Robert Steiner

Mar 21, 2025 | nature.com | Wener Li |Xiaojing Luo |Anna Strano |Robert Steiner |Mathias Lesche |Ali El-Armouche | +12 more

The immaturity of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) is a major limitation for their use in drug screening to identify pro-arrhythmogenic or cardiotoxic molecules. Here, we demonstrate an approach that combines lipid-enriched maturation medium with a high concentration of calcium, nanopatterning of culture surfaces and electrostimulation to generate iPSC-CMs with advanced electrophysiological, structural and metabolic phenotypes. Systematic testing reveals that electrostimulation is the key driver of enhanced mitochondrial development and metabolic maturation and improved electrophysiological properties of iPSC-CMs. Increased calcium concentration strongly promotes electrophysiological maturation, while nanopatterning primarily facilitates sarcomere organisation with minor effect on electrophysiological properties. Transcriptome analysis reveals that activation of HMCES and TFAM targets contributes to mitochondrial development, whereas downregulation of MAPK/PI3K and SRF targets is associated with iPSC-CM polyploidy. These findings provide mechanistic insights into iPSC-CM maturation, paving the way for pharmacological responses that more closely resemble those of adult CMs. The immaturity of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes limits their use in drug testing. This study provides a systematic evaluation of how culture medium, calcium, nanopatterning and electrostimulation distinctly affect their structural, metabolic, and electrophysiological maturation.

Jan 21, 2025 | variety.com | Robert Steiner

Over the past decade and change, Letterboxd has become a favorite social media destination for cinephiles who both deeply love film and are deeply, chronically online. The user-driven film review platform’s appeal may sound niche, and yet it now has over 17 million users, according to its 2024 year-end report. The prevailing narrative is that Letterboxd took off during the pandemic, when everyone suddenly had a lot more time to watch movies.

Jan 16, 2025 | variety.com | Robert Steiner

After months of hype and anticipation, Amazon and MrBeast’s big-budget reality competition show, “Beast Games,” finally came out in late December. Now that it’s a month old and halfway through its debut season on Prime Video, it seems like a good time to ask the burning question Amazon has been surprisingly quiet about answering: How many people are watching this thing?

Jan 15, 2025 | variety.com | Robert Steiner

The recent premiere of "WWE: Monday Night Raw" on Netflix was yet another major step in the SVOD giant's gradual foray into the live TV world. Viewership for "Raw" may not have been as large as some of Netflix's other recent live broadcasts, but it's even more confirmation that sports content may be the way to KO broadcast and cable.

Jan 15, 2025 | wp.me | Robert Steiner

The recent premiere of “WWE: Monday Night Raw” on Netflix was yet another major step in the SVOD giant’s gradual foray into the live TV world. Viewership for “Raw” may not have been as large as some of Netflix’s other recent live broadcasts, but it’s even more confirmation that sports content may be the way to KO broadcast and cable.