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Rethinking the origins and functions of adaptive immunity

The adaptive immune system (AIS) is traditionally viewed as a defensive vertebrate innovation forged by pathogen pressure. Yet many of its core features suggest it is a homeostatic, regulatory circuit, not simply a sophisticated means of antimicrobial warfare. The horizontal transfer of mitochondria—–endogenous endosymbiotic organelles—is a conserved mechanism for maintaining tissue homeostasis through metabolic rescue but can alter a cell’s identity and provoke immune responses. We propose that escalating multicellular complexity accommodated mitochondrial mobility—and the inevitable intrinsic immunological danger it presents—through a complementary supervisory system with buffering (tolerance), contextualization (specificity), memory, and eliminatory capacities.

Scientists put a tiny lump of metal in two places at once in record-breaking quantum experiment

Scientists have pulled off a mind-bending quantum experiment that sounds almost impossible: they showed that tiny metal particles made of thousands of atoms can exist in multiple places at once. Using advanced laser techniques, researchers at the University of Vienna observed quantum interference in sodium nanoparticles far larger than the kinds of particles usually seen behaving this way. The finding pushes quantum mechanics into a new realm, suggesting that even surprisingly “large” objects still obey the bizarre rules of the quantum world.

An expert-level generalist AI for abdominal CT diagnosis

Artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology aspires to deliver expert-level diagnosis across diverse clinical tasks, yet existing supervised strategies remain limited in scope. We developed RADAR, a generalist vision-language model trained on more than 400,000 contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) examinations and 15 million anatomy-wise image-text pairs, learning directly from clinical reports without manual annotation. Throughout internal and external evaluations across multiple centers and varied clinical scenarios, RADAR achieved high diagnostic performance and robust generalization for 18 anatomical structures and 146 imaging findings. In a reader study, RADAR assistance increased the diagnostic sensitivity of 26 radiologists by ~10%.

Inside Firefly’s new Texas facility built to help power NASA’s moon base

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Lunar landers are making a new home in Central Texas.

On Tuesday, Firefly Aerospace celebrated the completion of a new clean room facility at its Cedar Park spacecraft campus, an expansion company leaders say will help support a growing number of lunar missions and future spacecraft production.

“What it really lets us able to do is that you can kind of have spacecraft flowing through the production line really smoothly,” said Ray Allensworth, vice president of spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace.

Tesla Builds First Cybercab Using In-House Battery Materials

Tesla’s push to bring its battery supply chain under one roof just hit a major milestone on the factory floor. The first production Cybercab powered by cathode battery materials produced entirely in-house has officially rolled off the assembly line at Gigafactory Texas.

The milestone was confirmed by Tesla’s official Robotaxi account on X, which posted: “First Cybercab made using our in-house cathode material – from the first cathode plant in the Americas.”

The breakthrough represents the culmination of a multi-year effort to master dry-cathode 4,680 battery manufacturing. Not only does Tesla’s dry cathode process cut battery costs, but producing the raw active electrode powder domestically takes vertical integration to an entirely new level.

Experimental cancer vaccine makes its own oxygen and gives T cells a boost

When it comes to priorities in life, oxygen tops the list. Humans can go weeks without food and days without water. Take away the ability to breathe, however, and the clock starts ticking within minutes as the brain begins shutting down. But the life-giving gas does even more heavy lifting than you might think.

The immune system, which battles cancer with the help of specialized fighters, such as T cells, relies on oxygen to mount its attack.

Now, Bouvé College of Health Sciences professor and director of the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences graduate program Stephen Hatfield and his colleagues are enlisting oxygen in the cancer fight with a new vaccine designed to give T cells a powerful edge.

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