Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: biotech/medical – Page 3

Thermogenetics: How proteins are controllable by heat

Protein activity can be precisely regulated via subtle changes in temperature using heat-sensitive switches. Underlying this capability is a novel modular design strategy developed by researchers at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology of Heidelberg University. The strategy allows the integration of sensory domains in various proteins regardless of function or spatial structure.

This new approach in the field of thermogenetics is broadly applicable and opens up new possibilities for precise, non-invasive control of different cellular processes. It was developed by a research team led by Prof. Dr. Dominik Niopek and Dr. Jan Mathony and is published in Nature Chemical Biology

Proteins are the molecular machines of the cell. They regulate nearly all vital processes and their responses are highly dynamic. To better understand these processes and their chronological sequence, scientists need tools that can be used to change individual parameters precisely and in a controlled manner. The most suitable proteins are those that can be turned on and off like technical devices. Especially attractive in this context are heat-sensitive protein switches that tightly regulate the temperature spatiotemporally and are able to deeply penetrate tissue or complex biological samples as a signal.

Trapping light on thermal photodetectors shatters speed records

Electrical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated the fastest pyroelectric photodetector to date, which works by absorbing heat generated by incoming light. Capable of capturing light from the entire electromagnetic spectrum, the ultrathin device requires no external power, operates at room temperature and can be readily integrated into on-chip applications.

The advance could form the basis of a new class of multispectral cameras capable of impacting a wide range of fields such as skin cancer detection, food safety inspection and large-scale agriculture.

The results appear in Advanced Functional Materials.

Europol-Led Operation Takes Down Tycoon 2FA Phishing-as-a-Service Linked to 64,000 Attacks

The panel serves as a hub for configuring, tracking, and refining campaigns. It features pre‑built templates, attachment files for common lure formats, domain and hosting configuration, redirect logic, and victim tracking. Operators can also configure how the malicious content is delivered through attachments, as well as keep tabs on valid and invalid sign-in attempts.

The captured information, such as credentials, multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes, and session cookies, can be downloaded directly within the panel or forwarded to Telegram for near‑real‑time monitoring.

“It enabled thousands of cybercriminals to covertly access email and cloud-based service accounts,” Europol said. “At scale, the platform generated tens of millions of phishing emails each month and facilitated unauthorized access to nearly 100,000 organizations globally, including schools, hospitals, and public institutions.”

Cell types: encoding the brain’s BIOS

Excellent Substack writeup by Patrick Mineault on how cell types may specify innate behaviors and why mapping regions of the brain specialized to steer innate behaviors (via lots of distinct cell types) could lead us to more aligned AI systems. Highly convincing and elegant arguments made here! [ https://substack.com/home/post/p-189321289](https://substack.com/home/post/p-189321289)

Dwarkesh seemed very confused by this, asking a few different times: “Why would each reward function need a different cell type?” I empathize with Dwarkesh here! It is mysterious that a cell type could represent something as abstract as a reward. As a computational neuroscientist who mostly worked at the representation level during my PhD, I’ve leaned historically towards thinking of cell types as a mere “implementation detail”. But over conversations with Adam, Steve Byrnes, Paul Cisek, Tony Zador, and a few others, I’ve started to become convinced that cell types are a really useful lens to think about innate behaviors and rewards.

In this essay, I’ll unpack the conversation and answer the question: what do cell types have to do with reward functions? To answer it, we’ll need to understand what kind of information can be encoded in the genome, and how that information ultimately relates to connectomes and to cell types. I’ll connect the answer to the central claim of Adam: that these connections matter for AI, and AI safety in particular.

Andrew Barto and colleagues make the point that all primary rewards are internal, and must be genetically encoded. In reinforcement learning, which Barto co-developed along with Rich Sutton, an agent learns by receiving reward signals that indicate what is good and bad. The critical insight is that for biological organisms, all of these reward signals are internal —they are generated by the organism’s own nervous system. It is not a chunk of steak that gives reward: it is circuitry inside the brain that assigns positive valence to fat, salt, umami, heat, and texture. Things like money—secondary rewards—must be bootstrapped off of the pre-existing primary rewards.

Life-changing drug identified for children with rare epilepsy

A new experimental treatment for children with a hard-to-treat form of epilepsy is safe and can reduce seizures dramatically, helping them lead much healthier and happier lives, according to the findings of a UCL (University College London) and Great Ormond Street Hospital-led international clinical trial. In a paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that children with Dravet syndrome had up to 91% fewer seizures while being regularly administered a new medication called zorevunersen.

The results also show, for the first time, the potential to reduce the impact of the condition on a child’s mental processes and behavior. The children’s quality of life improved over a three-year period and most of the treatment’s side effects were mild.

Dravet syndrome is a devastating genetic condition that causes frequent, hard-to-control seizures and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. The condition also causes feeding difficulties, movement problems and has a high risk of premature death. Current treatments fail to control seizures in most patients and there are no approved medicines that address the condition’s devastating cognitive and behavioral impacts.

Abstract: This study is directly relevant to the clinical care of patients with the most common malignant tumor of the peripheral nervous system

While providing fundamental biological insight👇

Harish N. Vasudevan & team reveal transcriptional, functional genetic, and cellular mechanisms of interferon signaling that underlie radiotherapy response in people with MPNST.

Address correspondence to: Harish N. Vasudevan, Helen Diller Cancer Research Building, 1,450 3rd Street, Mail Box 520, San Francisco, California 94,158, USA. Phone: 415.502.4107; Email: [email protected].

Abstract: Molecular mechanisms regulating diabetic retinopathy

Vision loss from microvascular complication in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) results in diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Recent evidence suggests that neurodegeneration occurs in parallel with or prior to vascular cell injury in the retina of patients with DM and thus DR is considered as a neurovascular disease.

The researchers in this review discuss how molecular stress (i.e., glucose dysregulation, dysmetabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation) promote retinal vascular cell and neuronal injury in patients with DM.

The researchers also discuss how genes regulated by the HIF family of transcription factors in glial, vascular, neuronal, and inflammatory cells, control various pathways and identify new therapeutic avenues for the prevention or early treatment of patients with this vision-threating disease. sciencenewshighlights Science Mission https://sciencemission.com/diabetic-retina

Address correspondence to: Akrit Sodhi, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 400 N. Broadway St., Smith Building, 4,039, Baltimore, Maryland 21,287, USA. Email: [email protected].

Find articles by Guo, C. in: | Google Scholar |

Continue reading “Abstract: Molecular mechanisms regulating diabetic retinopathy” | >

Introduction: The Parkinson’s pandemic: prioritizing environmental policy and biological resilience

Via the gut.

Bianca Palushaj & Robin M Voigt puts forward a strategy for altering the trajectory of this modern epidemic.

1Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.

2Rush Center for Integrated Microbiome and Chronobiology Research.

3Department of Internal Medicine, and.

4Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Continue reading “Introduction: The Parkinson’s pandemic: prioritizing environmental policy and biological resilience” | >

/* */