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We finally have a more natural method to kill cancer.

A study from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory suggests that a vitamin K precursor, menadione, may offer a highly targeted way to kill prostate cancer cells.

Unlike traditional treatments that push cancer into dormancy, menadione acts as a pro-oxidant, disrupting a key lipid called PIP. This lipid helps cells manage waste, and without it, cancer cells become overwhelmed and ultimately burst.

The study, published in Science, demonstrated significant tumor suppression in both mice and human cancer cells. Researchers believe this method could offer a safer and more definitive resolution for prostate cancer while minimizing the risk of resistance.

Beyond cancer, menadione also shows promise in treating X-linked myotubular myopathy, a severe genetic muscle disorder. Importantly, menadione’s safety profile appears favorable, as it is commonly used in animal feed to support vitamin K production.

Continue reading “Dietary pro-oxidant therapy by a vitamin K precursor targets PI 3-kinase VPS34 function” | >

To mimic the conditions of the human brain, the researchers opted not to use a mouse model for MS, instead advancing a model that uses the marmoset, a nonhuman primate. Compared to mouse brains, marmoset and human brains have a higher ratio of white matter (the “wires” of the brain) to gray matter (neuronal cell bodies). The marmoset model creates multiple lesions that closely resemble those seen in human MS and that can be tracked in real time using MRI imaging. Because these lesions can be induced experimentally, the model offers a look at the earliest stages of inflammation and immune responses that lead to MS-like demyelination.

One key player identified was a specific type of astrocyte, one of the support cell types in the brain, that turns on a gene called SERPINE1 or plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI1). They found SERPINE1-expressing astrocytes in vulnerable brain borders before visible damage occurs, clustering near blood vessels and the fluid-filled ventricles of the brain and signaling future areas of lesion development. These astrocytes also appeared to influence the behavior of other cells near the lesion area, including the ability of immune cells to enter the brain and contribute to inflammation, as well as the precursor cells involved in myelin repair.

Given that SERPINE1-expressing astrocytes accumulated at the edges of growing lesions, where damage happens but healing also begins, their potential dual role in coordinating signals that could lead to either tissue repair or further damage was an unexpected wrinkle that will require further study. It’s possible that the earliest responses could be a part of a protective mechanism that becomes overwhelmed as the injury progresses. It’s also possible that the same mechanism could itself become disease-causing.

Using an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers have created a four-dimensional brain map that reveals how lesions similar to those seen in human MS form. These findings, published in Science, provide a window into the early disease state and could help identify potential targets for MS treatments and brain tissue repair.

Continue reading “New 4D Brain Map reveals potential early warning signs of multiple sclerosis” | >

Quantum information processing is a field that relies on the entanglement of multiple photons to process vast amounts of information. However, creating multiphoton entanglement is a challenging task. Traditional methods either use quantum nonlinear optical processes, which are inefficient for large numbers of photons, or linear beam-splitting and quantum interference, which require complex setups prone to issues like loss and crosstalk.

A team of researchers from Peking University, Southern University of Science and Technology, and the University of Science and Technology of China have made a significant breakthrough in this area.

As reported in Advanced Photonics Nexus, they developed a new approach using metasurfaces, which are planar structures capable of controlling various aspects of light, such as phase, frequency, and polarization. This innovative approach allows for the generation of multiphoton entanglement on a single , simplifying the process while making it more efficient.

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There are plenty of types of stars out there, but one stands out for being just a little weirder than the others. You might even say it’s strange. According to a paper from researchers at Guangxi University in China, the birth of one might have recently been observed for the very first time.

A strange star is a (so far theoretical) compact star that is so dense it literally breaks down regular parts of atoms (like neutrons) into their constituent quarks. Moreover, even those quarks (the up and down that comprise a neutron) get compressed into an even rarer type of quark called a strange quark—hence the name strange star.

Technically, the “strange” matter that a strange star would be composed of is a combination of up, down, and strange quarks. But, at least in theory, this mix of sub-hadronic particles could even be more stable than a traditional neutron star, which is similar to a strange star but doesn’t have enough gravity to break down the neutrons.

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In today’s AI news, ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming has become China’s richest man as investors bet on companies with AI potential. Zhang’s fortune has grown to $65.5 billion, ahead of beverage giant Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan’s $56.5 billion, according to Forbes estimates. Zhang, 41, derives his net worth from a 21% stake in the privately held tech behemoth …

And, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and smaller firms like Anthropic are losing massive amounts of money by giving away their AI products or selling them at a loss. “We are in the era of $5 Uber rides anywhere across San Francisco but for LLMs,” wrote early OpenAI engineer Andrej Karpathy. Chatbots are free, programming assistance is cheap, and attention-grabbing, money-losing AI toys are everywhere. AI is in its free(ish) trial era.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, Foxconn, said it has built its own large language model with reasoning capabilities, developed in-house and trained in four weeks. Initially designed for internal use within the company, the artificial-intelligence model, called FoxBrain, is capable of data analysis, mathematics, reasoning and code generation. Foxconn said Nvidia provided support …

Then, once upon a time, software ate the world. Now, AI is here to digest what’s left. The old model of computing, where apps ruled, marketplaces controlled access and platforms took their cut, is unraveling. What’s emerging is an AI-first world where software functions aren’t trapped inside apps but exist as dynamic, on-demand services accessible through AI-native interfaces.

In videos, learn how to integrate ElevenLabs Conversational AI platform with Cal. com for automated meeting scheduling. Angelo, takes you through the process with step-by-step instructions, and you can view and use the complete guide with Eleven Labs full documentation.

Continue reading “AI Mania Makes ByteDance Cofounder Zhang Yiming China’s Richest Person” | >

Marine worms use nature’s 3D printing to build their bristles piece by piece.

A new study has shed light on how certain marine worms form bristles, hair-like projections on each side.

A team of researchers, led by molecular biologist Florian Raible from the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna, used advanced imaging techniques to closely study Platynereis dumerilii, which is often considered a living fossil.

These annelid worms have extraordinary bristles that enable them to navigate their aquatic environment. But how are these intricate structures formed? It turns out that these species develop bristles piece by piece, similar to the process of 3D printing.

Continue reading “Like 3D printer, marine worm form bristles piece by piece: Study” | >