A T cell recognizes a diseased cell by a molecular “tag” on its surface, and which T cell receptor fits which tag now shapes the development of cellular cancer therapies, vaccines and diagnostics. The world’s databases collecting these matches have turned out to be less dependable than was assumed: an independent experimental screen confirmed only about half of their entries. Scientists from IBCH RAS and their colleagues have shown how to tell sound records from faulty ones — and that the situation is markedly better than it might have seemed. The work is published in Nature Methods.

From September 24-27, 2026, the Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences will host a school for young scientists entitled "Objects and Methods of Developmental Biology: Genomic, Molecular, and Morphogenetic Mechanisms of Development and Regeneration." The school is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the eminent embryologist D.P. Filatov (1876–1943). It is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 23-74-30005). Venue: IBD RAS (Moscow, 26 Vavilova St.).

Scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBCh RAS) and their colleagues have identified, cloned and characterized the luciferase of the fungus gnat Keroplatus testaceus for the first time. The study strongly suggests that the newly identified enzyme evolved from the storage protein hexamerin, revealing a previously unknown evolutionary pathway for the emergence of bioluminescence in insects. These findings reveal the molecular basis of light emission in dipteran insects and pave the way for the development of new biomedical imaging tools.