Research Highlights

The AI tool that can predict 1000 diseases in humans

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of human life. The AI makes several day-to-day tasks easier. In healthcare system also, AI is being used in various aspects, particularly in disease diagnosis or to predict future disease risks of an individual. In general, decision-making in healthcare depends on knowing a patient’s history and the present health condition in order to forecast and, eventually, alter its future trajectory. But by using AI, such tasks can be done quickly, easily, and accurately. In this regard, researchers from several institutes have designed an AI tool called ‘Delphi-2M’ that can predict a person’s risk of developing more than 1000 diseases well ahead, which is up to 20 years, by using current medical parameters. The tool was developed by using a modified GPT6 (generative pretrained transformer) architecture, which was trained with 4,00,000 UK Biobank participants and validated with external data from 1900000 Danish individuals. Although there are AI-based health-prediction systems that can predict risk for only a single disease, Delphi-2M can predict risk of 1000 diseases. The Delphi-2M is expected to save healthcare professionals’ time as well as to estimate disease burdens at a population level, which will help in mass precision medicine approaches in the future.

Sources:

1. Shmatko, A., Jung, A.W., Gaurav, K. et al. Learning the natural history of human disease with generative transformers. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09529-3
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03026-3

Special sugar in sea cucumbers can naturally fight cancer

Sea cucumbers are popular for cleaning the ocean floor. However, recently scientists have discovered that sea cucumbers produce a unique sugar molecule that can inhibit cancer cell growth by binding to heparan-6-O-endosulfatase 2 (Sulf-2), a proteoglycan enzyme that is a potential therapeutic target for cancer. Sulf-2 modifies the sulfation of heparan sulphate proteoglycans, and its dysregulation is associated with several pathological conditions, including cancer. Therefore, inhibiting Sulf-2 could be used to fight cancer. Through computer modelling and laboratory testing, the researchers demonstrated that the sea cucumber Holothuria floridana produces a special sugar molecule called fucosylated chondroitin sulphate, which can effectively inhibit Sulf-2. The unique inhibitory properties of this sugar molecule could serve as a future anti-cancer agent.

Sources:

1. Farrag, M., Aljuhani, R., Benicky, J., Al Ahmed, H., Misra, S. K., Mishra, S. K., Sharp, J. S., Doerksen, R. J., Goldman, R., & Pomin, V. H. (2025). Heparan-6-O-endosulfatase 2, a cancer-related proteoglycan enzyme, is effectively inhibited by a specific sea cucumber fucosylated glycosaminoglycan. Glycobiology, 35(6): cwaf025. https://doi.org/10.1093/glycob/cwaf025
2. University of Mississippi. (2025, June 11). Scientists discover natural cancer-fighting sugar in sea cucumbers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 17, 2025 from sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250611084108.htm

Russian vaccine against cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by abnormal and uncontrolled cell growth, which can invade or spread to other parts of the body. According to the WHO, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for about 9.6 million deaths per year. In men, the most common types of cancer are lung, colorectal, prostate, liver, and stomach cancer, and for women, breast, cervical, colorectal, thyroid, and lung cancer are the most common. The burden of cancer in terms of physical, emotional, and financial is tremendously increasing globally on individuals, families, communities, and healthcare systems. To fight against cancer, the Russian Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA) has recently (September 2025) announced that they have developed a novel oncolytic vaccine, viz., EnteroMix. It is a personalized vaccine that encodes tumour-specific neoantigens specific to a patient’s unique tumour mutations. It is designed by using four engineered, non-pathogenic viral vectors for direct destruction of cancer cells and to activate the immune system’s recognition. EnteroMix elicits a robust cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to fight against colorectal cancer. It has shown no adverse reaction in animals in the first clinical trial. It could reduce tumour growth by 60-80%. Very soon, the Phase II/III trial will be started against colorectal cancer, and in the future, it will be tried against glioblastoma, ocular melanoma, and melanoma.

Source:

1. Russia’s mRNA Cancer Vaccine Enteromix: Pioneering A New Path in Cancer Treatment. (2025). Kashf Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(09): 61-65. https://doi.org/10.71146/kjmr619
2. https://www.studyiq.com/articles/russian-cancer-vaccine-enteromix/

Mitochondrial donation

Genetic diseases caused by mitochondrial DNA aberration are the most complex class of genetic diseases. There is no cure for the disease, and one out of 5000 babies is affected by mitochondrial disease. Although mitochondria contain less than 0.1% of the total DNA, their defects can cause devastating diseases because it is the powerhouses of the cells. As mtDNA is maternally inherited, mitochondrial diseases are passed from mother to child. Therefore, the Newcastle Fertility Centre, UK, has developed a modified version of in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology known as pronuclear transfer (mitochondrial donation treatment) to prevent inheritance of defective mitochondrial DNA in newborn babies. The Newcastle Fertility Centre team has announced the births of eight healthy children by using this technique. In this treatment, a three-person embryo is produced. At first, IVF is carried out with sperm and oocytes of original parents to produce the zygote carrying defective/mutated mtDNA, and then the nucleus from the zygote is transplanted into an enucleated oocyte donated from a healthy woman without mtDNA defect. Then the embryo is implanted for further development and the birth of healthy babies. Currently, the treatment is appreciated and taking off in the UK.

Source:

1. Hyslop, L.A.; Blakely, E. L.; Aushev, M.; …..… Herbert, M. (2025). Mitochondrial Donation and Preimplantation Genetic Testing for mtDNA Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine, 393(5): 438–449. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2415539

2. DeFrancesco, L. (2025). Mitochondrial transplants make healthy babies. Biotechnol. 43: 1399-1400. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02799-2