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A ‘stemness checkpoint’ helps control stem cell identity

A study published in Cell Research advances a central idea in stem cell biology by identifying a checkpoint that controls the identity of many different types of stem cells across developmental stages. For nearly two decades, scientists have understood that stem cell self-renewal depends on blocking differentiation signals—a concept described in earlier work, including Qi-Long Ying and Austin Smith’s 2008 Nature paper titled “The ground state of embryonic stem cell self-renewal.”

Now, researchers from the labs of Ying at USC and Guang Hu at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have identified the protein GSK3α as a “stemness checkpoint” that drives differentiation and that can be inhibited to maintain stem cell identity.

This discovery introduces a new conceptual framework: Rather than viewing stem cell maintenance as the result of many unrelated signaling conditions, distinct stem cell types share common checkpoints.

Parent- and Intensivist-Reported Utility for Neonatal Genomic Testing

Rapid neonatal genomic testing was perceived as beneficial by both parents and intensivists, especially for informing prognosis, though negative outcomes such as uncertainty or confusion were also reported by some parents.

This survey study assesses intensivists’ and parents’ perceptions of the utility of rapid genomic testing for critically ill neonates.

Optical control of nuclear spins in molecules points to new paths for quantum technologies

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have reported important progress in quantum physics and materials science by optically initializing, controlling, and reading out nuclear spin states in a molecular material for the first time. Because of their weak interaction with the environment, nuclear spins are particularly stable quantum information carriers. The research, published in Nature Materials, shows that molecular nuclear spins could be a promising building block for future quantum technologies.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an established method for analyzing materials and molecules, with applications ranging from chemical analysis to quantum information processing. For a new paper, KIT researchers analyzed a molecular crystal containing europium ions. Such ions have especially narrow optical transitions that allow direct addressing of nuclear spin states. Using laser light, they were able to initialize nuclear spins in defined states and then read out those states.

In addition to optical addressing, the researchers used high-frequency fields to control the spins and protect them from interfering environmental influences. They achieved nuclear spin quantum coherence with a lifetime of up to two milliseconds, an interval during which a quantum system maintains a precisely defined quantum mechanical state.

What if dark matter came in two states?

The absence of a signal could itself be a signal. This is the idea behind a new study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, which aims to redefine how we search for dark matter, showing that it may not be necessary to find the same “clues” everywhere in order to interpret it.

In particular, the study suggests that even if we observe a certain type of signal at the center of our galaxy—an excess of gamma radiation that could result from the annihilation of dark matter particles—failing to detect the same signal in other systems, such as dwarf galaxies, is not enough to rule out this explanation.

Dark matter, in fact, may not consist of a single particle, but of multiple slightly different components, whose behavior varies depending on the cosmic environment.

Physicists zero in on the mass of the fundamental W boson particle

When fundamental particles are heavier or lighter than expected, physicists’ understanding of the universe can tip into the unknown. A particle that is just beyond its predicted mass can unravel scientists’ assumptions about the forces that make up all of matter and space. But now, a new precision measurement has reset the balance and confirmed scientists’ theories, at least for one of the universe’s core building blocks.

In a paper appearing in the journal Nature, an international team including MIT physicists reports a new, ultraprecise measurement of the mass of the W boson.

The W boson is one of two elementary particles that embody the weak force, which is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. The weak force enables certain particles to change identities, such as from protons to neutrons and vice versa. This morphing is what drives radioactive decay, as well as nuclear fusion, which powers the sun.

Sound-sensing hair bundles in our ears act as tiny thermodynamic machines

The hair cells lining the inner ear are among the most sophisticated structures in the human body: capable of detecting sounds as faint as a whisper, while helping to maintain our sense of balance. Through new models detailed in PRX Life, a team led by Roman Belousov at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory has revealed for the first time how oscillating bundles attached to these cells operate in different thermodynamic regimes—offering a new framework for understanding how our hearing works at a fundamental level.

Within the inner ear, each hair cell hosts a hair “bundle”: a cluster of tiny, bristle-like projections that vibrate in response to incoming sound waves. The mechanical energy from these oscillations is then converted into electrical signals which travel to the brain. Rather than being passive receivers, these bundles actively oscillate —driven by molecular motors within the cell that allow them to amplify faint signals and tune in to specific frequencies.

But despite decades of study, researchers are still unclear on the connection between this active oscillation and the hair bundle’s response to external sound. Existing models tended to treat bundles as if they were moving spontaneously, without accounting for what happens when they actually interact with sound.

AI uncovers hidden immune defenses inside bacteria

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered thousands of new proteins that protect bacteria from virus attacks using an AI system called DefensePredictor. What would usually take months of lab work can now be narrowed down to promising candidates in minutes.

Bacteria are under constant attack from viruses called bacteriophages. One of their most powerful defenses is CRISPR-Cas, a system that cuts up viral DNA to stop an infection and is now a valuable biotechnology tool for precisely editing genes in a lab.

Traditional methods of finding these defenses are long and laborious, equivalent to looking for a needle in a haystack. They involve searching for nearby known defensive genes and manually testing thousands of DNA fragments. But now, AI can take the strain.

AI trained like a Rubik’s Cube solver simplifies particle physics equations

For years, Rutgers physicist David Shih solved Rubik’s Cubes with his children, twisting the colorful squares until the scrambled puzzle returned to order. He didn’t expect the toy to connect to his research, but recently he realized the logic behind the puzzle was exactly what he needed to solve a problem involving particle physics.

That idea led to a new artificial intelligence (AI) method that can simplify some of the extremely complex equations used in particle physics. Shih described the method in a study posted to the arXiv preprint server, a widely used site where scientists share new research.

“In reaching our solutions, we found that an analogy between mathematical simplification and solving Rubik’s Cubes was key,” said Shih, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. “Both can be viewed as scrambling and unscrambling problems.”

Summer is getting longer, and it’s happening faster than we thought

Summer weather is arriving earlier, lasting longer and packing more heat than it used to—and it’s happening faster than scientists had previously measured. A new study by UBC researchers has found that between 1990 and 2023, the average summer between the tropics and the polar circles grew about six days longer per decade. That’s up from roughly four days per decade found in past research investigations up until the early 2010s.

For many cities, the numbers are even more striking. In Sydney, Australia, summer temperatures now last about 130 days, up from 80 days in 1990, adding 15 days per decade. Toronto summers are expanding by eight days per decade.

The researchers didn’t use the calendar definition of summer (June through August in the Northern Hemisphere and December through February in the Southern Hemisphere). Instead, they defined summer based on the weather: the stretch of days each year when temperatures rise above what was historically typical for a given location during the warmest part of the year—a threshold set using climate data from 1961 to 1990.

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