--- title: 'Research Daily Summary: What Happened on October 6, 2026' headline: AstraZeneca opens 570,000-square-foot research center in Cambridge description: Researchers also used large-scale genetic screening to find metabolic pathways in mammalian cells and tested a cancer vaccine in mice. url: https://thebench.bio/news/research/2026-10-06 topic: research date: '2026-10-06' covers: - '2026-10-06' date_published: '2026-10-06T12:04:14Z' date_modified: '2026-10-06T18:51:20Z' sources: 5 publisher: The Bench (thebench.bio) --- # Research Daily Summary: What Happened on October 6, 2026 **AstraZeneca opens 570,000-square-foot research center in Cambridge** Researchers also used large-scale genetic screening to find metabolic pathways in mammalian cells and tested a cancer vaccine in mice. ## Today in brief AstraZeneca opened an 18-story research center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, within a state investment exceeding $1 billion. [1] The Kendall Square campus and a nearby genomic medicine site are expected to house about 2,000 researchers and scientists. [1] A large-scale genetic screen uncovered pathways that let mammalian cells grow without essential amino acids. [2] [3] [4] In mice, MOF-Vac shrank tumors across five cancer models, and combinations with radiotherapy or immune checkpoint blockade eliminated tumors at primary and distant sites. [5] ## AstraZeneca opens Cambridge research center AstraZeneca opened an 18-story, 570,000-square-foot research and development center in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. [1] Ten floors hold connected laboratories equipped with automation, robotics, and agentic AI. [1] Research at the center will cover breast cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, metabolic disease, obesity, other cancers, and rare conditions, alongside biologics and cell therapy. [1] Together with a nearby genomic medicine site, the campus is expected to accommodate about 2,000 researchers and scientists. [1] AstraZeneca said the expansion will lift its Massachusetts workforce by more than 50% over the coming years. [1] The Cambridge center is part of the company’s broader $50 billion US investment program. [1] ## Genetic screening finds new metabolic pathways in mammalian cells Researchers developed shotgun genetic engineering, a method that tests many genetic-component combinations in parallel and can screen millions in one experiment. [3] [4] They used it to identify pathways that let mammalian cells grow without certain essential amino acids. [2] [4] In Chinese hamster ovary cells, one pathway supported growth without valine at a rate close to unmodified cells, while a six-gene pathway enabled growth without isoleucine. [4] The team also enabled valine-independent growth in Jurkat cells. [4] The method delivers barcoded genetic components into cells, then uses selection to find combinations that work. [3] [4] The authors said the resulting data could train machine-learning models to predict pathway function. [4] ## MOF-Vac vaccine shrinks tumors in mouse studies An experimental vaccine called MOF-Vac produced tumor regression in mouse models of five cancers, including melanoma, colorectal cancer, and triple-negative breast cancer. [5] The vaccine carries peptide antigens and STING agonists together, releasing them inside cells in response to phosphate. [5] In the reported studies, MOF-Vac combined with radiotherapy or immune checkpoint blockade eliminated tumors at primary and distant sites. [5] Analyses indicated that macrophages presenting antigens and shifting the tumor environment toward an inflammatory, immune-active state drove most of the effect. [5] The authors describe the platform as a possible basis for ready-made or personalized cancer vaccines. [5] ## The day in numbers - **570,000 square feet**: Size of AstraZeneca’s new Cambridge research center. [1] - **Millions**: Genetic combinations the screening method can test in one experiment. [3] [4] - **Five cancers**: Cancer types represented in mouse models where MOF-Vac produced tumor regression. [5] ## Also published - [Dog brains track speech in a way we thought was unique to humans](), BioTechniques - [EMBL in Poland: connecting communities, advancing discovery](), EMBL - [Architect of polar neutrino detector wins physics Nobel](), Science News - [Realignment of representational drift in mouse visual cortex via flexible electrode arrays](), Nature Biomedical Engineering - [Fibre-architected intelligent permeable bioelectronics](), Nature Reviews Bioengineering ## Sources 1. [AstraZeneca opens new R&D centre in Cambridge, US](), Pharmaceutical Technology, 2026-10-06 2. [Shotgun engineering fires up mammalian metabolic design](), Nature Biotechnology, 2026-10-06 3. [High-throughput metabolic engineering in mammalian cells](), Nature Biotechnology, 2026-10-06 4. [Highly multiplexed mammalian metabolic engineering with a shotgun approach](), Nature Biotechnology, 2026-10-06 5. [Metal–organic framework nanovaccines for systemic tumour regression](), Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2026-10-06 --- The Bench wrote this from the reporting cited above, with a language model drafting and editing. [1]: [2]: [3]: [4]: [5]: