Lifeboat Foundation

New research from the Human Cell Atlas offers insights into cell development, disease mechanisms, and genetic influences, enhancing our understanding of human biology and health.

The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium has made significant progress in its mission to better understand the cells of the human body in health and disease, with a recent publication of a Collection of more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in Nature and other Nature Portfolio journals.

The Collection showcases a range of large-scale datasets, artificial intelligence algorithms, and biomedical discoveries from the HCA that are enhancing our understanding of the human body. The studies reveal insights into how the placenta and skeleton form, changes during brain maturation, new gut and vascular cell states, lung responses to COVID-19, and the effects of genetic variation on disease, among others.

Physicists are getting closer to controlling single-molecule chemical reactions – could this shape the future of pharmaceutical research?

A groundbreaking study demonstrates control over atomic-level matter through nanotechnology. By leveraging the precision of scanning tunneling microscopy, researchers have shown how competing chemical reaction outcomes can be influenced by manipulating energy levels. This advancement allows for targeted reactions, such as those needed for drug synthesis, while reducing unwanted byproducts.

Continue reading “Breakthrough in Nanotechnology Unlocks Atomic Precision for Medicine and Energy” »

Researchers have developed an innovative optical technology capable of enhancing data transmission by utilizing spatial-frequency patching metasurfaces.

This approach allows light beams to carry significantly more data across multiple independent channels, overcoming traditional optical beam limitations. Its applications extend to secure communication, encryption, and advanced optical systems.

Revolutionary optical technology for data transmission.

French physicist Louis de Broglie’s pilot wave theory proposed that quantum particles are directed by a guiding wave. Although de Broglie later renounced his theory due to its complexity and abstractness, the concept was revived by David Bohm and remains a topic of ongoing scientific exploration and debate.

Celebrating a Century of Quantum Discovery

Last week marked the 100-year anniversary of French physicist Louis de Broglie presenting his doctoral thesis, a groundbreaking work that earned him a Nobel prize for “his discovery of the wave nature of electrons.” His discovery became a cornerstone of quantum mechanics and gave rise to his renowned “pilot wave” theory—an alternative framework for understanding the quantum world. Yet, despite its significance, de Broglie later rejected his own theory. Why did he abandon it?

New findings, published in the journal Ecology, describe a previously undocumented behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). For the first time, these have been reported to feed on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa) – the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. In doing so, the wolves may act as pollinators, perhaps the first known plant-pollinator interaction involving a large carnivore.

The study was carried out by researchers at the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP), a partnership between the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), and Dinkenesh Ethiopia. They observed that some individual wolves would visit as many as 30 blooms in a single trip, with multiple wolves from different packs exploiting this resource. There was also some evidence of social learning, with juveniles being brought to the flower fields along with adults.

The find intrigued scientists, including my colleagues and I. Upon closer investigation, we realised the scar was created by a ferocious tornado that no-one knew had occurred. We outline the findings in new research published today.

Tornadoes are a known threat in the United States and elsewhere. But they also happen in Australia.

Without the power of technology, this remarkable example of nature’s ferocity would have gone unnoticed. It’s important to study the tornado’s aftermath to help us predict and prepare for the next big twister.

Year 2006 face_with_colon_three

One of the good things about being God is that there’s not much competition. From time immemorial, no one else has boasted the skills necessary to create a universe. Now that’s about to change. “People are becoming more powerful,” says Andrei Linde, a cosmologist based at Stanford University in California. “Maybe it’s time we redefine God as something more sophisticated than just the creator of the universe.”

Linde was prompted to make this wry observation by the news that a glittering prize is within physicists’ reach. For decades, particle accelerators have been racking up an impressive list of achievements, including creating antimatter and exotic particles never seen in nature. The next generation of these giant colliders will provide the hunting ground for the elusive Higgs boson, thought to be the source of all mass. These machines might even create mini black holes. Mighty as those discoveries and creations are, however, they pale into insignificance beside what Nobuyuki Sakai and his colleagues at Yamagata University in Japan have now put on the table. They have discovered how to use a particle accelerator to create a whole new universe.

A recent study by the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care reveals that an area of the brain distinct from the stroke lesion may play a significant role in causing the life-altering symptoms with which survivors are often left, which can include severe challenges with speech, mobility and cognition. These results provide hope that innovative, non-invasive treatments could help improve or even fully reverse post-stroke symptoms.

Strokes (which more than 100,000 Canadians suffer every year) leave behind an area where brain cells have died, called a lesion. However, this cannot explain the widespread consequences of stroke, limiting scientists’ and clinicians’ ability to treat them.

The study, titled “Secondary thalamic dysfunction underlies abnormal large-scale neural dynamics in chronic stroke,” published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that degeneration of the thalamus—an area of the brain distinct from the stroke lesion—is a significant contributor to post-stroke symptoms.

Inhibiting TLR7, an immune signaling protein, may help preserve the protective layer surrounding nerve fibers in the brain during both Alzheimer’s disease and ordinary aging, suggests a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The research is published in the journal Science.

Most nerve fibers in vertebrates are encased in sheaths made largely of myelin, a protein that protects the fibers and greatly enhances the efficiency of their signal conduction. The destruction of myelin sheaths—demyelination—can occur in the context of brain inflammation and can lead to cognitive, movement and other neurological problems. The phenomenon is seen in multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions, as well as in ordinary aging.

Demyelination-linked disorders often show sex differences, and in the study, the researchers looked for underlying mechanisms of demyelination that might help explain these differences. Their experiments in mouse models of Alzheimer’s uncovered TLR7 as a driver of inflammatory demyelination especially in males, but also showed that removing or inhibiting this immune protein can protect against demyelination in both males and females.