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Desperate search for relief in a time of anxiety [a 16-year-old writes to Socrates]

Almost 12 years ago, a 16-year-old girl named Stefanie wrote to me the night before her senior year of high school. She could not sleep. She was terrified of the Singularity. And she wanted to know what she could actually do about it.

I still get these messages. More of them than ever, in fact. The names change. The fear does not. If anything, in the age of frontier AI, autonomous agents, and accelerating capability, the desperation in young people’s voices has only deepened.

What struck me when I went back to read my reply was how little I wanted to change. The advice I gave Stefanie has, mostly, stood the test of time. So rather than rewrite it, I am simply reposting it. A few of the things I told her then, and would tell any anxious young person today:

Be unreasonable. The reasonable person adapts to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to herself. All progress depends on unreasonable people. Shaw was right.

Think in decades, not weeks. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Persistence will be your best friend and your biggest enemy.

Prepare to fail. It took Edison thousands of attempts to make the light bulb. What matters is not how many times you fall, but how long you are willing to endure.

Continue reading “Desperate search for relief in a time of anxiety [a 16-year-old writes to Socrates]” | >

Asteroid Apophis will skim past Earth in 2029, and a new joint mission plans to watch every change

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to deepen collaboration in planetary defense, alongside a dedicated agreement for collaboration on the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses) to the near-Earth asteroid Apophis.

The agreements were signed on 7 May by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa at the Embassy of Italy in Berlin, Germany, in the presence of European and Japanese institutional and industrial leadership. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), in light of ESA’s selection of OHB Italia as prime contractor for the Ramses mission.

The move builds on a joint statement from November 2024, in which ESA and JAXA committed to expanding large-scale cooperation, including on planetary defense.

Mitochondrial checkpoint enables dendritic cells to activate T lymphocytes against viruses, tumors

A study led by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) has identified a mitochondrial “checkpoint” that enables dendritic cells to efficiently activate T lymphocytes against viruses and tumors. Dendritic cells are immune cells that detect threats and activate the body’s defenses, acting as “sentinels” that instruct T lymphocytes on what to attack.

The study, published in Science Immunology, shows that restoring the internal chemical imbalance caused by defective mitochondrial function in dendritic cells restores the capacity of immune cells to defend the body against infection. The findings could open new avenues for improving cancer immunotherapy.

The study reveals that the ability of dendritic cells to activate T lymphocytes depends on an unexpected mechanism: the proper functioning of mitochondrial complex I, a key mitochondrial component. Mitochondrial complex I acts as a “metabolic switch” that is essential for the ability of dendritic cells to convert viral or tumor-derived material into effective immune activation signals and trigger a strong T-cell response.

Renal Oncocytic Neoplasms: Review of Classification Updates, Imaging, and Management

Renal oncocytic neoplasms present diagnostic challenges, both at imaging and pathologic evaluation. The World Health Organization classification of renal neoplasms defines a spectrum of oncocytic neoplasms, including emerging entities that help define previously uncharacterized or mischaracterized tumors. Low-grade oncocytic tumors and eosinophilic vacuolated tumors are distinguishable from other oncocytic neoplasms at pathologic evaluation and typically demonstrate indolent behavior. Nomenclature regarding hybrid neoplasms has been clarified in reference to hereditary cases associated with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome. Preoperative diagnostic difficulties at imaging contribute to high rates of resected benign renal tumors, the majority being renal oncocytomas. The imaging appearances of oncocytic neoplasms are similar, and the inability to confidently diagnose them at imaging has led to increased resection rates. Preoperative renal mass biopsy may be preventative, but its utilization remains low, diagnoses can be equivocal, and establishing tumor aggressiveness may not always be reliable. Malignant renal oncocytic tumors, including chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, are generally considered the less aggressive subtypes of renal cell carcinoma. However, distinguishing them from the more aggressive clear cell subtype remains challenging, despite imaging frameworks designed to aid categorization. Active surveillance is a safe management option among biopsy-confirmed renal oncocytic neoplasms, but it remains uncertain which patients are suitable for this approach. Diagnostic imaging may assist in risk-stratifying oncocytic neoplasms, with mass enhancement, heterogeneity, and calcification potentially differentiating benign from malignant oncocytic neoplasms. Mass attenuation and heterogeneity may differentiate low-grade and high-grade cancers. Molecular imaging and other emerging techniques, such as MR fingerprinting, may play a role in the future.

©RSNA, 2026

Supplemental material is available for this article.

Surprising cellular dynamics of the aging brain

Scheidemantel et al. address the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease by integrating comprehensive multi-omics data from over 1,300 aged individuals, revealing coordinated molecular mechanisms across brain systems. The findings provide crucial insights into age-related traits and disease pathways, paving the way for potential therapeutic strategies.

Consciousness Is the Only Thing That Truly Exists, Scientist Says

He compares our working minds to a flying kite, where the kite is the brain and the wind is consciousness as a fundamental part of reality. “The kite has to be built from the right materials in the right configuration with the right tether, but its flight depends entirely on the wind,” Reggente says.

A radio makes another good analogy, Reggente explains.

“[The radio] doesn’t produce the broadcast, it receives and transduces a signal that’s already present,” he says. “But unlike a radio, the brain isn’t merely reproducing that signal with high fidelity—it’s interacting with it. And that interaction is what gives rise to our particular subjective experience.”

🚀 The Alien Civilizations That Chose Infinite Knowledge Instead of Space Travel

What if advanced alien civilizations achieved infinite knowledge not through space travel, but by harnessing the power of stars? This video explores how a type 2 civilization could repurpose a star into a giant computer, a concept tied to the kardashev scale and the theoretical dyson sphere. It’s a fascinating look into advanced future technology and the potential of artificial intelligence in the cosmos.

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