Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at the University of Sydney Nano Institute have made a significant advance in the field of molecular robotics by developing custom-designed and programmable nanostructures using DNA origami.

This innovative approach has potential across a range of applications, from targeted drug delivery systems to responsive materials and energy-efficient optical signal processing. The method uses “DNA origami,” so-called as it uses the natural folding power of DNA, the building blocks of human life, to create new and useful biological structures.

As a proof-of-concept, the researchers made more than 50 nanoscale objects, including a “nano-dinosaur,” a “dancing robot” and a mini-Australia that is 150 nanometers wide, a thousand times narrower than a human hair.

Every day, researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory tackle some of the biggest questions in science and technology—from laying the foundations for new drugs to developing new battery materials and solving big data challenges associated with particle physics and cosmology.

To get a hand with that work, they are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence. “AI will help accelerate our science and technology further,” said Ryan Coffee, a SLAC senior scientist. “I am really excited about that.”

The type of semiconductive nanocrystals known as quantum dots is not only expanding the forefront of pure science but also playing a crucial role in practical applications, including lasers, quantum QLED televisions and displays, solar cells, medical devices, and other electronics.

A new technique for growing these microscopic crystals, recently published in Science, has not only found a new, more efficient way to build a useful type of quantum dot, but also opened up a whole group of novel chemical materials for future researchers’ exploration.

“I am excited to see how researchers across the globe can harness this technique to prepare previously unimaginable nanocrystals,” said first author Justin Ondry, a former postdoctoral researcher in UChicago’s Talapin Lab.

In space, astronauts are exposed to extreme stressors our bodies don’t experience on Earth. Microgravity, higher radiation, and a high workload can impact cognitive performance. To find out which cognitive domains are affected by spaceflight, researchers analyzed data from 25 professional astronauts. They found that while on the ISS, astronauts took longer to perform tasks concerned with processing speed, working memory, and attention, but that a six-month stay in space did not result in lasting cognitive impairment once crews returned to Earth.

A stay in space exerts extreme pressures on the human body. Astronauts’ bodies and brains are impacted by radiation, altered gravity, challenging working conditions, and sleep loss – all of which could compromise cognitive functioning. At the same time, they are required to perform complex tasks, and minor mistakes can have devastating consequences.

Little is known, however, about whether astronauts’ cognitive performance changes while in space. Now, working with 25 astronauts who spent an average of six month on the International Space Station (ISS), researchers in the US have examined changes in a wide range of cognitive performance domains. This dataset makes up the largest sample of cognitive performance data from professional astronauts published to date.

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Research found that younger age at type 2 diabetes diagnosis is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, emphasizing the need for early prevention and personalized management strategies.

A research team from the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health (SINH) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed that aging specifically impairs the generation of CD8⁺ tissue resident memory T cells (TRM) and thus compromises the antitumor defensive activity of aged CD8⁺ T cells. The study is published in Nature Aging.

With the aging process, the risk of developing cancer significantly increases. In recent years, it has been reported that immune aging has an important impact on tumor development. Immune aging is a degenerative change in the immune system that occurs with aging, leading to a decline in immune response and ultimately triggering diseases including tumors.

Within the immune system, CD8⁺ T cells are the main defensive adaptive immune cells protecting against tumor cells. However, the mechanism by which aging impairs the antitumor response of CD8⁺ T cells was not previously understood.

A Stanford Medicine-led study found that frail older patients who waited to start dialysis died only nine days earlier on average — and spent more time at home — than those who began treatment immediately.

CRISPR is a way off being used in human therapeutics, but a new discovery could unlock its potential.

An injection given during some asthma and COPD attacks is more effective than the current treatment of steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by 30%. The findings, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, could be “game-changing” for millions of people with asthma and COPD around the world, scientists say.

Asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups (also called exacerbations) can be deadly. Every day in the UK four people with asthma and 85 people with COPD will tragically die. Both conditions are also very common. In the UK, someone has an asthma attack every 10 seconds. Asthma and COPD cost the NHS £5.9B a year.

The type of symptom flare-up the injection treats are called “eosinophilic exacerbations” and involve symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and chest tightness due to inflammation resulting from high amounts of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell). Eosinophilic exacerbations make up to 30% of COPD flare-ups and almost 50% of asthma attacks. They can become more frequent as the disease progresses, leading to irreversible lung damage in some cases.