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Jul 1, 2021

Addicted pancreatic cancer cells die when denied key protein

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

It’s not hard to kill cancer cells,” says Dr. Marianne Koritzinsky, who led the study. “It’s hard to kill cancer cells without harming the cancer patient.


By better understanding the way cancer cells are able to thrive in the human body, scientists continue to learn where their vulnerabilities lie, and with that comes potential new forms of treatment. Researchers in Canada taking this approach have made a significant discovery around pancreatic cancer, pinpointing a protein the cells rely on for growth and targeting it to inhibit tumor growth in the lab.

Led by scientists at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the study focuses on the unique biology of pancreatic cancer cells, which drive a particularly deadly form of the disease with a five-year survival rate of just eight percent. The scientists knew that these cancer cells increase levels of a key metabolite called NADPH that helps fuel their growth, so they carried out genomic analysis to shed more light on the process.

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Jul 1, 2021

The dipolar express: An electromagnetically driven train

Posted by in category: transportation

Flying train Circa 2015.

Jul 1, 2021

Amazon plans to build delivery robot tech in Finland

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Amazon announced Thursday that it plans to develop new technology for its autonomous delivery vehicles in Helsinki, Finland.

The Seattle-headquartered tech giant said in a blog post that it is setting up a new “Development Center” to support Amazon Scout, which is a fully electric autonomous delivery robot that is being tested in four U.S. locations.

Two dozen engineers will be based at the Amazon Scout Development Center in Helsinki initially, the company said, adding that they will be focused on research and development.

Jul 1, 2021

The Entire Human Genome Has (Finally) Been Sequenced

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Researchers have finally sequenced the complete human genome, filling the gaps in the Human Genome Project’s (HGP) historic first draft.

“Having been part of the original Human Genome Project in 2001, and especially focused on the difficult regions, it’s really satisfying for me to see this done even though it took 20 years,” researcher Evan Eichler, a genome scientist from the University of Washington in Seattle, told New Scientist.

The human genome: A genome is like a genetic instruction manual — it contains all the information an organism needs to grow and function. The human genome is written in DNA, and while your exact genome is unique to you, about 99.9% of it is identical across all people.

Jul 1, 2021

China’s army of robotic rollers paving a road to future infrastructure

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

Autonomous rollers and growing workforce of construction robots work on Chinese infrastructure for new Futuristic City.


Major infrastructure projects increasingly feature a workforce of construction robots, including autonomous rollers that can navigate construction sites.

Jul 1, 2021

NASA’s Hubble telescope fiasco gives China a huge opportunity

Posted by in category: space

NASA is no closer to figuring out what went wrong earlier in June, which is bad news for the telescope, which is the only one currently capable of visible light.

Jun 30, 2021

SOCOM To Test Anti-Aging Pill Next Year

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, military

SOCOM is using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) funds to partner with private biotech laboratory Metro International Biotech, LLC (MetroBiotech) in the pill’s development, which is based on what is called a “human performance small molecule,” he explained.

“These efforts are not about creating physical traits that don’t already exist naturally. This is about enhancing the mission readiness of our forces by improving performance characteristics that typically decline with age,” Hawkins said. “Essentially, we are working with leading industry partners and clinical research institutions to develop a nutraceutical, in the form of a pill that is suitable for a variety of uses by both civilians and military members, whose resulting benefits may include improved human performance – like increased endurance and faster recovery from injury.”

Hawkins said SOCOM “has spent $2.8 million on this effort” since its launch in 2018.

Jun 30, 2021

An aquarium accident may have given this crayfish the DNA to take over the world

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Crayfish DNA can help us conquer cancer finally.


Finding may also provide clues to how cancer spreads.

Jun 30, 2021

Beyond coronavirus: the virus discoveries transforming biology

Posted by in categories: biological, biotech/medical

Over the past ten years, the number of known and named viruses has exploded, owing to advances in the technology for finding them, plus a recent change to the rules for identifying new species, to allow naming without having to culture virus and host. One of the most influential techniques is metagenomics, which allows researchers to sample the genomes in an environment without having to culture individual viruses. Newer technologies, such as single-virus sequencing, are adding even more viruses to the list, including some that are surprisingly common yet remained hidden until now. It’s an exciting time to be doing this kind of research, says Breitbart. “I think, in many ways, now is the time of the virome.”


SARS-CoV-2 is just one of nonillions of viruses on our planet, and scientists are rapidly identifying legions of new species.

Jun 30, 2021

Autonomous excavators ready for around the clock real-world deployment

Posted by in categories: materials, robotics/AI

Researchers from Baidu Research and the University of Maryland have developed a robotic excavator system that integrates perception, planning, and control capabilities to enable material loading over a long duration with no human intervention.