The dream of many – to try the taste through a monitor – is getting closer.
A team of biomedical engineers and virtual reality experts has developed a groundbreaking lollipop-shaped interface that simulates taste in virtual reality.
A basic function of cells is that they act in response to their environments. It makes sense, then, that a goal of scientists is to control that process, making cells respond how they want to what they want.
One avenue for this ambition is cell receptors, which function like ignition slots on a cell, requiring keys—such as specific hormones, drugs, or antigens—to start up specific cellular activities. There are already synthetic receptors that give us some control over this sequence of events, most famously the chimeric antigen receptors used in CAR-T cell cancer therapy. But existing synthetic receptors are limited in the variety of keys they can accept and the activities they can trigger.
Now, detailed in a paper published in Nature, Stanford researchers have developed a new synthetic receptor that accommodates a broader range of inputs and produces a more diverse set of outputs.
Scientists in China have claimed a breakthrough that might completely change how we store energy by turning waste oil into a formidable substance for energy storage.
As the world grapples with increasing power demand, supercapacitors are becoming more popular because of their quick charging and discharging times, which makes them perfect for high-performance applications.
The researcher’s novel method provides a sustainable way to make these supercapacitors while addressing waste management and energy storage challenges, according to a press release by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Multisectoral approaches for combating antimicrobial resistance — dr. amal al-maani — director general, diseases surveillance & control, ministry of health oman.
Dr. Amal Al-Maani, MD is Director General for Diseases Surveillance and Control at the Ministry of Health of Oman (https://moh.gov.om/en/hospitals-direc…), senior consultant in pediatric infectious diseases in the Sultanate, and is the focal point for the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Surveillance System (GLASS) and is responsible for Oman national surveillance system for AMR (OMASS) and the national Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) program.
Meta might yet teach its AI to more consistently show the right posts at the right time. Still, there’s a bigger lesson it could learn from Bluesky, though it might be an uncomfortable one for a tech giant to confront. It’s that introducing algorithms into a social feed may cause more problems than it solves—at least if timeliness matters, as it does with any service that aspires to scoop up disaffected Twitter users.
For a modern social network, Bluesky stays out of your way to a shocking degree. (So does Mastodon; I’m a fan, but it seems to be more of an acquired taste.) Bluesky’s primary view is “Following”—the most recent posts from the people you choose to follow, just as in the golden age of Twitter. (Present-day Twitter and Threads have equivalent views, but not as their defaults.) Starter Packs, which might be Bluesky’s defining feature, let anyone curate a shareable list of users. You can follow everyone in one with a single click, or pick and choose, but either way, you decide.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in communication and social behavior. Approximately 20% of cases are linked to a specific genetic mutation, but the origin of the remaining 80%, known as idiopathic autism, remains a mystery.
A team of scientists led by Drs. Raúl Méndez and Xavier Salvatella at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has identified a molecular mechanism that explains why certain alternations of the neuronal protein CPEB4 are associated with idiopathic autism.
The study is based on previous work published in 2018 that identified CPEB4 as a key protein in the regulation of neuronal proteins related to autism.
A new design principle has been identified that could eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in solar cell manufacturing.
The standard manufacturing process of organic cells involves toxic solvents. This environmental concern has hindered the widespread adoption of organic solar cells.
Continue reading “US-China crack code for toxic-free solar panels with 20% efficiency” »
To demonstrate the capabilities of their diamond storage system, the researchers encoded a famous sequence of photographs by Eadweard Muybridge.
“The team then stored images by mapping the brightness of each pixel to the brightness levels of specific sites inside the diamond,” New Scientist reported.
Continue reading “China hits record-breaking 1.85 terabytes of data storage in diamonds” »
An international research team has for the first time designed realistic photonic time crystals–exotic materials that exponentially amplify light. The breakthrough opens up exciting possibilities across fields such as communication, imaging and sensing by laying the foundations for faster and more compact lasers, sensors and other optical devices.
“This work could lead to the first experimental realization of photonic time crystals, propelling them into practical applications and potentially transforming industries. From high-efficiency light amplifiers and advanced sensors to innovative laser technologies, this research challenges the boundaries of how we can control the light-matter interaction,” says Assistant Professor Viktar Asadchy from Aalto University, Finland.
The study is published in the journal Nature Photonics.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine and collaborating institutions report in the journal Cell the discovery of BHB-Phe, a novel compound produced by the body that regulates appetite and body weight through interactions with neurons in the brain.
Until now, BHB has been known as a compound produced by the liver to be used as fuel. However, in recent years, scientists have found that BHB increases in the body after fasting or exercise, prompting interest in investigating potential beneficial applications in obesity and diabetes.
In the current study, the team at Stanford University led by co-corresponding author Dr. Jonathan Z. Long, associate professor of pathology, discovered that BHB also participates in another metabolic pathway. In this case, an enzyme called CNDP2 joins BHB to amino acids. Furthermore, the most abundant BHB-amino acid, BHB-Phe, can influence body weight and metabolism in animal models.
