. This aims to detect complications like stenosis and thrombosis earlier than previously possible. @Andrea S. Carlini’s Behind the Paper post explores how the idea for this project emerged and how rewarding witnessing the potential real-world applications of this device was. Read more to learn how this innovation could revolutionise dialysis care and potentially expand to other vascular conditions in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 

There is always an abundance of amazing research stories being showcased on the Research Communities. To explore more, visit the Behind the Paper channel and learn what thoughts and ideas go on behind the scenes of research projects.  

For even more reading, check out the other quarterly highlights on the Communities for the start of 2025:

• Humanities and Social Sciences Communities 
• Mathematics, Physical & Applied Sciences Communities

Don’t forget to like and start conversations in the comment section of the posts you enjoy. Is there more you would like to learn from the author? Let them know in their post’s comments!