{
  "id": 3320955,
  "title": "Bioinspired nanoparticles deliver gene editing to lower 'bad' cholesterol",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/bioinspired-nanoparticles-deliver-gene-editing-to-lower-bad",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-25T18:00:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bioinspired-nanoparticles-gene-bad-cholesterol.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A team of researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University of Singapore and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital have created bioinspired lipid nanoparticles capable of delivering gene-editing components to the liver, lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or \"bad\" cholesterol. These nanoparticles reduced LDL and total cholesterol by over 20% after just two doses, while showing fewer signs of inflammation and toxicity compared to other formulations. The nanoparticles were designed using materials found naturally in the body, aiming to improve the safety of messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery. The most effective version of the nanoparticle, agmatine-oleic acid, successfully protected and delivered its mRNA payload to liver cells in both cultured cell models and laboratory animals. This innovation could potentially pave the way for safer and more effective gene editing therapies for high cholesterol.",
  "summary": "Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital have developed a bioinspired lipid nanoparticle (LNP) that can deliver gene-editing machinery to the liver and reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, commonly known as \"bad\" cholesterol. The nanoparticles reduced LDL and total…",
  "key_points": [
    "Nanoparticles reduce LDL and total cholesterol by over 20% after two doses.",
    "Agmatine-oleic acid nanoparticle protected and delivered mRNA to liver cells effectively."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}