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Engineered stem cells yield millions of tumor-fighting natural killer cells at reduced cost

Chinese researchers have developed a novel method to efficiently engineer natural killer (NK) cells for cancer immunotherapy. NK cells are central to early antiviral and anticancer defense—among other immune system roles—making them well-suited for cancer immunotherapy. For example, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK therapy involves adding a lab-built receptor (a CAR) to an NK cell, enabling it to recognize a specific antigen on a cancer cell and attack it.

However, conventional CAR-NK immunotherapies rely primarily on mature NK cells isolated from , such as peripheral blood or cord blood, which poses multiple challenges, including high heterogeneity, low engineering efficiency, high handling costs, and time-intensive processing.

Now a research team led by Prof. Wang Jinyong from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel method to generate induced (that is, lab-generated) NK (iNK) cells and CAR-engineered iNK (CAR-iNK) cells from CD34+ and (HSPCs) derived from cord blood.

Age-Defying Health Benefits: New Research Unravels Secrets of the “Longevity” Gene

Deleting the S6K1 protein in mice reduces inflammation and extends lifespan by suppressing inflammatory proteins, highlighting a new mechanism in aging and potential treatments for age-related diseases. S6K1 is a protein that plays a role in regulating aging and age-related diseases. Inhibiting t

Scientists Discover Food Molecules That Trick Cells Into Staying Young

Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland have discovered that certain nutrients in food can cause a mild stress reaction in nematodes. Surprisingly, rather than harming the organisms, this slight stress appears to boost their overall health and help them maintain vitality as they grow o

Sleuthing for cause of deadly kidney disease in farm workers in hot climates

So many men in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, have died from kidney failure, the town is known as the Island of the Widows. The condition that afflicts them — called chronic kidney disease of unknown origin, or CKDu — is, as its name implies, a mystery. It is a tubulointerstitial kidney disease that affects people everywhere. But researchers don’t know why rates are much higher in low-lying, hot agricultural areas like Chichigalpa, which is surrounded by sugarcane fields.

Shuchi Anand, MD, a Stanford Medicine associate professor of nephrology, has been interested in the disease since it was first described in the 1990s.

“Two-thirds of the people with this disease are men, many in their 30s and 40s,” said Anand, who is the director of the Center for Tubulointerstitial Kidney Disease. “This is the prime age of work and income generation. They are the breadwinners. This disease can devastate families.”

Does Tech, including AI, erode our cognitive abilities … or can we harness it to enhance our cognition and our lives?

Our core cog­ni­tive abil­i­ties, such as atten­tion, work­ing mem­o­ry and IQ, are shaped part­ly by genet­ics and part­ly by envi­ron­men­tal influ­ences–which include cog­ni­tive­ly demand­ing activ­i­ties as well as delib­er­ate, cog­ni­tive training. The plas­tic­i­ty of these cog­ni­tive func­tions is evi­dent, for exam­ple, in the impact of edu­ca­tion: as my research group and oth­ers have shown, each…

Receptor in cerebellum provides new insights into molecular basis of ataxia

Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, identified a receptor that plays a crucial role in stress-induced motor incoordination associated with ataxias. These hereditary motor disorders have long been linked to the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

The team, led by Dr. Pauline Bohne and Professor Melanie Mark from the Behavioral Neurobiology Working Group in Bochum, has now shown that the α1D norepinephrine receptor in the cerebellum is responsible for the symptoms. The team published these findings in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences on October 6, 2025.

People with experience recurring episodes of motor incoordination, also known as dystonia. These phases are triggered by various factors, such as physical or , fever, alcohol, or caffeine. The episodes are triggered by the release of norepinephrine in the cerebellum, which is the most important brain region for coordinating movement. Currently, there is no cure for ataxia. Therefore, researchers want to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms to find new treatment approaches.

Terence Tao on the cosmic distance ladder

Excellent visualizations and explanations here!

(30 mins. approx.)

The Cosmic Distance Ladder: How we learned distances in the heavens.
Patreon supporters see early views of new videos: https://www.patreon.com/3blue1brown.

Artwork by Kurt Bruns.
Thanks to Paul Dancstep for several animations, such as the powers of 10 zoom out and the simulations of shadows on the moon.

Terry has kindly cataloged many of the added nuances, including a few corrections, in this post:

Continue reading “Terence Tao on the cosmic distance ladder” | >

UC wins 5 Nobel Prizes in 3 days — and sets a new world record

“These awards are not only great honors — they are tangible evidence of the work happening across the University of California every day to expand knowledge, test the boundaries of science, and conduct research that improves our lives. I’m proud to see their work recognized,” said UC President James B. Milliken.

These world record–setting contributions span decades and disciplines. But they all have one important thing in common. They’ve all relied on competitive funding from the federal government.

GHz-rate optical phase shift in light-matter interaction-engineered, silicon-ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals

This study demonstrates GHz-speed electro-optic modulation using ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals, offering dual-phase shifting, poling-free operation, low loss, and CMOS compatibility-enabling scalable hybrid silicon-organic photonics.

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