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Single-celled organisms have more complex DNA epigenetic code than multicellular life, researchers discover

Multicellular organisms (animals, plants, humans) all have the ability to methylate the cytosine base in their DNA. This process, a type of epigenetic modification, plays an important role in conditions such as cancer and processes such as aging.

In a paper appearing in Nature Genetics, researchers discover that in more “primitive” unicellular organisms, both the adenine and the cytosine bases are methylated. This would suggest that in some ways, these unicellular organisms are more complex than their multicellular peers.

The team also found that methylation of the adenine base was, in the case of many of these unicellular organisms, vital for controlling which genes are switched on, which is important for their viability.

Les Johnson — Infinite Frontiers Consulting, LLC — Visions of Humanity’s Future In Space

Visions of humanity’s future in space — les johnson — infinite frontiers consulting, LLC.

Les Johnson is a physicist, author, and space technologist (https://www.lesjohnsonauthor.com/) who most recently served as the Chief Technologist at NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.

Les is also the Founder of Infinite Frontiers Consulting (https://www.lesjohnsonauthor.com/infi… an aerospace consulting firm dedicated to helping turn innovative space ventures into reality. After decades leading of missions at NASA and collaborating across the industry, Les is excited to work with clients and partners who are pushing boundaries and advancing cutting-edge space technologies.

Over a distinguished career with NASA, Les played a central role in developing advanced space propulsion systems and pioneering technologies designed to expand humanity’s reach beyond Earth orbit. He has led and contributed to multiple interplanetary technology demonstration missions, including work on solar sails, in-space propulsion, and deep-space exploration architectures.

In addition to his NASA career, Les is an accomplished science fiction author and popular science writer, known for making complex space science accessible to broad audiences. His books—both fiction and nonfiction—explore the scientific and philosophical dimensions of humanity’s future in space (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Les-Joh?tag=lifeboatfound-20…).

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AI creates the first 100-billion-star Milky Way simulation

Researchers combined deep learning with high-resolution physics to create the first Milky Way model that tracks over 100 billion stars individually. Their AI learned how gas behaves after supernovae, removing one of the biggest computational bottlenecks in galactic modeling. The result is a simulation hundreds of times faster than current methods.

The ‘Great Unified Microscope’ can see both micro and nanoscale structures

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have built a microscope that can detect a signal over an intensity range 14 times wider than conventional microscopes. Moreover, the observations are made label-free, that is, without the use of additional dyes.

This means the method is gentle on cells and adequate for long-term observations, holding potential for testing and quality control applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Microscopes have played a pivotal role in the development of science since the 16th century. However, progress has required not only more sensitive and accurate equipment and analysis, but also more specialized ones. Therefore, modern, cutting-edge techniques have had to straddle trade-offs.

Scientists Make “Dark” Light States Shine, Unlocking New Quantum Tech

A breakthrough in manipulating dark excitons could pave the way for next-generation quantum communication systems and ultra-compact photonic devices. A research group from the City University of New York and the University of Texas at Austin has developed a method to illuminate light states that

World’s Leading Scientific Supercomputing Centers Adopt NVIDIA NVQLink to Integrate Grace Blackwell Platform With Quantum Processors

NVIDIA today announced that the world’s leading scientific computing centers are adopting NVIDIA® NVQLink™, a first-of-its-kind, universal interconnect for linking quantum processors with state-of-the-art accelerated computing.

Watch: HydroGNSS, IRIDE and Greek mission satellites launch

The European Space Agency’s HydroGNSS, a twin-satellite mission to gather data on Earth’s water cycle, is scheduled to launch on 19 November at 19:18 CET (10:18 Pacific Time). Live coverage of the launch will be shown on ESA Web TV.

The live coverage will start at 19:01 CET (10:01 Pacific Time). Launch is from the Vandenberg Space Force Base with SpaceX on Falcon 9.

Please note: launch times are subject to change at short notice. This page will be updated as soon as information becomes available, so please check back or bookmark the article.

Qualia as Structured Silence: Colour Opponency via Dual-Regime Refusal

By: Alastair Waterman https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1N1TBvEKuF/

Why does red feel exactly like red, green exactly like green, and why can these two experiences never, ever swap places?

Most current theories of consciousness have no real answer. They explain how the brain detects wavelength, but not why one neural pattern feels “red” and its literal opponent feels “green”

Refusal-Driven Dimensionality Reduction Theory (RDRT) offers the first direct mechanism.

Colour vision is opponent at every level: red and green are mutually exclusive from retina → LGN → V1 → V4 → inferotemporal cortex.

This hard-wired mutual exclusion is a multi-level structural refusal.

The claim: The specific feeling of redness is not the spikes that are transmitted.

It is the precise, reproducible shape of what is refused transmission — a stable ~55–65-event “hole” carved into each gamma cycle in the anterior cingulate cortex and self-monitoring networks.

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Root canal treatment could significantly lower blood sugar levels, study suggests

“Our oral health is connected to our general health,” said Dr Sadia Niazi, a senior clinical lecturer in endodontology at King’s College London. “We should never look at our teeth or dental disease as a separate entity.”

Root canal treatment is one of the most common – and perhaps most feared – dental procedures, though much of the anxiety derives from myths and misconceptions that hark back to the days of poor anaesthetics. The treatment is performed to treat infection or damage to the tooth’s pulp, the soft inner tissue of a tooth that contains nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue.

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If a looming root canal treatment is putting a dampener on the week, take heart: having the procedure can drive health benefits that are felt throughout the body, according to research.

Patients who were successfully treated for root canal infections saw their blood sugar levels fall significantly over two years, suggesting that ridding the body of the problematic bacteria could help protect against type 2 diabetes.

Dentists also saw improvements in patients’ blood cholesterol and fatty acid levels, both of which are associated with heart health. Yet more benefits were seen around inflammation, a driver for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

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