BackgroundNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in adolescence, yet the fast dynamics of large-scale brain networks remain poorly understood. We aimed to characterize resting-state EEG microstate dynamics in a clinically recruited adolescent NSSI sample and to examine state-dependent changes following acute social exclusion.MethodsResting-state EEG was recorded in hospitalized, medicated adolescents with NSSI and in healthy controls (HCs). An NSSI subgroup then completed EEG assessments before and after either Cyberball-induced social exclusion or a non-stress control condition. Microstate parameters and transition probabilities were analyzed.ResultsAfter multiple-comparison correction, the core baseline finding was robustly reduced microstate A duration in the NSSI group relative to HCs. In uncorrected exploratory analyses, additional differences included shorter durations of microstates B and F, higher occurrence of microstate D, and increased F→D transition probability. A multivariate pattern analysis suggested group-related information but must be interpreted cautiously given the modest sample size. Within the NSSI group, the exclusion group showed reduced microstate A expression and increased microstate D expression relative to the non-stress subgroup, with a broader transition shift toward microstate D. Several interaction effects survived correction.ConclusionsIn this medicated inpatient sample, resting-state microstate dynamics differed from HCs, most robustly in reduced microstate A duration, and reorganized after social exclusion. Specificity to NSSI remains uncertain given the absence of an MDD-only clinical-control group and healthy Cyberball comparison. These preliminary findings require replication in larger studies including medication-naive MDD-only, MDD+NSSI, and HC groups.
Barriers and facilitators impacting access to sexual and reproductive health services for women with intellectual disability
BackgroundIn most parts of the world, people with disabilities are deprived of education, employment, health, and social and political rights. Moreover, women with disabilities can be subjected to double discrimination because of their gender and are more likely to experience physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Because of the nature of their disability, women with intellectual disability in particular face stigma and discrimination in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare, which in turn affects their decision-making abilities regarding sexuality. In Ethiopia, due to a lack of resources and limited awareness, women with intellectual disabilities have difficulties accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare to meet their needs. We, therefore, aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators impacting access to sexual and reproductive health services in Gondar, Ethiopia.MethodsThe study employed a qualitative descriptive approach to explore the existing barriers and facilitators impacting access to sexual and reproductive health services, aiming to inform how to improve service provision for women with intellectual disabilities in Gondar, Ethiopia. Using a semi-structured interview guide, we conducted interviews in Amharic with 17 purposively selected women with intellectual disability, aged 15-49, in Gondar, Ethiopia. After the interviews were transcribed, we conducted a thematic analysis using both inductive and deductive approaches in NVivo 14.ResultsThe analysis of the study resulted in six themes reflecting on different barriers and facilitators impacting Sexual and reproductive healthcare access: sexual and reproductive health education, contraception, prevention of sexual abuse, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and parenthood, and the roles of community-based rehabilitation impacting access to Sexual and reproductive health services.ConclusionsStudy findings showed the barriers and facilitators impacting access to sexual and reproductive health services for women with intellectual disability, based on firsthand information and experiences of these women embedded in structural and sociocultural factors. The study’s findings could guide future researchers, healthcare policymakers and healthcare practitioners to design culturally appropriate and disability inclusive interventions promoting sexual and reproductive healthcare access and improved outcomes among women and girls with intellectual disability.
Fragile self, mechanical world: mechanistic delusions and ego fragility in schizotypal–affective spectrum disorder—a CARE case report
Categorical nosological systems frequently fall short when confronted with patients whose presentations cross established diagnostic boundaries. We report M.S., a 44-year-old Brazilian man involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit who presented with systematized persecutory ideation of mechanistic–technological content (chip implantation, satellite-based surveillance), structural ego fragility, absent insight, and progressive social and occupational deterioration. While prior diagnoses of bipolar disorder and provisional schizophrenia had been considered, neither fully captured the clinical complexity. Psychopathological-dimensional analysis, grounded in phenomenological observation and contemporary psychopathological theory, suggests three potentially interacting axes: (1) structural ego fragility (Ich-Schwäche), potentially arising from impaired early attachment and deficient relational learning; (2) a relational causality deficit replaced by concrete–mechanistic reasoning; and (3) limbic hyperactivation that appears to sustain an anxiety–perplexity–paranoia feedback loop. These converge on a schizotypal–affective spectrum formulation. Laboratory investigations identified severe dyslipidemia and marked hyperandrogenism (total testosterone 1,367 ng/dL), the latter potentially associated with limbic hyperactivation, though causality cannot be established from a single cross-sectional measurement. Psychometric assessment (BPRS-18) at admission yielded a total score of 43, with suspiciousness (5) and unusual thought content (5) as dominant items. During a seven-day inpatient course, a multimodal thymic strategy—risperidone, lithium carbonate, and structured psychotherapy—produced attenuation of paranoid reactivity, improved family engagement, and the spontaneous resumption of guitar playing from day 3, as a functional correlate of behavioral stabilization. The patient was discharged with a referral for a three-monthly paliperidone palmitate long-acting injectable. The pharmacological response retrospectively supports the dimensional formulation and illustrates the heuristic value of psychopathological analysis grounded in ego structure, causal reasoning, and affective dysregulation as a complementary approach to categorical nosology in complex psychotic–affective presentations.
Editor’s pick: Stylus Medicine
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03225-x
Each year, Nature Biotechnology highlights companies that received sizeable early-stage funding in the previous year. Stylus Medicine is engineering novel recombinases for in vivo CAR T cell cancer therapy.
J. Craig Venter 1946–2026
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03248-4
J. Craig Venter 1946–2026
Englumafusp alfa plus glofitamab in B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a phase 1 trial
Nature Medicine, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04533-0
Combining the CD19–4-1BBL co-stimulatory molecule englumafusp alfa with the bispecific antibody glofitamab in patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma showed acceptable safety signals and encouraging preliminary clinical responses, with mechanistic data supporting the rational choice of therapy.
Microglia prune developing cortical blood vessels through PD-1 signaling
Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02378-x
Visualizing microglia and blood vessels in postnatal mouse cortex reveals that microglia contact and prune vessels, which is mediated by PD-L1–PD-1 signaling.
Autolomous and Cellular Origins Expand Cell Therapy Manufacturing Process
Officials at Autolomous and Cellular Origins say the companies have carried out the end-to-end integration of their respective platforms to bring full automation and digitization to the entire cell therapy manufacturing process. This new scalable approach creates a connected manufacturing environment that gives developers greater standardization, traceability, and control across the entire manufacturing process, according to the companies’ spokespersons.
Cellular Origins’ Constellation® automated platform was created to enable cell therapy manufacturing, integrating mobile robotics, existing bioprocessing technologies, and sterile fluid transfer into a coordinated operation. Its flexible, modular architecture allows developers and manufacturers to scale manufacturing capacity as demand grows while maintaining standardized processes, avoiding therapy redevelopment and reducing scale-up risk, notes Edwin Stone, CEO of Cellular Origins.
Autolomous’ digital autoloMATE® platform was designed to allow real-time data exchange and integration across existing software and AI systems, as well as devices and robotic platforms across the entire manufacturing process and supply chain, while safeguarding intellectual property. The modular architecture allows each deployment to be configured to customer needs.
The combined solution overcomes fragmentation, limited visibility, and the absence of standardized, interoperable data flows without replacing existing processes, enabling manufacturers to scale to commercially viable levels, maintains Alexander Seyf, CEO of Autolomous. First integrations have already been achieved at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Digital and Automation Testbeds, as part of an Innovate UK-funded project.
“Scientific ambition has never been the bottleneck in bringing innovative cell therapy to patients, but the delivery infrastructure has brought many challenges,” continues Seyf. “Together with Cellular Origins, we enable fast and efficient scaling from research through to patient administration, ensuring standardization, automation and digitization across the entire process.”
“Scaling cell therapy manufacturing is not just a question of employing automation. It requires a manufacturing system that can evolve with demand,” adds Stone. “Our collaboration with Autolomous, and joint work with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, clearly demonstrates how robotic platforms and digital infrastructure can operate as one.”
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STAT+: Kalshi comes for biopharma, with prediction markets for clinical trials and FDA approvals
Prediction markets have permeated the worlds of sports, politics, and reality television shows. Now, the biopharma industry could be next.
On Thursday, Kalshi, one of the world’s largest prediction market exchanges, said it will start taking bets on clinical trials and regulatory approvals.
It’s starting with a small number of markets chosen in collaboration with its partner, AppliedXL, a tech company that monitors and predicts the outcomes of clinical trials.
How is Sonar-Cities progressing towards more inclusive and resilient emergency preparedness?
How is Sonar-Cities progressing towards more inclusive and resilient emergency preparedness? Sonar-Cities is a Horizon Europe project that brings together partners from across Europe to co-create practical tools that strengthen […]
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