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100 buses long: Scientists map one of the world’s largest known coral colonies

A huge coral colony stretching more than 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles) along the outer reef of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands has been identified by researchers, making it one of the largest known coral colonies ever recorded.

The remarkable rose coral (Pachyseris) colony extends 1.56 kilometers (0.97 miles) in length—the equivalent of approximately 100 buses parked end to end—and occupies the outer reef slope between depths of 14 and 65 meters (46 and 213 feet).

Local dive operator Dieter Gerhard first spotted extensive areas of the coral more than 30 years ago, but it wasn’t until researchers began mapping the reef that they realized just how extensive the formation was and that the sections may be connected as one enormous colony.

Goodbye, cavities? Scientists create gel that could regrow tooth enamel

Scientists have developed a new gel that could make it possible to regrow damaged tooth enamel, potentially overcoming one of the biggest limitations in dental care. Unlike bones and many other tissues in the body, tooth enamel cannot naturally regenerate once it has been lost. The new treatment offers a promising way to rebuild this protective layer, strengthen teeth, and help prevent future decay.

The innovation comes from researchers at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. Their new material is inspired by the biological processes that form tooth enamel during early childhood. It is designed to repair enamel that has been weakened by mineral loss or worn away by erosion, while also reinforcing enamel that remains healthy.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, could pave the way for a new generation of dental treatments that go beyond protecting existing enamel and actually help restore its structure.

Treatment revives old liver cells in lab study, may help prevent Alzheimer’s and heart disease

The liver’s job of clearing harmful substances from the body is so essential that the organ may have implications for addressing unexpected diseases, including Alzheimer’s and heart disease. A promising example comes from new Keck School of Medicine of USC research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The study, conducted in aged rats, shows that an experimental drug called cinaciguat reverses effects of aging in the liver. This, in turn, may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and clogged arteries. The researchers also revealed what’s behind that rejuvenation, including a specific biochemical pathway used for local communication between liver cells, which suggests a potential therapeutic target.

“We need to do further translational work to see whether our findings might point to new therapies,” said corresponding author Laurie DeLeve, M.D., Ph.D., professor and vice chair for scientific affairs in the USC Department of Medicine.

Regulatable in vivo gene expression via adaptamers

Bryant et al. created adaptamers, 120 bp RNA sequences which act as regulatory elements of mRNAs so that translation only occurs in the presence of a small molecule inducer (tetracycline or doxycycline). They work by recruiting endogenous adenosine deaminases to edit out a stop codon only when the inducer stabilizes a stem loop structure. A very clever design with lots of promise for gene therapy!

Bryant et al. develop adaptamers, compact RNA switches that use FDA-approved drugs to control gene expression by co-opting endogenous RNA-editing machinery rather than relying on foreign proteins. In mice, this approach safely tuned a metabolic hormone to reverse obesity, pointing to a simpler path toward programmable, drug-controlled gene therapies.

What Psychedelics Can Teach Us About Building Better Drugs

An insightful essay/post about how distinct drug compounds can act on the same receptor to trigger very different effects as mediated by different signaling pathways. Much like the post’s author (Aaran Vijay), I am very intrigued by the question of why these different signaling pathways lead to different effects and how understanding the pathways could reveal even better ways to treat psychiatric diseases.

Can we use psychedelics to decode the biology of psychiatric medicine.

403 Forbidden

TOKYO NOW HAS AN AMBULANCE FOR HUMANOID ROBOTS.

When a humanoid robot breaks down in Tokyo, help may arrive in an ambulance. But the patient isn’t human.

Unveiled on September 8, 2026, by GMO AI & Robotics Trading, a subsidiary of GMO Internet Group, the “GMO Humanoid Ambulance” is a dedicated emergency-response and repair vehicle for humanoid robots.

It looks remarkably like a conventional ambulance: a white body, red stripe, and purple lights on the roof. But instead of transporting injured people, it carries diagnostic equipment, replacement parts, repair tools, and even a backup humanoid robot.

Inside is a stretcher designed specifically for robots. Press photographs show a white humanoid robot strapped onto it, much like a human patient being transported to a hospital.

A better comparison might be Japan’s JAF roadside assistance service, but for robots.

When called out, the vehicle brings engineers to the scene to diagnose and repair a malfunctioning robot. If the problem cannot be fixed on-site, the team can deploy a replacement unit so work can continue, then transport the damaged robot to the company’s development base in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Why do humanoid robots need their own emergency-response service?

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