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Penn Engineers have modified lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) — the revolutionary technology behind the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines — to not only cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) but also to target specific types of cells, including neurons. This breakthrough marks a significant step toward potential next-generation treatments for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In a new paper in Nano Letters, the researchers demonstrate how peptides — short strings of amino acids — can serve as precise targeting molecules, enabling LNPs to deliver mRNA specifically to the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels of the brain, as well as neurons.

This represents an important advance in delivering mRNA to the cell types that would be key in treating neurodegenerative diseases; any such treatments will need to ensure that mRNA arrives at the correct location. Previous work by the same researchers proved that LNPs can cross the BBB and deliver mRNA to the brain, but did not attempt to control which cells the LNPs targeted.

Author(s): Towards AI Team Introduction Continue reading on Towards AI » Published via Towards AI.

Scientists are debating whether concepts such as memory, consciousness, and communication can be applied beyond the animal kingdom, Zoë Schlanger wrote in our June 2024 issue.

“Consciousness was once seen as belonging solely to humans and a short list of nonhuman animals that clearly act with intention,” Schlanger wrote in an article adapted from her book, “The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth.”

“Yet seemingly everywhere researchers look, they are finding that there is more to the inner lives of animals than we ever thought possible. Scientists now talk regularly about animal cognition; they study the behaviors of individual animals, and occasionally ascribe personalities to them. Some scientists now posit that plants should likewise be considered intelligent.”

Continue reading “The Mysteries of Plant ‘Intelligence’” »

Inside the box, everything follows its own rules. Because every puzzle refers to observations, experiments or phenomenons from Schrödinger’s special topic: quantum physics.

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Continue reading “Dasatinib + Quercetin: Longevity Biohacker Kenneth Scott’s Experience” »

Entire atoms have been put through a classic quantum experiment for the first time and the breakthrough could lead to better detectors for picking up the gravitational waves that ripple across the universe.

By Alex Wilkins

Insane Clown Posse’s Joseph Utsler, better known by his stage persona Shaggy 2 Dope, has an AI clone — and apparently, he’s a fan.

Hosted on the Google-backed Character. AI service — which, as a sidebar, Futurism has investigated extensively, repeatedly finding horrible things — the ICP cofounder’s digital doppelganger sounds like a slightly robotic version of the real thing.

The effect is so uncanny that Mr. Dope himself decided to hit the AI up and bring it onto his livestreamed vlog, “The Shaggy Show.”

Researchers developed a “waveform movement” technology enabling robots to express emotions through natural facial gestures.