Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 4

Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.

Log in for authorized contributors

Cellular N-Myristoyl Transferases Are Required for Mammarenavirus Multiplication

The mammarenavirus matrix Z protein plays critical roles in virus assembly and cell egress. Meanwhile, heterotrimer complexes of a stable signal peptide (SSP) together with glycoprotein subunits GP1 and GP2, generated via co-and post-translational processing of the surface glycoprotein precursor GPC, form the spikes that decorate the virion surface and mediate virus cell entry via receptor-mediated endocytosis. The Z protein and the SSP undergo N-terminal myristoylation by host cell N-myristoyltransferases (NMT1 and NMT2), and G2A mutations that prevent myristoylation of Z or SSP have been shown to affect the Z-mediated virus budding and GP2-mediated fusion activity that is required to complete the virus cell entry process.

Mitochondrial building block balance linked to age-related inflammation

Research led by the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging in Cologne reports that misincorporation of ribonucleotides into mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) initiates an inflammatory cascade.

Mitochondria support cell survival through metabolic and signaling roles. Conversely, their disruption has been associated with inflammation, and disease.

Innate immune activation through the cGAS-STING-TBK1 pathway can move a cell from short-term defense to a chronic state of alarm. cGAS-STING activity is linked to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and contributes to senescence and aging, intertwining immune signaling with tissue decline.

A New Class of Drug Created That Fights Aging on a Cellular Level

Scientists continue to explore ways we can live longer and ensure those lives are healthier. A new discovery of note in this field comes from experiments in fission yeast (an organism often used for studies of aging).

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have been testing a new drug called Rapalink-1, building on an existing immunosuppressant called rapamycin that has been shown to extend the life of cells and rodents. In these new tests, Rapalink-1 extended yeast lifespan to a similar degree as rapamycin.

What’s more, molecular analysis revealed that the drug increased the production of enzymes that convert a compound made by gut bacteria, called agmatine, into a variety of other chemicals.

James Wilson’s GEMMABio launches new gene therapy biotech for ‘ultra-orphan’ diseases

Clinical setbacks and controversial pricing may have put a dampener on the gene therapy sector, but one of the industry’s pioneers is looking for a way forward.

GEMMA Biotherapeutics, the biotech founded by gene therapy trailblazer James Wilson M.D., Ph.D., has launched a clinical-stage spinout focused specifically on ultra-orphan diseases.

Webb spots first hints of atmosphere on a potentially habitable world

Hints of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e raise hopes it could be a watery, potentially habitable world. Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope are unraveling the mysteries of TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized exoplanet 40 light years away that could harbor liquid water. Early data suggests hints of an atmosphere, but much remains uncertain. Researchers have already ruled out a hydrogen-rich primordial atmosphere, pointing instead to the possibility of a secondary atmosphere that could sustain oceans or ice.

University of Bristol astrophysicists are helping shed new light on an Earth-sized exoplanet 40 light years away where liquid water in the form of a global ocean or icy expanse might exist on its surface.

That would only be possible if an atmosphere is present – a big mystery the scientists are attempting to unravel and now even closer to solving using the largest telescope in Space.

AI tools can help hackers plant hidden flaws in computer chips, study finds

Widely available artificial intelligence systems can be used to deliberately insert hard-to-detect security vulnerabilities into the code that defines computer chips, according to new research from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, a warning about the potential weaponization of AI in hardware design.

In a study published by IEEE Security & Privacy, an NYU Tandon research team showed that like ChatGPT could help both novices and experts create “hardware Trojans,” malicious modifications hidden within chip designs that can leak , disable systems or grant unauthorized access to attackers.

To test whether AI could facilitate malicious hardware modifications, the researchers organized a competition over two years called the AI Hardware Attack Challenge as part of CSAW, an annual student-run cybersecurity event held by the NYU Center for Cybersecurity.

Scientists create world’s first chip that combines 2D materials with conventional silicon circuitry

For the first time, scientists have created a fully functional memory chip only a few atoms thick and integrated it into conventional chips. This advance could pave the way for more powerful and energy-efficient electronic devices.

Decades of innovation have shrunk the circuits on a computer chip so that, nowadays, engineers can pack billions of tiny components onto a single thumbnail-sized silicon wafer. But are now reaching the physical limits of how small they can go while still performing reliably. The solution is two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are materials that are just a single layer of atoms thick that can be scaled down even further and have superior electronic properties.

However, the problem with 2D materials like graphene up until now has been that only simple chips could be constructed with them, and it wasn’t easy to connect them to traditional processors. Now, in research published in the journal Nature, Chunsen Liu at Fudan University in Shanghai and his colleagues have overcome these hurdles. They successfully combined atomically thin 2D memory cells directly onto a conventional silicon chip, creating the world’s first two-dimensional silicon-based hybrid architecture chip.

/* */