New models predict biological age more robustly by pinpointing different age-related changes and distinguishing between cause and effect.
As part of a nationwide collaboration, Broad Clinical Labs researchers have optimized 10 polygenic scores for use in clinical research as part of a study on how to implement genetic risk prediction for patients.
Can you make friends with a robot?
“To study this, we asked 387 participants about their usage of AI, as well as their general experience of social connection and support.”
Continue reading “Will AI companions help or hurt the ‘loneliness epidemic’?” »
Researchers have developed a revolutionary biosensor using terahertz (THz) waves that can detect skin cancer with exceptional sensitivity, potentially paving the way for earlier and easier diagnoses. Published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, the study presents a significant advancement in early cancer detection, thanks to the collaboration of multidisciplinary teams from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Glasgow.
“Traditional methods for detecting skin cancer often involve expensive, time-consuming, CT, PET scans and invasive higher frequencies technologies,” explains Dr. Shohreh Nourinovin, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Queen Mary’s School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, and the study’s first author. “Our biosensor offers a non-invasive and highly efficient solution, leveraging the unique properties of THz waves—a type of radiation with lower energy than X-rays, thus safe for humans—to detect subtle changes in cell characteristics.”
The key innovation lies in the biosensor’s design. Featuring tiny, asymmetric resonators on a flexible substrate, it can detect subtle changes in the properties of cells. Unlike traditional methods that rely solely on refractive index, this device analyzes a combination of parameters, including resonance frequency, transmission magnitude, and a value called “full width at half maximum” (FWHM). This comprehensive approach provides a richer picture of the tissue, allowing for more accurate differentiation between healthy and cancerous cells and to measure malignancy degree of the tissue.
Neuroresearchers at Macquarie University in Australia say they have developed a single-dose genetic medicine that has halted the progression of both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in mice. The team, which believes its approach may even offer the potential to reverse some of the effects of the fatal diseases, thinks it may also hold opportunities for treating more common forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The new treatment, dubbed CTx1000, targets pathological build-ups of the protein TDP-43 in cells in the brain and spinal cord, which has been associated with ALS, FTD, and other forms of dementia. The scientists, led by Lars Ittner, PhD, hope to see CTx1000 begin human clinical trials in as little as two years. Their study “Targeting 14–3-3?-mediated TDP-43 pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia mice” appears in Neuron.
“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by cytoplasmic deposition of the nuclear TAR-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). Although cytoplasmic re-localization of TDP-43 is a key event in the pathogenesis of ALS/FTD, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we identified a non-canonical interaction between 14–3-3θ and TDP-43, which regulates nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling,” wrote the investigators.
Malicious packages lurking in open-source repositories. Discover how DLL side-loading is the latest technique used to evade security software.
Robots may seem like a completely modern phenomenon, but the idea of creating artificial beings is by no means new. In this video we’ll look at the ancient predecessors of our modern robots, and see their development from a concept in mythology, to the earliest simple devices, and finally to full-fledged self-moving statues.
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Adrienne Mayor, PhDWho first imagined robots, animated statues, automatons, and Artificial Intelligenc…
Implants and other technologies that decode neural activity can restore people’s abilities to move and speak — and help researchers to understand how the brain works.
The idea that the electrical activity of the human brain could be recorded first gained support 100 years ago.
