Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Two remarkable innovations coming together to tackle prion disease: AAVs that leverage human receptors to cross the blood-brain-barrier + a way of epigenetically silencing the gene encoding prions. I recall reading those cited papers and both are amazing!

BOSTON and NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Apertura Gene Therapy, a biotechnology company focused on innovative gene therapy solutions, supports the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and the Whitehead Institute in advancing a gene therapy approach for the treatment of prion disease. The project is led by the Vallabh-Minikel lab at the Broad Institute which is focused on finding a cure for prion disease, and their approach leverages two cutting-edge technologies developed at the Institutes of both the Broad and Whitehead: the CHARM platform designed in Dr. Jonathan Weismann’s lab, and TfR1 capsid, an engineered AAV designed in the lab of Dr. Ben Deverman, Director of Vector Engineering at the Broad Institute and scientific founder of Apertura.

Prion disease is a rare, fatal, neurodegenerative disorder caused by misfolded proteins. The new gene therapy aims to address the root cause by using CHARM (Coupled Histone tail for Autoinhibition Release of Methyltransferase) to target and silence the gene that codes for the disease-causing protein1. This payload will be combined with Apertura’s TfR1 capsid, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid engineered to efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier by binding to the human TfR1 receptor, which facilitates iron transport into brain cells2. Together, these technologies represent a transformative approach to tackling CNS diseases.

“We are thrilled to see the progress being made in the development of this innovative therapy for prion disease,” said Dr. Sonia Vallabh, co-leader of the group at the Broad working on preventative therapies for prion disease. “The collaborative efforts between Apertura, the Broad Institute and the Whitehead mark a significant milestone toward addressing unmet needs in neurodegenerative disorders.”

Continue reading “Apertura Gene Therapy Supports the Broad Institute in Development of Gene Therapy for Prion Disease Using Engineered AAV Capsid Targeting TfR1 for CNS Delivery” | >

A new imaging technique can show the wave-like behavior of unconfined quantum particles.

A research team has shown that a method for imaging atoms held in a 2D array of optical traps can be used to reveal the wave-like behavior of the atoms when they are released into free space [1]. The team placed atoms in the traps, turned the traps off for a short time, and then turned them back on again. By making many measurements of the atoms’ locations after the traps were reactivated, the researchers could deduce the atoms’ wave-like behavior. The team plans to use this technique to simulate interacting systems of particles in quantum states that are not well understood.

Systems composed of many quantum particles, such as certain types of electronic or magnetic states of matter, can be investigated by simulating them using atoms distributed within arrays of optical traps, like eggs in a vast egg carton. One method for studying such atom arrays, called quantum gas microscopy, involves probing the positions and the quantum states of the atoms by using laser beams to make them fluoresce [2]. Joris Verstraten at the École Normale Supérieure in France and his colleagues have adapted the technique to observe collections of atoms allowed to move in free space, unconstrained by traps.

Read more | >

For centuries, lenses have worked the same way: curved glass or plastic bending light to bring images into focus. But traditional lenses have a major drawback—the more powerful they need to be, the bulkier and heavier they become.

Scientists have long searched for a way to reduce the weight of lenses without sacrificing functionality. And while some slimmer alternatives exist, they tend to be limited in their capacity and are generally challenging and expensive to make.

New research from University of Utah engineering professor Rajesh Menon and colleagues at the Price College of Engineering offers a promising solution applicable to telescopes and astrophotography: a large aperture flat lens that focuses light as effectively as traditional curved lenses while preserving accurate color.

Read more | >

The current microelectronics manufacturing method is expensive, slow and energy and resource intensive.

But a Northeastern University professor has patented a new process and printer that not only can manufacture and chips more efficiently and cheaply, it can make them at the nanoscale.

“I thought that there must be an easier way to do this, there must be a cheaper way to do this,” says Ahmed A. Busnaina, the William Lincoln Smith professor and a distinguished university professor at Northeastern University. “We started, basically, with very simple physical chemistry with a very simple approach.”

Read more | >

Kaiming He, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, believes AI can create a common language that lowers barriers between scientific fields and fosters collaboration across scientific disciplines.

“There is no way I could ever understand high-energy physics, chemistry, or the frontier of biology research, but now we are seeing something that can help us to break these walls,” said He.

MIT Associate Professor Kaiming He discusses the role of AI in interdisciplinary collaborations, connecting basic science to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and neural networks.

Read more | >

A fractal butterfly pattern produced by an unusual configuration of magnetic fields, first predicted almost 50 years ago, has been seen in detail for the first time in a twisted piece of graphene.

While a physics student in 1976, the computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter predicted that when certain two-dimensional crystals were placed in magnetic fields, their electrons’ energy levels should produce a strange pattern that looks the same no matter how far you zoom in, known as a fractal. At the time, however, Hofstadter calculated that the atoms of the crystal would have to be impossibly close together to produce such a pattern.

Image: Yazdani Lab, Princeton University

The electrons in a twisted piece of graphene show a strange repeating pattern first predicted in 1976, but never directly measured until now.

Continue reading “Physicists capture a strange fractal ‘butterfly’ for the first time” | >

Bile duct cancer, also called cholangiocarcinoma, is a rare disease in which cancer cells form in the bile ducts. Learn more about this cancer and treatment options.

External and internal radiation therapy are used to treat bile duct cancer and may also be used as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

Learn more about Radiation Therapy to Treat Cancer and Radiation Therapy Side Effects.

Read more | >

The question is, can DEI proponents, who are already being marginalized, retool? Can they see themselves as champions who will guide humanity — regardless of peoples’ race, class, sexual orientation, gender, etc. — in this Fourth Industrial Revolution?

For, if political leaders are as unable as they seem to establish meaningful guardrails, AI will push those struggling to live their best lives (a right that should belong to all) to be thrown so far under the bus that roadkill will be more recognizable.

Read more | >

Combustion engines, the engines in gas-powered cars, only use a quarter of the fuel’s potential energy while the rest is lost as heat through exhaust.

Now, a study published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces demonstrates how to convert exhaust heat into electricity. The researchers present a prototype thermoelectric generator system that could reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions—an opportunity for improving sustainable energy initiatives in a rapidly changing world.

Fuel inefficiency contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and underscores the need for innovative waste-heat recovery systems. Heat-recovery systems, called thermoelectric systems, use semiconductor materials to convert heat into electricity based on a temperature difference.

Read more | >

Khan, M.U., Hassan, B., Alazzam, A. et al. Brain inspired iontronic fluidic memristive and memcapacitive device for self-powered electronics. Microsyst Nanoeng 11, 37 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-00882-x.

Download citation.

Read more | >