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Visualizing cells after editing specific genes can help scientists learn new details about the function of those genes. But using microscopy to do this at scale can be challenging, particularly when studying thousands of genes at a time.

Now, a team of Broad and Calico scientists has developed PERISCOPE, an approach that brings the power of microscopy imaging to genome-scale CRISPR screens in a scalable way. The new technique lets researchers study the effects of perturbing over 20,000 genes on hundreds of image-based cellular features.

Broad.io/PERISCOPE


PERISCOPE, a technique for genome-wide imaging screens, is helping Broad scientists understand the connections between genes and traits.

Summary: New research highlights a functional hierarchy in the brain’s processing of space and time. In posterior areas, like the occipital cortex, space and time are tightly linked and processed by the same neurons.

In anterior regions, such as the frontal cortex, space and time are processed independently, with distinct neural populations forming “time maps” for specific durations. Intermediate regions, like the parietal cortex, display mixed processing mechanisms, bridging spatial and temporal integration.

This study offers fresh insights into how the brain integrates two fundamental dimensions of human experience and reveals the unique coding strategies across cortical regions.

Defining nasa’s low earth orbit goals.

NASA has outlined its final goals and objectives for low Earth orbit, aiming to expand the use of space and advance microgravity research, technology, and exploration for everyone’s benefit. The agency’s Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy, developed with input from various stakeholders, will guide efforts to sustain a continuous human presence in orbit, boost economic opportunities, and strengthen global partnerships.

A vision for continuous human presence.

Now, scientists have found a way to achieve high-fidelity quantum teleportation using logical qubits. The study was led by researchers from Quantinuum, a quantum computing company based in Colorado, USA.

Interesting Engineering (IE) spoke to one of the co-authors of the study, David Hayes, Director of Computation Theory and Design at Quantinuum.

“Quantum teleportation is an important technique that allows quantum information to be moved quickly, enabling fast processing in quantum computation. It’s also used as a benchmark for general progress since it requires several complex operations to work together,” Hayes explained to IE.

In some cases, the black hole will even spew jets of plasma, millions of light-years across intergalactic space. The plasma gas is so hot that it’s essentially a soup of electrons moving close to the speed of light. These plasma jets glow at radio frequencies, so they can be seen with a radio telescope and are, aptly, named radio galaxies. In a recent episode of the astronomy podcast The Cosmic Savannah, I likened their appearance to two glow sticks (the plasma jets) poking out of a ball of sticky tack (the galaxy). Astronomers hypothesise that the plasma jets keep expanding outwards as time passes, eventually growing so large that they become giant radio galaxies.

Millions of normally sized radio galaxies are known to science. But by 2020 only about 800 giant radio galaxies had been found, nearly 50 years since they had been initially discovered. They were considered rare. However, a new generation of radio telescopes, including South Africa’s MeerKAT, have turned this idea on its head: in the past five years about 11,000 giants have been discovered.

MeerKAT’s newest giant radio galaxy find is extraordinary. The plasma jets of this cosmic giant span 3.3 million light-years from end to end – over 32 times the size of the Milky Way. I’m one of the lead researchers who made the discovery. We’ve nicknamed it Inkathazo, meaning “trouble” in South Africa’s isiXhosa and isiZulu languages. That’s because it’s been a bit troublesome to understand the physics behind what’s going on with Inkathazo.

Summary: Synchronizing vagus nerve stimulation with natural body rhythms, such as the heartbeat and breathing, significantly improves its effectiveness. This “electric pill” technique uses ear-mounted electrodes to stimulate the vagus nerve, targeting chronic conditions like pain and inflammation.

Researchers found that stimulation during heart contraction (systole) and inhalation phases produced the strongest results. The findings suggest that tailoring nerve stimulation to individual physiological rhythms could make this non-invasive therapy more effective, especially for patients who previously didn’t respond.

Frequency combs are revolutionizing optics, from telecommunications to astrophysics, but their complexity has been a roadblock.

Recent advancements in lithium tantalate technology have changed the game, creating a compact, user-friendly comb generator with incredible efficiency and bandwidth. This breakthrough could reshape fields like robotics and environmental monitoring, offering exciting new possibilities.

Frequency Combs in Modern Optics.