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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center-led researchers have identified a small molecule called gliocidin that kills glioblastoma cells without damaging healthy cells, potentially offering a new therapeutic avenue for this aggressive brain tumor.

Glioblastoma remains one of the most lethal primary brain tumors, with current therapies failing to significantly improve patient survival rates. Glioblastoma is difficult to treat for several reasons. The tumor consists of many different types of cells, making it difficult for treatments to target them all effectively.

There are few genetic changes in the cancer for drugs to target, and the tumor creates an environment that weakens the body’s immune response against it. Even getting medications near targets in the brain is challenging because the protective blood-brain barrier blocks entry for most potential drug treatments.

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Ten years ago, physicists discovered an anomaly that was dubbed the “ATOMKI anomaly”. The decays of certain atomic nuclei disagreed with our current understanding of physics. Particle physicists assigned the anomaly to a new particle, X17, often described as a fifth force. The anomaly was now tested by a follow-up experiment, but this is only the latest twist in a rather confusing story.

Continue reading “Huge Physics Anomaly Finally Put to Test, But That Just Makes it More Confusing” »

Protein PKMζ is a key molecular switch for long-term memory. Targeting PKMζ activity may enable new treatments for memory-related disorders.

Researchers at University of California San Diego analyzed the genomes of hundreds of malaria parasites to determine which genetic variants are most likely to confer drug resistance.

The findings, published in Science, could help scientists use machine learning to predict antimalarial drug resistance and more effectively prioritize the most promising experimental treatments for further development. The approach could also help predict treatment resistance in other infectious diseases, and even cancer.

“A lot of drug resistance research can only look at one chemical agent at a time, but what we’ve been able to do here is create a roadmap for understanding antimalaria drug resistance across more than a hundred different compounds,” said Elizabeth Winzeler, Ph.D., a professor at UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Quantum mechanics, a realm of the incredibly small, is often characterized by its paradoxical nature. One such paradox is the concept of superposition, where a quantum particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously. These delicate states, however, are notoriously fragile, often collapsing into a single, definite state within mere fractions of a second. Yet, a recent breakthrough has pushed the boundaries of quantum stability, achieving a record-breaking 23-minute lifespan for a specific type of superposition known as a cat state.

The term “cat state” is a whimsical reference to Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment, where a cat is placed in a box with a device that could randomly kill it. Until the box is opened, the cat is both alive and dead, a superposition of two states. In quantum mechanics, cat states manifest when a quantum object, such as an atom or a photon, exists in multiple states simultaneously, defying classical intuition.

While researchers have previously created cat states in laboratories, these states have been fleeting, quickly succumbing to the disruptive influence of their environment. However, a team led by Zheng-Tian Lu at the University of Science and Technology of China has managed to extend the lifespan of a cat state dramatically. They achieved this feat by manipulating a cloud of 10,000 ytterbium atoms, cooled to near absolute zero and trapped by laser light. By carefully controlling the atoms’ quantum states, the researchers were able to induce a superposition where each atom existed in two distinct spin states simultaneously.

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“One of the most influential books of the 20th century,” the landmark study in the history of science with a new introduction by philosopher Ian Hacking (Guardian, UK).First published in 1962, Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” reshaped our understanding of the scientific enterprise and human inquiry in general.” In it, he challenged long-standing assumptions about scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don’t arise from the gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but instead occur outside of “normal science.” Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in today’s biotech age (Science).

Continue reading “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” »

Researchers have found an ancient protein fold that might explain how life’s basic building blocks became the complex systems we see today.

This long-lost structure could help solve mysteries about early life and evolution.

Discovery of a lost protein fold.

Quantum computers operate using quantum gates, but the complexity and large number of these gates can diminish their efficiency. A new “hybrid” approach reduces this complexity by utilizing natural system interactions, making quantum algorithms easier to execute.

This innovation helps manage the inherent “noise” issues of current quantum systems, enhancing their practical use. The approach has been effectively demonstrated with Grover’s algorithm, enabling efficient searches of large datasets without extensive error correction.

Challenges of Quantum Computing.

Australian researchers have created building blocks out of DNA to construct a series of nano-scale objects and shapes, from a rod and a square to an infinitesimally small dinosaur.

The approach turns DNA into a modular material for building nanostructures – thousands of times narrower than a human hair. Developed by researchers from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and published in the journal Science Robotics, it suggests exciting possibilities for future use of nanobot technology.