Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 12

Tune Therapeutics, a Durham biotechnology startup co-founded by a Duke professor, announced the completion of its Series B fundraising round on Jan. 12, in which it raised $175 million to support clinical trials for its epigenome editor.

The company will use the funding to advance clinical trials for Tune-401, the epigenetic silencing drug for treating chronic Hepatitis B — a viral infection that damages the liver and affects millions globally. The investment will also support the development of various other therapies, including additional gene, cell and regenerative therapy programs.

“The goal is to epigenetically repress the virus to prevent it from being able to replicate and make the viral proteins that it would normally produce,” said Charles Gersbach, John W. Strohbehn distinguished professor of biomedical engineering and cofounder of Tune Therapeutics.

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A major trial in frontotemporal dementia patients has found that oxytocin can help improve symptoms of apathy. A new study led by Western researchers suggests that frequent treatment with intranasal oxytocin—a hormone linked to empathy—may help reduce apathy in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

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For decades, the realm of particle physics has been governed by two major categories: fermions and bosons. Fermions, like quarks and leptons, make up matter, while bosons, such as photons and gluons, act as force carriers. These classifications have long been thought to be the limits of particle behavior. However, a breakthrough has recently changed this understanding.

Researchers have mathematically proven the existence of paraparticles, a theoretical type of particle that doesn’t fit neatly into the traditional fermion or boson categories. These exotic particles were once deemed impossible, defying the conventional laws of physics. Now, thanks to advanced mathematical equations, scientists have demonstrated that paraparticles can exist without violating known physical constraints.

The implications of this discovery could be far-reaching, especially in areas like quantum computing. Paraparticles could offer new possibilities in how we understand the universe at its most fundamental level. While the discovery is still in its early stages, it provides a new tool for physicists to explore more complex systems, potentially unlocking new technologies in the future.

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A landmark development led by researchers from the University of Glasgow could help create a new generation of diamond-based transistors for use in high-power electronics.

Their new diamond transistor overcomes the limitations of previous developments in the technology to create a much closer to being of practical use across a range of industries that rely on high power systems.

The team have found a new way to use diamond as the basis of a transistor that remains switched off by default—a development crucial for ensuring safety in devices that carry a large amount of electrical current when switched on.

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As the demand for digital security grows, researchers have developed a new optical system that uses holograms to encode information, creating a level of encryption that traditional methods cannot penetrate. This advance could pave the way for more secure communication channels, helping to protect sensitive data.

“From rapidly evolving digital currencies to governance, , communications and social networks, the demand for robust protection systems to combat digital fraud continues to grow,” said research team leader Stelios Tzortzakis from the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas and the University of Crete, both in Greece.

“Our new system achieves an exceptional level of encryption by utilizing a to generate the decryption key, which can only be created by the owner of the encryption system.”

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A small medical jet carrying six people crashed in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood Friday evening, officials said, causing an explosion and setting several homes ablaze. It’s unclear if anyone aboard survived. Several people on the ground were injured, Philadelphia police said.

The plane, a Learjet 55, had just departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport bound for Springfield, Missouri, when it went down, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane crashed into a neighborhood near the Roosevelt Mall just moments after leaving the airstrip at approximately 6:07 p.m. The first emergency calls went out about five minutes later, at 6:12 p.m. The crash occurred in the area of Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia police confirmed.

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SPHEREx could, though (in a way).

To be fair, SPHEREx won’t rival the JWST’s ability to observe highly localized regions of the universe that are confined to the infrared section of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, unlike the JWST, it is an all-sky survey. Whereas the $10 billion JWST is great at observing things like specific nebulas and relatively narrow but tremendously dimensional deep fields, SPHEREx is intended to image the entire sky as seen from Earth.

“We are literally mapping the entire celestial sky in 102 infrared colors for the first time in humanity’s history, and we will see that every six months,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “This has not been done before on this level of color resolution for our old sky maps.”

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