Scientists at Stanford University have discovered that DRT3, a unique defense system found in bacteria, creates DNA to protect against viral infections. DRT3 is made up of two different enzymes called reverse transcriptases, Drt3a and Drt3b, and a piece of noncoding RNA (ncRNA). Together, this trio makes long, double-stranded DNA consisting of alternating repeats (GT/AC).
A reader asked me a question this week that I have been thinking about ever since.
She did not ask whether AI could malfunction. She did not ask whether bad actors could misuse it. She asked something sharper:
Can a system produce bad outcomes systematically, even when intent is good, and nothing is broken?
The answer is yes. And it is the most dangerous category of bad outcome, because nobody is at fault and nothing is broken.
We have all the evidence we need. Amazon ran into it. YouTube ran into it. Hospitals are running into it now. AI labs are about to run into it at a planetary scale. And almost nobody is talking about why.
A 1975 economic principle explains it cleanly. A reader’s question forced me to refine an argument I have been making for years.
New essay: [ https://www.singularityweblog.com/goodharts-law-ai/](https://www.singularityweblog.com/goodharts-law-ai/)
UCLA scientists have developed a simple and cost-effective blood test that, in early studies, shows promise in detecting multiple cancers, various liver conditions and organ abnormalities simultaneously by analyzing DNA fragments circulating in the bloodstream. The test, described in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could offer a powerful and more affordable approach to early disease detection and comprehensive health monitoring.
“Early detection is crucial,” said Dr. Jasmine Zhou, the study’s senior author, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and investigator at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Survival rates are far higher when cancers are caught before they spread. If you detect cancer at stage one, outcomes are dramatically better than at stage four.”
How the MethylScan blood test works The new method, called MethylScan, works by analyzing cell-free DNA (cfDNA), tiny fragments of genetic material released into the blood when cells die. Because cells from every organ shed DNA into the bloodstream, cfDNA carries molecular signals that reflect what is happening throughout the body.
Background We investigated a novel therapeutic approach to glioblastoma (GBM) that targets cell-free chromatin particles (cfChPs) that are released from dying GBM cells and aggravate the oncogenic phenotype of living GBM cells. cfChPs can be deactivated by oxygen radicals (OR) generated upon oral administration of the nutraceuticals Resveratrol ® and Copper (Cu).
Methods Ten patients with glioblastoma awaiting surgery were administered 5.6 mg of Resveratrol ® and 560 ng of Copper (Cu) four times a day for an average of 11.6 ± 5.37 days. Another ten patients who did not receive R-Cu acted as controls. A tissue sample was taken at operation for analysis.
Results R-Cu treatment led to marked deactivation of cfChPs that were present in the tumour microenvironment, which was accompanied by a highly significant down-regulation in Ki-67, nine hallmarks of cancer, six immune check-points and three stem cell biomarkers as revealed by immuno-fluorescence analysis. Transcriptome sequencing detected marked upregulation of pro-apoptotic and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic genes. Also detected was down-regulation of PVRIG-2P, a homologue of immune checkpoint receptor PVRIG, which is a functional analogue of PD-L1.
CAR T cells in primary CNS lymphoma.
Treatment options for primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma remain limited, particularly in relapsed or refractory disease. This case report explores the activity and CNS trafficking of tandem CD20/CD19 CAR T cells (zamtocabtagene autoleucel), addressing key questions about cellular therapy in CNS lymphoma and the potential role of dual-target CAR T strategies.
CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell (CAR T) therapy is a well-established treatment for B-cell malignancies, but accessibility, toxicities, lack of persistence, modest anti-tumor activity, restricted trafficking and tumor antigen escape are among its limitations.1 Concern for excessive neurotoxicity led to exclusion of patients with central nervous system (CNS) involvement from clinical trials, and primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) is an exclusion on the approved products’ labeling. PCNSL is a highly aggressive lymphoma, with a favorable response to initial chemotherapy/radiation, but compared with lymphomas outside the CNS, relapses are common, and survival is inferior. Moreover, there is a lack of approved standard care beyond first-line therapy and the prognosis for these PCNSL patients remains poor.2
In approximately one third of all B-cell lymphoma patients, resistance to CAR T and relapses are accompanied by CD19 downregulation. Preclinical evidence suggests that dual antigen-targeting may overcome this problem.3 To address antigen escape, the investigational anti-CD20/ anti-CD19 CAR T product MB-CART2019.1 (zamtocabtagene autoleucel [zamto-cel]) was designed. Zamto-cel is a dual-targeting tandem-CAR construct with scFv regions of anti-CD19 and anti-CD20 linked in sequence by a flexible interchain linker, followed by CD8, 4-1BB and CD3 ζ domains.4 Our group and others have evaluated zamto-cel in a pivotal phase II clinical trial (DALY II USA/ MB-CART2019.1; clinicaltrials gov. Identifier: NCT04792489) for the treatment of DLBCL patients who received at least two lines of treatment.5 In addition to addressing antigen escape/relapse zamto-cel is non-cryopreserved with a vein-to-vein time of 14 days, improving cell yield and potency.
Originally derived from a technology developed to explore the fundamental nature of the Universe, Medipix3 technology now powers a medical scanner that is on track to benefit an increased number of patients. MARS Bioimaging Ltd has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its portable photon-counting CT scanner for upper-limb imaging, allowing the system to enter the US health sector and enable broader clinical adoption.
Medipix technology is based on hybrid pixel detectors, which were originally designed at CERN for particle detection in high-energy physics experiments. This technology was adapted to create the Medipix family of pixel detector readout chips, enabling a new approach to medical imaging.
Unlike conventional CT (computed tomography) systems – which combine X-ray measurements taken from different angles to produce a 3D image – photon-counting technology measures individual X-ray photons and their energy. This produces detailed, three-dimensional images that help clinicians to distinguish between different types of tissue and materials, better informing their decision making. As Dr John Carrino, a prominent musculoskeletal radiologist involved in clinical trials with MARS Bioimaging, notes: “Photon-counting CT is going to be the future of CT for medical imaging.”
The brain is more mechanically connected to the body than previously appreciated, scientists report in Nature Neuroscience. Through a study using mice and simulations, the team found a potential biological mechanism underlying why exercise is thought to benefit brain health: abdominal contractions compress blood vessels connected to the spinal cord and the brain, enabling the organ to gently move within the skull. This swaying facilitates the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid to flow over the brain, potentially washing away neural waste that could cause problems for brain function.
According to Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics, of neurosurgery, of biology and of biomedical engineering at Penn State, the work builds on previous studies detailing how sleep and neuron loss can influence how and when cerebrospinal fluid flushes through the brain.
“Our research explains how just moving around might serve as an important physiological mechanism promoting brain health,” said Drew, corresponding author on the paper. “In this study, we found that when the abdominal muscles contract, they push blood from the abdomen into the spinal cord, just like in a hydraulic system, applying pressure to the brain and making it move.
Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is marked by beta-amyloid plaque accumulation and cognitive decline. The limited efficacy and significant side effects of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody therapies have prompted exploration into innovative treatments like focused ultrasound therapy. Focused ultrasound shows promise as a non-invasive technique for disrupting the blood–brain barrier, potentially enhancing drug delivery directly to the brain and improving the penetration of existing therapeutic agents.
Until a few years ago, no one had heard of bixonimania. Then, in 2024, a group of scientists posted findings online announcing the condition, which they claimed affected the eyes after computer use. However, the scientists had made it up—not just the work, but the authors’ names, affiliations, locations and funding, which was the University of Fellowship of the Ring and the Galactic Triad.
Large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini treated it as real anyway, and in doing so, helped turn a fictional disease into a legitimate-sounding health concern.
Bixonimania is not an isolated case. Being deceived—whether you are a person or an AI model—is concerningly common, in science and beyond. Whether we’re talking about AI hallucinations, state-backed disinformation or just everyday lies, humans have a remarkable knack for naivety, owing to our biases and increasing need to outsource learning to others. These are problems we—individually and collectively—urgently need to better understand and overcome.
New global modeling shows that about 9.3% of the world’s land area is highly vulnerable to the risk of dangerous disease outbreaks.
These hotspots are concentrated in Latin America and Oceania, where communities already face pressure from climate change and land development.
The research also identifies the countries most vulnerable to outbreaks – and the least equipped to detect and contain them.