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MIT Mined Bacteria for the Next CRISPR—and Found Hundreds of Potential New Tools

Now, MIT scientists have released an AI called DefensePredictor that can root out new bacterial defense systems in five minutes, instead of weeks or months. As proof of concept, DefensePredictor churned through hundreds of thousands of proteins in multiple strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Over 600 proteins not previously linked to immune defense popped up. Added to a vulnerable strain of bacteria, a subset of these protected them against attack.

“E. coli harbors a much broader landscape of antiphage defense than previously realized, expanding the likely number of systems by multiple orders of magnitude,” wrote the team.

These systems might hold secrets about how immunity evolved. And because the proteins may work in different ways, they could be a goldmine for next-generation precision molecular tools.

Tim Maudlin | Bell’s Theorem and Beyond: Nobody Understands Quantum Mechanics | The Cartesian Cafe

Tim Maudlin is a philosopher of science specializing in the foundations of physics, metaphysics, and logic. He is a professor at New York University, a member of the Foundational Questions Institute, and the founder and director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics.

#quantum #physics #philosophy #determinism.

Patreon (bonus materials + video chat):
/ timothynguyen.

In this very in-depth discussion, Tim and I probe the foundations of science through the avenues of locality and determinism as arising from the Einstein-Poldosky-Rosen (EPR) paradox and Bell’s Theorem. These issues are so intricate that even the Nobel Prize committee incorrectly described the significance of Bell’s work in their press release for the 2022 prize in physics. Viewers motivated enough to think deeply about these ideas will be rewarded with a conceptually proper understanding of the nonlocal nature of physics and its manifestation in quantum theory.

I. Introduction.
00:25 : Biography.
05:26 : Interdisciplinary work.
11:45 : Physicists working on the wrong things.
16:47 : Bell’s Theorem soft overview.
24:14: Common misunderstanding of \.

A hidden DNA region helps drive frailty, exposing brain and immune links that reshape aging risk

Researchers at McMaster University have identified, for the first time, a novel region of DNA and two associated genes connected to frailty, offering neurological and immune-related insights that might help explain why some older adults are more likely to be frail than others.

The McMaster team’s findings, published in the journal npj Aging, fill an important gap by revealing genetic factors that contribute to the development of frailty. The discovery provides a biological connection to the condition and points toward new avenues for early detection and targeted intervention.

Cellular and molecular landscapes of human tendons across the lifespan revealed by spatial and single-cell transcriptomics

Kurjan et al. map human tendon architecture from embryo to adult using spatial and single-cell transcriptomics. They show embryonic progenitors generate fibrillar, connective, and chondrogenic tendon lineages. Fibroblasts reprogram with age, whereas immune, vascular, and neural cells remain stable. Ruptured adult tendons partially reactivate fetal programs without full regeneration.

The evolution of high-order genome architecture revealed from 1,000 species

Now online! Comparative Hi-C analysis across 1,025 species reveals that genome architecture has evolved along distinct trajectories, with plants favoring global folding and animals developing checkerboard compartmentalization, yet both converge on spatial organization as a conserved strategy for gene regulation.

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