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Integrated Analysis of Proteomic Marker Databases and Studies Associated with Aging Processes and Age-Dependent Conditions: Optimization Proposals for Biomedical Research

Background: The search for reliable aging biomarkers using proteomic databases and large-scale proteomic studies presents a significant challenge in biogerontology. Existing proteomic databases and studies contain valuable information; however, there is inconsistency in approaches to biomarker selection and data integration. This creates barriers to translating existing knowledge into clinical practice and use in biomedical research. This work analyzed experimental proteomic studies, the content of proteomic databases, and proposed recommendations for optimization and improvement of proteomic database formation and enrichment. Methods: The study utilized publications devoted to proteomic data acquisition methods, proteomic databases, and experimental studies.

Nuclear-lamin-guided plastic positioning and folding of the human genome

Wang et al. systematically depicted the lamins-guided 3D epigenome in human stem cells and demonstrated that lamins not only serve as key regulators of chromatin-NL tethering and large-scale genome organization but also are essential for the spatial positioning and clustering of nuclear speckle through direct interactions within the nuclear interior.

How the microbiome and a fiber-rich diet help fight melanoma

Scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) have uncovered how the gut microbiota help the immune system fight melanoma, explaining why patients with a fiber-rich diet and balanced gut bacteria tend to respond better to cancer immunotherapies.

The study, published in Immunity, shows that molecules produced by upon digestion of dietary fiber can improve the function of cancer-fighting . The research team, led by the Doherty Institute, in collaboration with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center (Peter Mac) and Monash University, found that these digestive by-products influence melanoma progression by naturally boosting killer T cell function in pre-clinical cancer models.

SCP-4076: The VHS Tape That Deletes Reality | The Science of The “Video Hurt System”

What if watching a video didn’t just change your mind — but erased your existence?
In this speculative science deep dive, we explore SCP-4076, the infamous “Video Hurt System”, a VHS tape that destroys anything that observes it.

Through the lens of quantum collapse, memetic contagion, and information physics, we examine how a piece of analog media could defy the laws of reality itself.
Is SCP-4076 proof that knowledge can have mass? Could perception itself carry the power to rewrite existence?

Join us as we investigate the intersection of cognitive hazards, quantum theory, and metaphysical information, where curiosity becomes a weapon and observation erases the observer.

📅 New speculative science essays every weekday at 6 p.m. PST / 9 p.m. EST
🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications — explore the edge of what’s possible.
💬 Tell us: would you play the tape?

Q&A: Chiral phonons research offers new ways to control materials

The rapidly growing field of research on chiral phonons is giving researchers new insights into the fundamental behaviors and structures of materials. The chirality of phonons could pave the way for new methods to control material properties and to encode information at the quantum level, which has implications for, among other areas, quantum technologies, electronics, energy transport, and sensor technology.

A recently published perpsective article in Nature Physics describes the development of this emerging research area, presents a framework for the classification of phonons, and provides a comprehensive overview of the materials in which chiral phonons have been studied or may be discovered in the future. This work is helping accelerate progress in one of today’s fastest-growing areas of quantum materials.

Matthias Geilhufe, Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, conducts research on chiral phonons and is one of the main authors of the article.

On-chip cryptographic protocol lets quantum computers self-verify results amid hardware noise

Quantum computers, machines that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could outperform classical computers on some optimization tasks and computations. Despite their potential, quantum computers are known to be prone to errors and their ability to perform computations is easily influenced by noise.

Quantum scientists and engineers have thus been developing verification protocols, tools designed to check whether quantum computers are computing information correctly. Ideally, these protocols should also provide , meaning that they should ensure that the information processed by computers cannot be forged or tampered with by malicious users.

Researchers at Sorbonne University, University of Edinburgh and Quantinuum recently introduced a new on-chip cryptographically secure verification protocol for quantum computers. The new protocol, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, was successfully deployed on Quantinuum’s H1-1 quantum processor.

Improved method offers broader, faster detection of protein-ligand interactions

EMBL scientists have improved a protein analysis technique, significantly expanding its use and making it 100 times faster.

Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius, in a letter to a fellow chemist, first suggested the name “proteins” for a particular class of biological substances, deriving it from the Greek word proteios, meaning “primary” or “of first importance.” Although scientists in the 1830s knew very little about proteins, it was already clear how essential they were to living organisms.

Long-known as the “workhorses of the cell,” proteins are responsible for powering nearly every function in the body. Often critical to this is their interactions with other small molecules known as ligands. In a new study published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, EMBL researchers introduce HT-PELSA, a high-throughput adaptation of an earlier tool that detects these interactions. This new tool can process samples at an unprecedented scale, a breakthrough that promises to accelerate and our understanding of fundamental biological processes.

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