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Scientists discover a human brain gene that can jump through DNA

“Genes that come from transposable elements and that are repurposed for cellular functions are typically no longer transposable,” said Cedric Feschotte, a senior author of the study. “BC200 was itself created from a mobile element but has retained its mobility and yet it is also clearly serving a cellular function. Somehow evolution hasn’t been able to untangle these two things.”

A Rare Genetic Jump Into a Virus

Scientists have documented a handful of cases in other species in which transposable elements moved into viruses. One early example came in the late 1980s, when researchers working with cultured moth cells observed a transposon moving from those cells into a baculovirus, a type of virus that infects insects.

Oncopeptides confirms blood-brain-barrier penetration based on data from first patients in glioblastoma Window-of-Opportunity (WoO) study

Oncopeptides AB (publ), a biotech company specializing in difficult-to-treat cancers, today announces data from the first patients in its ongoing clinical Window-of-Opportunity (WoO) study, OP-701 (INSULA), evaluating its proprietary Peptide Drug Conjugate (PDC) platform in glioblastoma. Data from the first three treated patients demonstrate successful penetration of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) with intra-tumoral drug concentrations in line with preclinical models, alongside good tolerability where the first patient has received five monthly doses to date without any major drug-related toxicity.

The blood-brain barrier represents one of the greatest hurdles in neuro-oncology, causing more than 90 percent of conventional systemic cancer drugs to fail because they cannot reach the brain. By confirming meaningful, BBB penetration and delivery of a cytotoxic payload into brain tumor cells in the first patients, the findings provide a strong indication of a clinical proof-of-concept for the PDC platform’s mechanism in solid brain tumors.

“Reaching our primary objective to confirm that our PDC technology successfully crosses the human blood-brain barrier is a major breakthrough for Oncopeptides,” says Sofia Heigis, CEO of Oncopeptides. “For decades, the blood-brain barrier has locked out effective treatments for glioblastoma patients. Demonstrating meaningful drug penetration in resected brain tumors in patients after a single dose validates the fundamental strength and versatility of our platform, transforming our brain cancer program from an ambitious basic scientific premise into a true, clinically justified, opportunity.”

Advancing mathematics research with AI-driven formal proof search

For decades, mathematicians have dreamed of a world where computers could do more than just crunch numbers—where they could actually think, reason, and help discover new truths. A major hurdle, however, has been the notorious “hallucination” problem of artificial intelligence: large language models (LLMs) are great at sounding confident, but they frequently make mathematical errors, making them unreliable for serious research.

Now, a groundbreaking study by researchers including Tsoukalas et al., published in Science, has shattered that barrier by combining the creative writing power of AI with the ruthless accuracy of a mathematical referee.

Their system—called AlphaProof Nexus—pioneers a new way of doing math by teaming up an AI with a specialized computer program called Lean is a “formal proof assistant,” a piece of software that acts as the ultimate skeptic. It doesn’t accept a mathematical proof unless every single logical step is airtight and verified by its strict compiler.

The endless loop of creativity and proof.

The magic of AlphaProof Nexus lies in its teamwork model:

1. The AI brainstorms: The large language model acts as the creative mathematician, generating ideas, strategies, and formal proofs in the Lean language.

2. The computer checks: The Lean compiler instantly tests the AI’s work. If there’s even a tiny flaw in the logic, it rejects it and points out why.

Continue reading “Advancing mathematics research with AI-driven formal proof search” | >

Bonn researchers successfully rejuvenate human cells in a test tube

Researchers from the University Hospital of Bonn and the University of Bonn have succeeded in dramatically rejuvenating human cells in a test tube. To do so, they directly reprogrammed red blood cell precursors into stem cells from which neurons can be derived. During this process, the molecular clocks that indicate a cell’s age were reset. For example, blood cells from an 80-year-old were transformed into stem cells with a molecular age of less than 20 years. Since this rejuvenation process occurred very slowly, it is well-suited for a more detailed investigation of the underlying mechanisms. The results have been published in the journal Aging Cell.

The human body contains hundreds of different cell types. They all originate from the fertilized egg and therefore share the same genetic makeup. However, in the course of their development, they were committed to a specific fate: a skin cell cannot naturally become a liver cell, nor can a blood cell become a nerve cell.

Today, however, it is possible to reverse this determination in the laboratory. For example, nerve tissue can be grown from a skin cell, which may one day be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. To achieve this reprogramming, researchers use a cocktail of various transcription factors. These factors cause the cell to read different genetic instructions and thus embark on a different developmental path.

Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center modeled a Mars propellant plant turning Martian air and buried ice into 300 metric tons of methane and oxygen, and power generation was 59 percent of its landed mass

Mars propellant plant modeled at NASA Johnson would turn Martian air and buried ice into 300 metric tons of methane and oxygen in one Martian year

Hybrid quantum computer observes foundational quantum effect in a new setting

Physicists in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford have used a hybrid quantum computer, made up of qubits and quantum oscillators, to observe the Aharonov–Bohm effect in a quantum simulation. The effect is a quantum phenomenon in which a particle can acquire a measurable phase by traveling around a magnetic flux, even though it never passes through a region where a magnetic field is present.

The result demonstrates how hybrid quantum systems can be used to simulate interactions between matter and gauge fields that become increasingly difficult to model on classical computers. The paper has been published in Nature Physics.

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