Most available antibody-drug conjugates offer limited improvement and can still be toxic. But a study conducted by researchers in the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research and published in Cell Reports in December 2023 highlights a new ADC—carefully engineered, screened, and purified—that can eradicate large tumors in animal models at a dose per body weight that humans can tolerate.

Visualizing protein structures in three dimensions instead of two has given scientists new insights into biological processes, and now artificial intelligence is adding the capacity to predict molecular behaviors that could potentially be borne out in laboratory studies. For Kylie Walters, Ph.D., a structural biologist with the NCI Center for Cancer Research in Frederick, artificial intelligence, or AI, has revolutionized the way her laboratory works.

Viruses are often regarded as villains in the story of humanity, but what if they didn’t always have to be? What if these microscopic invaders could serve as our allies instead—for instance, helping us treat cancer, protect against infections, and kill drug-resistant bacteria? This isn’t wishful thinking. They already do, and scientists are exploiting them to help us further. Last year’s HIV Dynamics and Replication Program conference provided a peek behind that curtain.

For 2023, the National Institutes of Health held its first in-person NIH Research Festival in Bethesda, Maryland, since the start of the pandemic. The five-day event was well attended and included lectures, workshops, posters, and biotech vendor information booths spread across several areas of the campus. While there was a plethora of events, several scientists agreed that the standout features of this year’s festival were the interactions.

With 100 online attendees, 180 in-person participants, 15 posters, 16 technologies, and 45 speakers, the 2023 Technology Showcase offered a whirlwind look into biotechnology innovation happening at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and National Cancer Institute.