Lifeboat Foundation

The so-called Casimir force or Casimir effect is a quantum mechanical phenomenon resulting from fluctuations in the electromagnetic field between two conducting or dielectric surfaces that are a short distance apart. Studies have shown that this force can be either be attractive or repulsive, depending on the dielectric and magnetic properties of the materials used in experiments.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed an ultrafast time-resolved scanning electron microscopy instrument by integrating a scanning electron microscope with a femtosecond laser. This innovative system facilitates the observation of the instantaneous states of various materials. Their paper is published in the journal ACS Photonics.

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science discovered a new type of vortex formed by photon interactions, which could advance quantum computing.

Vortex Phenomena

Continue reading “Vortex Power: The Swirl of Light Revolutionizing Quantum Computing” »

Johnson’s latest foray into anti-aging science took him to the Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, where he received follistatin gene therapy in the form of two injections. The entrepreneur says that he spent $20,000 on reversible gene therapy developed by the method development company Minicircle.

Over the past decade, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized the cancer treatment area. These drugs block the interaction between proteins known as immune checkpoints and immune cells within our bodies. At times, immune checkpoints play a vital role in immune regulation, preventing unnecessary responses. However, tumors can upregulate proteins, thus evading an immune response, and in a tumor setting, this response is indeed necessary. ICIs interfere with checkpoint pathways and allow active immunity against cancer.

In 2011, the United States Foor and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first ICI, ipilimumab, a CTLA-4 blocker, for treating advanced melanoma. Subsequently, ICIs targeting PD1 (pembrolizumab and nivolumab) and PDL1 (atezolizumab and durvalumab) received approval for treating various malignancies. Many clinical trials test the efficacy of novel ICIs in different settings.

A recent study published in Science Immunology unveiled a promising new avenue for cancer immunotherapy and ICIs. The study evaluated a drug targeting an immune checkpoint molecule called VISTA (V-domain immunoglobulin suppressor of T cell activation), shedding light on its potential as an effective immunotherapy target.

Researchers developed a model for reproduction at life’s origin via spontaneous selective clustering of small lipid molecules.

The cost of new gene-based sickle cell treatments isn’t the only barrier to access. Coming up with new ways to treat the whole disease—and person—could make treatment more equitable.

By Shobita Parthasarathy

Last fall, to great fanfare, US regulators approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease, and the European Union and UK soon followed. Many people hope that these treatments will provide a “functional cure” for the genetic condition, which causes rigid, misshapen red blood cells that lead to anemia, episodes of extreme pain, blood vessel and organ damage, stroke risk and lower life expectancy. These sickle cell therapies also bring us closer to an age of “CRISPR medicine” in which new gene-editing tools could be used to fix a range of debilitating genetic diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cancer.

“There is an urgent need for new methods for antibiotic discovery,” Dr. Luis Pedro Coelho, a computational biologist and author of a new study on the topic, said in a press release.

Coelho and team tapped into AI to speed up the whole process. Analyzing huge databases of genetic material from the environment, they uncovered nearly one million potential antibiotics.

The team synthesized 100 of these AI-discovered antibiotics in the lab. When tested against bacteria known to resist current drugs, they found 63 readily fought off infections inside a test tube. One worked especially well in a mouse model of skin disease, destroying a bacterial infection and allowing the skin to heal.

“It has been very motivating and inspiring to turn to the notes and drawings of Jupiter and its Permanent Spot made by the great astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini, and to his articles of the second half of the 17th century describing the phenomenon,” said Dr. Agustín Sánchez-Lavega.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot was first discovered in 1,665 by astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, and both scientists and the public have been awe-stricken by its beauty and the processes that created it. However, a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters postulates that the famous spot we’ve adored for so long is not the same spot that Cassini observed centuries ago. This study holds the potential to help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of Jupiter and the massive cyclonic storms that comprise its giant atmosphere.

For the study, the researchers analyzed historical records of both the initial discovery from Cassini, which was dubbed the “Permanent Spot” (PS) and was observed until 1,713, and the Great Red Spot (GRS), which was first observed in 1831. Combining these historical records with computer models, the researchers determined that the size changes and movements over time of PS contrast those of GRS.

Continue reading “Jupiter’s Great Red Spot: A Different Spot from Cassini’s 1665 Observation” »