CosMxScope: Scalable Reconstruction and Digital Pathology Integration of Imaging-Based Spatial Transcriptomics Data

This paper introduces CosMxScope, an open-source Python framework that bridges the gap between CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager data and digital pathology tools by stitching image tiles, converting spatial coordinates into GeoJSON for QuPath compatibility, and enabling interactive visualization of gene expression alongside cell morphology.

Chen, J., Isett, B., Gu, Q., Bao, R.2026-03-30💻 bioinformatics

Track Hub Quickload Translator: Convert Track Hub or Quickload data for viewing in the UCSC Genome Browser or the Integrated Genome Browser

The Track Hub Quickload Translator is a freely available Python-based web application that converts data between UCSC Genome Browser track hubs and Integrated Genome Browser Quickload formats, enabling researchers to visualize tens of thousands of published genome assemblies in either browser.

Freese, N. H., Raveendran, K., Sirigineedi, J. S., Chinta, U. L., Badzuh, P., Marne, O., Shetty, C., Naylor, I., Jagarapu, S., Loraine, A.2026-03-30💻 bioinformatics

Evolutionary history of ligand binding by the LRR domain of innate immunity receptors: the story of the TLR2 cavity

This study utilizes AI protein structure predictions to demonstrate that the hydrophobic ligand-binding cavity in vertebrate TLR2 is an evolutionarily conserved feature essential for pathogen recognition, while revealing that similar cavities in invertebrate TLRs and other LRR domains arose through independent convergent evolution rather than shared ancestry.

Namou, R., Ichii, K., Takkouche, A., Jaroszewski, L., Godzik, A.2026-03-30💻 bioinformatics

Evolutionary exploration of drug-like chemical space utilizing generative AI and virtual screening

This paper presents an evolutionary AI framework that integrates generative models, reaction-based substructure searching, and iterative fine-tuning to efficiently navigate ultra-large chemical spaces, successfully identifying and validating novel, synthetically accessible ligands for the μ\mu-opioid receptor within the Enamine REAL Space.

Secker, C., Secker, P., Yergoez, F., Celik, M. O., Chewle, S., Phuong Nga Le, M., Masoud, M., Christgau, S., Weber, M., Gorgulla, C., Nigam, A., Pollice, R., Schuette, C., Fackeldey, K.2026-03-30💻 bioinformatics

ClumPyCells resolves spatial aggregation in complex tissues overcoming size biases

ClumPyCells is a statistical framework that accurately quantifies cell and marker aggregation in complex tissues by correcting for cell size biases and filtering out interfering cell types, thereby enabling more reliable spatial pattern analysis across various tumor types and omics technologies.

Zhao, Z., Cui, L., Aguilar-Navarro, A. G., Monajemzadeh, M., Chang, Q., Chen, Z., Tsui, H., Flores-Figueroa, E., Schwartz, G. W.2026-03-30💻 bioinformatics

Deciphering sepsis molecular subtypes using large-scale data to identify subtype-specific drug repurposing

By constructing a transcriptomic atlas of 3,713 samples to identify four distinct molecular subtypes of sepsis, this study elucidates subtype-specific pathophysiological mechanisms and proposes targeted drug repurposing strategies, such as corticosteroids for C1 and methylene blue for the high-mortality C4 subtype, to advance precision medicine and explain the failure of previous broad-spectrum clinical trials.

Smith, L. A., Augustin, B., Jacob, V., Black, L. P., Bertrand, A., Hopson, C., Cagmat, E., Datta, S., Reddy, S., Guirgis, F., Graim, K.2026-03-30💻 bioinformatics