Targeted mRNA therapy tackles deadly pregnancy condition in mice

Download the Nature Podcast 11 December 2024

In this episode:

00:45 A potential treatment for pre-eclampsia

Researchers have shown in mice experiments that an mRNA-based therapy can reverse the underlying causes of pre-eclampsia, a deadly complication of pregnancy for which treatment options are limited. Inspired by the success of mRNA vaccines, the team behind the work designed a method to deliver the genomic instructions for a blood-vessel growth factor directly into mouse placentas. This stimulated the production of extra blood vessels reducing the very high-blood pressure associated with the condition. Pre-eclampsia causes 15% of maternal deaths and 25% of foetal and newborn deaths worldwide and although the work is early and human trials will be required, the team hope that this work demonstrates the potential of using this approach to treat pre-eclampsia.

Research Article: Swingle et al.

News and Views: Lipid-delivery system could treat life-threatening pregnancy complication

11:00 Research Highlights

Stacks of mass-produced bowls suggest that people founded but then abandoned an ancient Mesopotamian civilization, and analysis of Venus’s gases suggests that the planet was always dry.

Research Highlight: Ancient stacks of dishes tell tale of society’s dissolution

Research Highlight: Has Venus ever had an ocean? Its volcanoes hint at an answer

13:29 Programmable cellular switches

A team of scientists have created cellular switches on the surface of cells, allowing them to control custom behaviours. Creating these switches has been a long-term goal for synthetic biologists — one target has been a group of proteins called G-protein-coupled receptors that already control many cellular processes. However, engineering these proteins has been challenging, as modifications can ruin their function. Instead, the team added another molecular component that blocked the receptors activity, but could be removed in response to specific signals. This allowed the researchers to activate these receptors on command, potentially opening up a myriad of new ways to control cell behaviour, such as controlling when neurons fire.

Research Article: Kalogriopoulos et al.

19:35 Google reaches a milestone in quantum computing

A team at Google has shown it is possible to create a quantum computer that becomes more accurate as it scales up, a goal researchers have been trying to achieve for decades. Quantum computing could potentially open up applications beyond the capabilities of classical computers, but these systems are error-prone, making it difficult to scale them up without introducing errors into calculations. The team showed that by increasing the quality of all the components in a quantum computer they could create a system with fewer errors, and that this trend of improvement continued as the system became larger. This breakthrough could mean that quantum computers are getting very close to realising the useful applications that their proponents have long promised.

Nature: ‘A truly remarkable breakthrough’: Google’s new quantum chip achieves accuracy milestone

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too.