Lifeboat Foundation

In this October 13 Learning Lab, Hilary Sherman, a Senior Scientist in the Corning Life Sciences Applications Lab, and Robert Padilla, a Field Application Scientist at Corning, dive into the topic of 3D culture techniques and why these technologies should be a part of any researcher’s repertoire.

Three-dimensional (3D) cultures such as spheroids and organoids are an important part of the research model market, helping to close the gap between cell cultures and animal models. Both organoids and spheroids have been used to create in vivo-like tissue models of cancer subtypes to study novel therapies and to make models for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine studies. But there are some key differences, with important implications for various applications. The right tool for a project is not always obvious. For spheroids and organoids, knowing where the cultures are similar and where they differ will help scientists select the best resource for their projects the first time around.

🔒 Hackers are exploiting the CVE-2023–3519 vulnerability in Citrix NetScaler devices for credential harvesting attacks.

Patch your systems ASAP!

Heads up, Linux users! A new critical vulnerability in the libcue library exposes GNOME Linux systems to remote code execution (RCE) attacks.

Guidance and recommendations for prostate cancer screening have changed over the years. While there is no standard screening test, doctors may use a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to help diagnose prostate cancer. Doctors may follow a positive PSA test with a prostate biopsy.

Most recommending bodies emphasize a shared decision-making (SDM) approach for prostate cancer screening by PSA testing. This strategy moves away from doctors making treatment decisions and instead relies on collaborative interactions between patients and healthcare teams.

Why do expert opinions on prostate cancer screening differ? This remains a complex question with a lot to unpack. First, we have limited treatment options for cancer that has already spread outside of the prostate. Thus, detecting these cases will often not improve health or prolong life. Second, many cases of slow-growing prostate cancer will never become life-threatening; detection of these cases can be considered overdiagnosis and may lead to anxiety, unnecessary treatment, and accompanying side effects. Unnecessary biopsies, which provide no additional value to patients and physicians in decision-making, can also come with complications such as bleeding and infection.

Scientists use bacteria to make cheese from yellow peas, a plant-based and sustainable alternative to dairy cheese.

Department of food science, university of copenhagen.

However, with growing concerns about the environmental impact of dairy production and the effects of climate change, there is a growing need to shift towards more plant-based alternatives in our food system. Scientists are now exploring how to harness the potential of protein-rich plants like peas and beans to create a new generation of non-dairy cheeses that rival traditional dairy cheeses’ sensory properties.

Continue reading “Bacteria help create cheese-like products from yellow peas” »

New research that helps explain the molecular processes involved in the painful autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis, or AS, may reduce the guessing game that health care providers currently play while attempting to treat the condition.

A team from Oregon Health & Science University and the VA Portland Health Care System has found a specific kind of AS treatment that is effective when used by patients who have a particular genetic mutation. Their study was published today in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, and its findings could lead to more targeted, timely and patient-specific treatment recommendations.

“This is the first time research has shown that we might be able to use genetic markers to determine which therapy ankylosing spondylitis patients should receive,” said the study’s senior researcher, Ruth Napier, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, arthritis and rheumatic disease in the OHSU School of Medicine, and principal investigator with VA Portland. “These promising findings are encouraging. This is the first time I can say that I’m on the cusp of making a difference for patients with ankylosing spondylitis who seek relief.”

FS-ISAC executive shares tips on operational resilience in the face of cyber threats. #cyberattacks

Preparing for the unexpected may be a contradiction in terms, but for financial firms it is essential for survival. The sector has long been a target for threat actors, given that this is where the world’s money is. And as the financial ecosystem becomes increasingly interconnected, threats to its security and resilience are rapidly evolving and increasing.

Operational resilience is not just about responding with agility to risks but also maintaining continuity of operations with minimal or — even better — no disruptions. So, whereas cybersecurity is about preventing and defending against cyberattacks, resilience focuses on sustaining operations despite attacks.

Continue reading “Preparing for the Unexpected: A Proactive Approach to Operational Resilience” »

European Defence Agency’s AIDED project demonstrates how AI and unmanned systems can work together to detect explosives and IEDs in Europe.

Here, we also expanded the applicability of the second law of infodynamics to explain phenomenological observations in atomic physics. In particular, we demonstrated that the second law of infodynamics explains the rule followed by the electrons to populate the atomic orbitals in multi-electron atoms, known as the Hund’s rule. Electrons arrange themselves on orbitals, at equilibrium in the ground state, in such a way that their information entropy is always minimal.

Most interesting is the fact that the second law of infodynamics appears to be a cosmological necessity. Here, we re-derived this new physics law using thermodynamic considerations applied to an adiabatically expanding universe.

Finally, one of the great mysteries of nature is: Why does symmetry dominate in the universe? has also been explained using the second law of infodynamics. Using simple geometric shapes, we demonstrated that high symmetry always corresponds to the lowest information entropy state, or lowest information content, explaining why everything in nature tends to symmetry instead of asymmetry.