PepikHipik

By using brain organoids derived from autistic children’s stem cells, researchers uncovered distinct neural growth patterns, potentially guiding personalized treatments and diagnoses.

Details of the model, which is called RTDetective, are provided in a new paper published in Nature Genetics titled, “Genome-scale quantification and prediction of pathogenic stop codon readthrough by small molecules.” Its developers believe that the tool could be helpful in the design, development, and efficacy of clinical trials of drugs referred to as nonsense suppression therapies.

Understanding these drugs requires some background on truncated protein translation due to premature termination codons. This phenomenon has been linked to approximately 10–20% of inherited diseases including some types of cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It is also a major mechanism by which tumor suppressor genes are inactivated in cancer.

The study found that MS patients had 50% less amyloid plaque accumulation, a key indicator of Alzheimer’s, compared to non-MS individuals. This connection between MS and reduced Alzheimer’s risk highlights potential immune-related mechanisms that may be leveraged for therapeutic strategies.

Key Facts:

• MS patients are 50% less likely to develop amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
• The immune response in MS might help reduce amyloid buildup in the brain.
• This discovery opens up new avenues for Alzheimer’s research and potential treatments.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) offers immense potential for scientific advancements, but it also raises ethical concerns. AI systems can analyse vast data sets, detect patterns, optimize resource use and generate hypotheses. And they have the potential to help address global challenges including climate change, food security and diseases. However, the use of AI also raises questions related to fairness, bias and discrimination, transparency, accountability and privacy. Image-generating AI programs can perpetuate and amplify biases, such as associating the word ‘Africa’ with poverty, or ‘poor’ with dark skin tones. And some technology giants fail to disclose important information about their systems, hindering users’ efforts towards accountability.

The Neolithic farmers and herders who built a massive stone chamber in southern Spain nearly 6,000 years ago possessed a good rudimentary grasp of physics, geometry, geology and architectural principles, finds a detailed study of the site.

Using data from a high-resolution laser scan, as well as unpublished photos and diagrams from earlier excavations, archaeologists pieced together a probable construction process for the monument known as the Dolmen of Menga. Their findings, published on 23 August in Science Advances, reveal new insights into the structure and its Neolithic builders’ technical abilities.

Led by Ludwig Lausanne's Ping-Chih Ho and Alessio Bevilacqua and published in the current issue of Science Immunology, the study identifies PPARβ/δ, a master regulator of gene expression, as that essential molecular switch. Ho, Bevilacqua and their colleagues also show that the switch's dysfunction compromises T cell "memory" of previously encountered viruses as well as the induction of anticancer immune responses in mice.

People tend to have one of two reactions to tarantulas: a sharp, primal terror that author David Foster Wallace described as "the howling fantods," or the kind of attachment more commonly associated with kittens and puppies. People are just not indifferent to tarantulas.

A study from the University of Turku describes newly discovered ecological relationships between the gentle, hairy spiders and amphibians, reptiles and insects. The report includes the actually astounding fact that small frogs often cohabitate with tarantulas, benefiting from the shelter of tarantula burrows and providing a service to their hosts by eating insects that can be harmful to the spider or its eggs.

A study found that nondeceptive placebos, or placebos given with people fully knowing they are placebos, effectively manage stress -- even when the placebos are administered remotely.

Brain-computer interfaces are a groundbreaking technology that can help paralyzed people regain functions they've lost, like moving a hand. These devices record signals from the brain and decipher the user's intended action, bypassing damaged or degraded nerves that would normally transmit those brain signals to control muscles.

Since 2006, demonstrations of brain-computer interfaces in humans have primarily focused on restoring arm and hand movements by enabling people to control computer cursors or robotic arms. Recently, researchers have begun developing speech brain-computer interfaces to restore communication for people who cannot speak.

As the user attempts to talk, these brain-computer interfaces record the person's unique brain signals associated with attempted muscle movements for speaking and then translate them into words. These words can then be displayed as text on a screen or spoken aloud using text-to-speech software.

A recent study examining the sleep patterns of healthy men and women who participated in a parabolic flight—an experience that exposes individuals to brief periods of microgravity and hypergravity—revealed surprising results. According to actigraphy, a method used to objectively measure sleep by tracking movement, participants experienced more fragmented sleep and more frequent awakenings on the night following the flight compared to the night before. Strangely, however, these individuals self-reported that they slept better on the night after the flight. The findings were published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

Researchers have discovered a “spatial grammar” in DNA that redefines the role of transcription factors in gene regulation, influencing our understanding of genetic variations and disease.

A recently uncovered code within DNA, referred to as “spatial grammar,” may unlock the secret to how gene activity is encoded in the human genome.

This breakthrough finding, identified by researchers at Washington State University and the University of California, San Diego and published in Nature, revealed a long-postulated hidden spatial grammar embedded in DNA. The research could reshape scientists’ understanding of gene regulation and how genetic variations may influence gene expression in development or disease.