Lifeboat Foundation

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women around the world, responsible for 1700 deaths every day. Although the vast majority of breast cancers are treatable, the most aggressive subtype—triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) – has a high recurrence rate, a high potential for metastasis and shows resistance to conventional treatments, leading to very poor prognosis and survival outcomes. A team of researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (RI-MUHC) conducted a preclinical study and discovered a novel targeted combination therapy that efficiently reduced tumor growth in metastatic breast cancer. Published in Nature Communications, their findings could lead to the development of a novel first line targeted therapy for the treatment of TNBC, with the prospect of rapidly transitioning to clinical trials in humans.

“There is no targeted therapy for TNBC. Chemotherapy treatment can even enrich these tumors in cancer stem cells and be detrimental to the patient, as we have shown in a previous study,” says Dr. Jean-Jacques Lebrun, senior scientist in the Cancer Research Program at the RI-MUHC and principal investigator of the study. “Filling that huge medical gap was our motivation in conducting this study.”

While most breast cancers have one of three main receptors that are like entrance gates for treatments—estrogen, progesterone and a protein called human epidermal growth factor (HER2) – TNBC has none, thus the name triple negative breast cancer. Using state-of-the-art technologies such as gene editing and genome-wide molecular approaches, the team identified two pathways which could be targeted in a therapeutic strategy.

“Don’t tread on me” is a slogan of the deep sea, too.

These flaws in AI training give the technology a bad name, and so do regular media reports suggesting that intelligent machines are poised to decimate the human workforce. These themes, for many people, have obscured AI’s genuine usefulness in data analysis and conversational platforms. And while computer vision does indeed have its flaws, it is more than just a reflection of societal biases: it is potentially an essential tool for both society and business.

Computer vision, or CV, gives machines the power of visual recognition in a way that emulates human sight. Whether a machine is detecting dangers on the road or, more controversially, recognising faces in a crowd, the ultimate aim is to make decisions based on image interpretation.

The tech is an advanced form of pattern recognition, made through statistical comparison of data sets. This means that while machines can “see”, they have no real understanding of what they are looking at. They can distinguish one object from another, true, but can’t explain what this difference means.

These themes, for many people, have obscured AI’s genuine usefulness in data analysis and conversational platforms. And while computer vision does indeed have its flaws, it is more than just a reflection of societal biases: it is potentially an essential tool for both society and business.

Computer vision, or CV, gives machines the power of visual recognition in a way that emulates human sight. Whether a machine is detecting dangers on the road or, more controversially, recognising faces in a crowd, the ultimate aim is to make decisions based on image interpretation.

The tech is an advanced form of pattern recognition, made through statistical comparison of data sets. This means that while machines can “see”, they have no real understanding of what they are looking at. They can distinguish one object from another, true, but can’t explain what this difference means.

A stunning new image from the South African MeerKAT telescope captures powerful radio emissions woven through space.

The radio emissions emanate from an enormous rotating black hole that lies at the center of an elliptical galaxy known as IC 4296. Energy released by matter falling into the black hole generates two radio jets of high energy gas on opposite sides of the galaxy — creating what is also known as a double-lobed radio galaxy.

“Once the virus is recognised, the CRISPR enzyme is activated and chops up the virus,” she said.

Paris (AFP)

Scientists have used CRISPR gene-editing technology to successfully block the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in infected human cells, according to research released Tuesday that could pave the way for Covid-19 treatments.

Continue reading “Gene editing ‘blocks virus transmission’ in human cells” »

Join the SRIC3 final event big party!

Here’s where you can find the Zoom coordinates to join us celebrating the 2021 Space Renaissance Congress completed:

Though the voting process will remain open until Thursday July 15th, i am happy to announce that **we have elected the new President of Space Renaissance International, Prof. Bernard Foing, and the new Board of Directors!**

Continue reading “Sric3 Meetings” »

Case in point, a subsidiary of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency is now proposing a nuclear power station on Mars, intended to power a future Russian base on the Red Planet, state-run news agency Sputnik reports.

The Arsenal Design Bureau, the subsidiary, is recommending using the same technologies destined for Zeus, a proposed interplanetary space tug, to power a nuclear reactor on the Martian surface as well.

The massive space tug is designed to make use of a nuclear-powered electric propulsion system to deliver payloads throughout the solar system. Earlier this year, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin suggested that Zeus could also visit other planets, including Jupiter, to search for alien life. Russia is hoping to begin flight-testing it starting around 2030.

Coronavirus disease-19 caused by the novel RNA betacoronavirus SARS-CoV2 has first emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and since then developed into a worldwide pandemic with 99 million people afflicted and 2.1 million fatal outcomes as of 24th January 2021. SARS-CoV2 targets the lower respiratory tract system leading to pneumonia with fever, cough, and dyspnea. Most patients develop only mild symptoms. However, a certain percentage develop severe symptoms with dyspnea, hypoxia, and lung involvement which can further progress to a critical stage where respiratory support due to respiratory failure is required. Most of the COVID-19 symptoms are related to hyperinflammation as seen in cytokine release syndrome and it is believed that fatalities are due to a COVID-19 related cytokine storm. Treatments with anti-inflammatory or anti-viral drugs are still in clinical trials or could not reduce mortality. This makes it necessary to develop novel anti-inflammatory therapies. Recently, the therapeutic potential of phytocannabinoids, the unique active compounds of the cannabis plant, has been discovered in the area of immunology. Phytocannabinoids are a group of terpenophenolic compounds which biological functions are conveyed by their interactions with the endocannabinoid system in humans. Here, we explore the anti-inflammatory function of cannabinoids in relation to inflammatory events that happen during severe COVID-19 disease, and how cannabinoids might help to prevent the progression from mild to severe disease.