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Google DeepMind has unexpectedly released the source code and model weights of AlphaFold 3 for academic use, marking a significant advance that could accelerate scientific discovery and drug development. The surprise announcement comes just weeks after the system’s creators, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on protein structure prediction.

AlphaFold 3 represents a quantum leap beyond its predecessors. While AlphaFold 2 could predict protein structures, version 3 can model the complex interactions between proteins, DNA, RNA, and small molecules — the fundamental processes of life. This matters because understanding these molecular interactions drives modern drug discovery and disease treatment. Traditional methods of studying these interactions often require months of laboratory work and millions in research funding — with no guarantee of success.

The system’s ability to predict how proteins interact with DNA, RNA, and small molecules transforms it from a specialized tool into a comprehensive solution for studying molecular biology. This broader capability opens new paths for understanding cellular processes, from gene regulation to drug metabolism, at a scale previously out of reach.

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The unexpected discovery of a geometric phase shows how math and physics are tightly intertwined.

By Manon Bischoff

I didn’t find math particularly exciting when I was in high school. To be honest, I only studied it when I went to university because it initially seemed quite easy to me. But in my very first math lecture as an undergraduate, I realized that everything I thought I knew about math was wrong. It was anything but easy. Mathematics, I soon discovered, can be really exciting—especially if you go beyond the realm of pure arithmetic.

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“This paper shows a fun way to make carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals,” said Dr. Curtis P. Berlinguette. “We’ll need plastic on Mars one day, and this technology shows one way we can make it there.”

Can we use the planetary environment of Mars to help power a future colony on the Red Planet? This is what a recent study published in Device hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how current thermoelectric generators—which can operate in a myriad of environments—on Mars could convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuel and other chemicals that can be used for a future Mars colony. This study holds the potential to help scientists, engineers, and the public better understand how a future Mars colony could be managed and operated without constant need for resupply from Earth.

“This is a harsh environment where large temperature differences could be leveraged to not only generate power with thermoelectric generators, but to convert the abundant CO2 in Mars’ atmosphere into useful products that could supply a colony,” said Dr. Abhishek Soni, who is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and lead author of the study.

For the study, the researchers conducted laboratory experiments with a CO2 electrolyzer, which are powered by thermoelectric generators, and a hot plate and ice bath, which obviously provide a wide range of temperatures to see how the CO2 electrolyzer converts CO2 to useful chemicals. In the end, the researchers found when the temperature difference between the ice bath and hot plate was 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), the electrolyzer was still able to successfully convert CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO).

Continue reading “Harnessing Earth’s and Mars’ Temperature Extremes for CO2 Conversion into Fuels” | >

It is the first time that synaptic density has been measured in living people with autism.

Furthermore, the research team found that the fewer synapses an individual had, the more features of autism they exhibited.

The findings appear in Molecular Psychiatry.

As simple as our findings sound, this is something that has eluded our field for the past 80 years, says James McPartland, a professor in the Yale Child Study Center and the study’s principal investigator.

Continue reading “Brain difference tied to autism found in living people for 1st time” | >

How organisms age is a question with broad implications for human health. In mammals, DNA methylation is a biomarker for biological age, which may predict age more accurately than date of birth. However, limitations in mammalian models make it difficult to identify mechanisms underpinning age-related DNA methylation changes. Here, we show that the short-lived model plant Arabidopsis thaliana exhibits a loss of epigenetic integrity during aging, causing heterochromatin DNA methylation decay and the expression of transposable elements. We show that the rate of epigenetic aging can be manipulated by extending or curtailing lifespan, and that shoot apical meristems are protected from this aging process. We demonstrate that a program of transcriptional repression suppresses DNA methylation maintenance pathways during aging, and that mutants of this mechanism display a complete absence of epigenetic decay. This presents a new paradigm in which a gene regulatory program sets the rate of epigenomic information loss during aging.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The stretchable display twists and extends, surpassing standard flexible displays that only bend or fold.

LG unveils breakthrough display technology with “world’s first stretchable display” capable of expanding by 50 percent.

The groundbreaking invention may alter how we use displays going forward, according to a press release by LG Display from Sunday.

The 12—to 18-inch prototype, which was unveiled at LG Science Park in Seoul, South Korea, retains full RGB color and excellent resolution.

Continue reading “LG display expands by 50%, folds, twists, survives 10,000 stretches” | >

Key Takeaways.

Amazon’s vision for delivery drivers now reportedly includes smart glasses.

  • According to a Monday Reuters report, Amazon is developing smart glasses embedded with GPS for drivers.

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    • Inside cells, there exists an extensive system of canals known as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which consists of membrane-encased tubes that are partially broken down as needed—for instance in case of a nutrient deficiency. As part of this process, bulges or protrusions form in the membrane, which then pinch off and are recycled by the cell.

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    In this work, we analyzed in detail the motion of thousands of stars within each cluster,” said Alessandro Della Croce. “It quickly became clear that stars belonging to different populations have distinct kinematic properties…

    How do stars form and evolve inside globular clusters? This is what a recent study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team of researchers conducted a groundbreaking examination of star populations that reside within globular clusters, which consists of a densely packed group of stars pulled together by gravity, with the densest part in the center of the cluster. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of stars and star populations in these unique environments throughout the cosmos.

    For the study, the researchers conducted a 3D kinematic analysis of stars and star populations within 16 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) to determine the movements of stars and star populations within these clusters and how this causes the cluster to evolve over time. Since astronomers hypothesize that globular clusters are almost as old as the universe itself, they offer a unique opportunity to study some of the oldest stars in the universe, as well. In the end, the researchers found the rotation and orbital behaviors of stars were based on their light properties.

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