Lifeboat Foundation

A mind-bending parasite may one day deliver drugs to the brain.

Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that famously makes mice lose their fear of cats, but also can cause deadly foodborne illnesses (SN: 1/14/20).

Those with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of developing severe disease when exposed to T. gondii. Pregnant people run the risk of preterm birth and pregnancy loss. In addition, the parasite can cause a variety of problems for the baby including blindness, hearing loss, epilepsy and jaundice. More than 200,000 cases of toxoplasmosis are diagnosed each year in the United States, with about 5,000 requiring hospitalization. An estimated 750 people each year die from the disease.

Continue reading “Getting drugs into the brain is hard. Maybe a parasite can do the job” »

Mathematics application to a new understanding thd world and life and information.

Dr. David Spivak introduces himself as a keynote speaker at the 17th Annual Artificial General Intelligence Conference in Seattle and shares his lifelong passion for math. He discusses his journey from feeling insecure about the world as a child, to grounding his understanding in mathematics.

Continue reading “David Spivak: Pioneering Math for Understanding Reality | AGI-24 Keynote Preview” »

Chemo-mechanical deformation of structured DNA assemblies driven by DNA-binding ligands is promising for biological and therapeutic applications, but it is elusive how to effectively model and predict their effects on the deformation and mechanical properties of DNA structures. Here, the authors present a computational framework for simulating chemo-mechanical change of structured DNA assemblies, using ethidium bromide intercalation as an example.

(CNN) — Regular aspirin use may keep the oncologist away, at least when it comes to colorectal cancer, according to a new study, and people with unhealthy lifestyles seemed to see the greatest benefit.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death worldwide, predicted to cause more than 52,500 deaths in the US alone in 2023. About 153,020 people in the US were diagnosed with the condition in 2023, and it’s become much more prevalent among people under 55, with numbers more than doubling in this group from a decade ago, studies show.

The causes of colorectal cancer can be genetic, but certain lifestyle factors also seem to raise risk, including eating an unhealthy diet, not getting enough exercise, drinking alcohol, smoking and having a high body mass index.

A collaboration between researchers at the Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) in London and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, has solved a decades-old mystery which could pave the way to better cancer treatments in the future.

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A new optical phenomenon has been demonstrated by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath, with significant potential impact on pharmaceutical science, security, forensics, environmental science, art conservation and medicine.

Future studies can now be designed to understand the discovery in greater depth and use it to develop treatments. “The essential next step is to investigate the efficacy of IL-22BP inhibitors in animal models and possibly in clinical trials to treat severe intestinal infections,” Fachi said. Another possibility will be to explore how different types and quantities of food fiber affect short-chain fatty acid production. “The composition of gut microbiota in the absence of IL-22BP can provide valuable information,” he added.

Gut microbiota modulation may benefit other intestinal inflammatory conditions, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as infections caused by other pathogens.

“Finding out how IL-22 interacts with other molecules and immune system cells in the absence of IL-22BP will help us better understand its function in intestinal immunity. Future studies could transform our understanding of the role of these proteins in intestinal health and lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies to prevent and treat intestinal infections,” Vinolo said.

Nightmare fuel? Maybe – but in a historic moment for the dental profession, an AI-controlled autonomous robot has performed an entire procedure on a human patient for the first time, about eight times faster than a human dentist could do it.