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Scientists Crack the Code Behind a Rare Cancer-Fighting Compound

Scientists at UBC Okanagan have revealed how plants create mitraphylline, a rare natural substance that shows potential for fighting cancer.

Mitraphylline is part of a small family of plant molecules known as spirooxindole alkaloids. These compounds are distinguished by their complex “twisted” ring structures and are recognized for powerful biological effects, including anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activity.

Until recently, researchers did not know the precise molecular process plants use to form spirooxindoles. That mystery began to unravel in 2023 when Dr. Thu-Thuy Dang’s team in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science identified the first plant enzyme capable of twisting a molecule into the distinctive spiro shape.

A breakthrough map reveals how the brain really works

Scientists have shown that brain connectivity patterns can predict mental functions across the entire brain. Each region has a unique “connectivity fingerprint” tied to its role in cognition, from language to memory. The strongest links were found in higher-level thinking skills that take years to develop. This work lays the groundwork for comparing healthy and disordered brains.

On-chip quantum interference of indistinguishable single photons from integrated independent molecules

Hong–Ou–Mandel experiments on a quantum photonic chip demonstrate on-chip quantum interference of indistinguishable single photons with visibilities exceeding 0.97 for two molecules separately coupled to two waveguides.

Super recognizers’ unique eye patterns give AI an edge in face matching tasks

What is it that makes a super recognizer —someone with extraordinary face recognition abilities—better at remembering faces than the rest of us?

According to new research carried out by cognitive scientists at UNSW Sydney, it’s not how much of a face they can take in—it comes down to the quality of the information their eyes focus on.

“Super-recognizers don’t just look harder, they look smarter. They choose the most useful parts of a face to take in,” says Dr. James Dunn, lead author on the research that was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Landscape clues suggest Indigenous Peoples have thrived in southwestern Amazon for more than 1,000 years

In September 2021, a multidisciplinary expedition explored one of the least-known regions of the Bolivian Amazon: the Great Tectonic Lakes of Exaltación in the department of Beni.

Organized by the Grupo de Trabajo para los Llanos de Moxos (GTLM), the mission brought together researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the National Museum of Natural History, the Institute of Ecology, the Biodiversity and Environment Research Center, the Aquatic Resources Research Center, and the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn.

New antibiotic for drug-resistant bacteria found hiding in plain sight

Chemists from the University of Warwick and Monash University have discovered a promising new antibiotic that shows activity against drug-resistant bacterial pathogens, including MRSA and VRE.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the world’s most urgent health challenges, with the WHO’s new report showing there are ‘too few antibacterials in the pipeline’. Most of the ‘low-hanging fruit’ has already been found, and the limited commercial incentives deter investment in antibiotic discovery.

In a new study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers from the Monash Warwick Alliance Combatting Emerging Superbug Threats Initiative have discovered a promising new antibiotic — pre-methylenomycin C lactone. The newly discovered antibiotic was ‘hiding in plain sight’ – as an intermediate chemical in the natural process that produces the well-known antibiotic methylenomycin A.

Many mini-Neptunes once thought to be lava worlds may actually have solid surfaces

As telescopes have become more powerful, it’s turned out our solar system is not the only game in town: There are millions of other planets out there in the galaxy. But we’re still teasing out clues about what they are actually like.

One of the puzzles is a kind of planet that appears to be one of the most common types in the universe. Known as “mini-Neptunes” because they run a little smaller than Neptune in our , these planets are made of some mix of rock and metal, with thick atmospheres mostly made of hydrogen, helium, and perhaps water. Strangely, despite their abundance elsewhere, they have no analog in our own solar system, making the population something of an enigma.

But a new study published Nov. 5, led by Prof. Eliza Kempton with the University of Chicago, adds a new wrinkle to our best picture yet of these distant worlds. The research is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Two independent quantum networks successfully fused into one

Many quantum researchers are working toward building technologies that allow for the existence of a global quantum internet, in which any two users on Earth would be able to conduct large-scale quantum computing and communicate securely with the help of quantum entanglement. Although this requires many more technological advancements, a team of researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have managed to merge two independent networks, bringing the world a bit closer to realizing a quantum internet.

A true global will require interconnectivity between many networks, and this has proven to be a much more difficult task for than it is for classical networks. While researchers have demonstrated the ability to connect quantum computers within the same network, multi-user fusion remains a major challenge. Fully connected networks using dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) have been achieved, but have scalability and complexity issues.

However, the research team involved in the new study, published in Nature Photonics, has merged two independent networks with 18 different users. All 18 users can communicate securely using -based protocols using this method. This represents the most complex multi-user quantum network to date.

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