Novel inhibitors of pyroptosis promise breakthroughs in treating inflammatory diseases and malignant tumors. In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Hu et al.1 identify two repurposed drugs that selectively target gasdermin D (GSDMD) oligomers, effectively suppressing pyroptosis while reducing off-target effects typical of cysteine-based inhibitors.

The molecular underpinnings behind the diet-microbiome-host health relationship are largely undescribed. In a recent issue of Science, Cheng et al.1 uncovered one piece of the puzzle by describing a novel fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) derived from a Faecalibacterium prausnitzii strain that correlated with improved malnutrition recovery. This emphasized the microbiome’s role in supporting recovery

Obesity is a leading risk factor and a negative prognostic indicator for many cancers. In a recent issue of Science Immunology, Bagchi et al. identified that tumor-associated macrophages upregulate GPR65 in response to obesity-driven intratumor acidity resulting in reduced effector function to promote tumor growth.1

Loss of proteostasis is a hallmark of aging and Alzheimer disease (AD). We identify β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB), a ketone body, as a regulator of protein …

Retrons are notable for their anti-phage defense functions and genome engineering applications. However, only a few retrons have been well characterized. In the August issue of Nature Biotechnology, Khan et al.1 present hundreds of experimentally studied retrons, which are critical for bacterial immunity research and retron-based genome engineering technologies.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is an essential metabolite, and its depletion serves as a common bacterial immune strategy against bacteriophages (phages). In a recent issue of Nature, Osterman et al.1 reveal two phage-encoded NAD restoration pathways, showcasing the phages’ innovative counterstrategies against bacterial immunity and providing insights for developing novel antimicrobial approaches

Targeted protein degradation (TPD) has greatly advanced as a therapeutic strategy in the past two decades, and we are on the cusp of rationally designed protein degraders reaching clinical approval. Offering pharmacological advantages relative to occupancy-driven protein inhibition, chemical methods for regulating biomolecular proximity have provided opportunities to tackle disease-related targets

In this Stories piece, Sarah J. McAnulty, the executive director of Skype a Scientist and an assistant research professor at the University of Connecticut, discusses the importance of scientists connecting with their local communities to promote trust in and engagement with science.

Recent developments in microbiome research suggest that the gut microbiome may remotely modulate central and peripheral neuronal processes, ranging from early brain development to age-related changes. Dysbiotic microbiome configurations have been increasingly associated with neurological disorders, such as neurodegeneration, but causal understanding of these associations remains limited. Most mechanisms

In an interview with Dr. Mishtu Dey, editor-in-chief of Cell Chemical Biology, the authors of the article entitled “The hydrophobicity of the CARD8 N-terminus tunes inflammasome activation” share their perspectives on the ways chemical biology enriches immunology research, the challenges and opportunities in the field, and their scientific career paths.

This minireview explores the burgeoning field of targeted protein degradation (TPD) and its promising applications in neuroscience and clinical development. TPD offers innovative strategies for modulating protein levels, presenting a paradigm shift in small-molecule drug discovery and therapeutic interventions. Importantly, small-molecule protein degraders specifically target and remove pathogenic

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Yeast has been extensively studied and engineered due to its genetic amenability. Projects like Sc2.0 and Sc3.0 have demonstrated the feasibility of constructing synthetic yeast genomes, yielding promising results in both research and industrial applications. In contrast, plant synthetic genomics has faced challenges due to the complexity of plant genomes. However, recent advancements of the project

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In an interview with Dr. Samantha Nelson, a scientific editor of Cell Chemical Biology, the authors of the perspective entitled “A versatile residue numbering scheme for Nav and Cav channels” share their thoughts on life as scientists.

In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Raina et al.1 demonstrate proof of concept of a new chemical induced proximity strategy for targeted cancer therapeutics. Building on a recent surge in induced proximity modalities, RIPTACs represent a novel approach that offers promise in treating cancers with improved safety profiles.

Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) and calcium (Cav) channels are responsible for the initiation of electrical signals. They have long been targeted for the treatment of various diseases. The mounting number of cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures for diverse subtypes of Nav and Cav channels from multiple organisms necessitates a generic residue numbering system to establish the structure-function