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Category: biotech/medical

Scientists map how the flu virus rewires the human cell from the inside

Researchers at EMBL Hamburg and collaborators at the Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) have mapped how the influenza A virus rewires infected human cells in unprecedented detail. To do this, the researchers used a customized experimental workflow to directly observe how proteins interact inside intact infected cells.

Every year, seasonal influenza kills up to 650,000 people globally and causes serious illness for 3–5 million individuals. The influenza A virus, in particular, has been responsible for several pandemics, including the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. When this virus infects cells, it releases its genetic material, called RNA, which contains blueprints for a handful of proteins. These proteins then spread throughout the host cell and repurpose its molecular machinery to make more viruses.

Scientists want to understand this process in detail because it would help in designing better drug therapies and vaccines against the flu virus. That’s why it’s crucial to figure out how proteins of the flu virus interact with proteins of host cells and subvert them to meet the virus’s needs. This is the first time scientists have mapped direct virus-host protein contacts at scale inside intact influenza-infected cells, with enough structural detail to model how the proteins fit together.

New topology-based biomarkers may improve breast cancer prediction

For decades, pathologists have diagnosed and graded breast cancer by looking at tissue samples under a microscope, searching for telltale signs of disorder in the structure of cells and tissues. Now, researchers at Columbia and their collaborators have developed a new computational approach that transforms those visual patterns into quantitative measurements, potentially improving how clinicians predict breast cancer outcomes and choose therapies.

In a recent study published in Cancer Research, researchers used mathematical tools known as topology to develop biomarkers quantifying the organizational structure of breast cancer tissue. The approach generated continuous numerical scores that predicted patient survival and treatment response more accurately than many traditional biomarkers, while also showing less variation across racial and ethnic groups.

Blood p-tau217 levels signal cognitive impairment risk years before symptoms emerge

Higher baseline plasma p-tau217 was associated with greater 5- and 10-year risks of cognitive impairment and faster cognitive decline among 2,684 cognitively unimpaired adults. Very high levels corresponded to an estimated 38% risk at five years, but selected cohorts and limited long-term data mean routine screening and individualized prediction remain premature.

‘The mid2000s was the golden era of firstperson shooters’: David Szymanski, creator of Dusk and Iron Lung, discusses the games on his PC

David Szymanski, creator of Dusk and one of the chief architects of the retro FPS revival, grew up playing games like Lemmings and Oil’s Well on the family PC. Among these family favourites was a formative first-person game. But it probably isn’t the one you’d expect: “The most foundational one I can remember is playing Myst for the first time,” says the New Blood designer. “That was the first game I remember really getting super into—being able to enter another world and explore it in first-person.”

Initially a designer of short horror games, Szymanski’s breakout came in 2018 with Dusk, an homage to classic ’90s shooters like Doom and Quake. Following Dusk’s success, Szymanski returned to developing shorter games, including the hit submarine horror game Iron Lung, which was adapted into a movie by YouTuber Markiplier earlier this year.

Generating red blood cell-like cells from canine induced pluripotent stem cells

Blood transfusions are crucial in human and veterinary medicine, yet human blood reserves are in constant need of donors, while blood bank systems in veterinary care are nearly nonexistent. This leaves canine transfusions largely reliant on donations from healthy dogs, but securing compatible blood remains a major challenge because dogs also have different blood types.

Fortunately, recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have created new opportunities for producing blood cells in the laboratory. This and the similarities between human and canine health have drawn attention to dogs as translational models that can bring about innovative changes in both fields. However, a method for generating red blood cells from canine iPSCs has not been fully established.

Predicting 2050: The Convergent Power of Emerging Technologies

Dear Friends and Colleagues, In this issue of the Security & Tech Insights newsletter titled Predicting 2050: The Convergent Power of Emerging Technologies, I offer insights on what our world may technologically appear to be in the not-so-distant future. I compiled much of the content from my prior writings and podcasts and they are my perspectives. I would enjoy your feedback and also what you perceive will impact life as we know it in 2050. Thanks Chuck Brooks.

#tech #ai #quantum #biotech #future #space #computing #artificialintelligence #smartcities #security #cybersecurity

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