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Detection of THC Impairment Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Among adults receiving oral THC, portable fNIRS scans detected impairment with higher accuracy and fewer false positives than field sobriety tests, supporting fNIRS as a more objective approach for cannabis impairment detection.


This crossover trial compares the accuracy of resting-state functional near-infrared spectroscopy vs standard field sobriety testing to detect ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) impairment among adults who use cannabis.

Uncovering genetic interactions in the DNA repair network in response to endogenous damage and ionizing radiation

Nebenfuehr et al. perform a combinatorial CRISPR-Cas9 screen targeting 461 DNA damage response genes under basal and irradiated conditions. The study maps thousands of genetic interactions, generating a rich resource to uncover mechanisms of genome maintenance and inspire future studies.

Missing Link Between Parkinson’s Protein And Damage to Brain Cells Discovered

An investigation by researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the US has filled in a missing link between the toxic build-up of proteins in the neurodegenerative condition Parkinson’s disease and the death of critical brain cells.

The result of three years of research, the discovery connects alpha-synuclein proteins to a breakdown in mitochondrial function, both previously linked to Parkinson’s.

“We’ve uncovered a harmful interaction between proteins that damages the brain’s cellular powerhouses, called mitochondria,” says neuroscientist Xin Qi.

Telecommunications beyond 6G: the first standalone spin-wave chip with a built-in magnetic field

Milan, 13th January 2025 — The Politecnico di Milano has created the first integrated and fully tunable device based on spin waves, opening up new possibilities for the telecommunications of the future, far beyond current 5G and 6G standards. The study, published in the journal Advanced Materials, was conducted by a research group led by Riccardo Bertacco of the Department of Physics of the Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with Philipp Pirro of Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität and Silvia Tacchi of Istituto Officina dei Materiali — CNR-IOM.

Magnonics is an emerging technology that uses spin waves – collective excitations of electronic spins in magnetic materials – as an alternative to electrical signals. The spread of this technology has been restricted until now by the need for an external magnetic field, which has prevented it being incorporated into chips.

The new device developed at the Politecnico overcomes this hurdle: it is miniaturised (100 × 150 square micrometres, so much smaller than current radiofrequency signal processing devices based on acoustic waves); it is fully integrated on silicon – and therefore compatible with existing electronic platforms, and it functions without external magnets, thanks to an innovative combination of permanent SmCo micromagnets and magnetic flux concentrators.

Emerging Technology Convergence Will Shape Our Future

The future won’t be built on one breakthrough. It will be shaped by how well we mesh AI, quantum, 5G, IoT, and human intelligence into secure, resilient systems. Technology advantage now comes from orchestration, not adoption.

My latest Forbes article explores why this convergence will define the next decade.

#AI #QuantumComputing #EmergingTechnology #Cybersecurity #Leadership #FutureOfTech.

Link to article.


The next decade of innovation will not be defined by a single breakthrough technology. Instead, it will be shaped by the convergence of multiple emerging technologies.

Long-term antidepressant effects of psilocybin linked to functional brain changes

In the group treated with psilocybin, adapting neurons sat at a resting voltage that was closer to the threshold for firing. This state is known as depolarization. It means the cells are primed to activate more easily. The bursting neurons in psilocybin-treated rats also showed increased excitability. They required less input to trigger a signal and fired at faster rates than neurons in untreated rats.

The rats treated with 25CN-NBOH also exhibited functional changes, though the specific electrical alterations differed slightly from the psilocybin group. For instance, the bursting neurons in this group were not as easily triggered as those in the psilocybin group. However, the overall pattern confirmed that the drug had induced a lasting shift in neuronal function.

These electrophysiological findings provide a potential explanation for the behavioral results. While the physical branches of the neurons may have pruned back to normal levels, the cells “remembered” the treatment through altered electrical tuning. This functional shift allows the neural circuits to operate differently long after the drug has left the body.

CRISPR screens in iPSC-derived neurons reveal principles of tau proteostasis

Now online! CRISPR screens in iPSC-derived neurons reveal that the E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL5SOCS4 ubiquitinates tau, that CUL5 expression is correlated with resilience in human Alzheimer’s disease, and that electron transport chain dysfunction alters tau degradation by the proteasome.

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