Lifeboat Foundation

Thanks to their genetic makeup, their ability to navigate mazes and their willingness to work for cheese, mice have long been a go-to model for behavioral and neurological studies.

In recent years, they have entered a new arena—virtual reality—and now Cornell researchers have built miniature VR headsets to immerse them more deeply in it.

The team’s MouseGoggles—yes, they look as cute as they sound—were created using low-cost, off-the-shelf components, such as smartwatch displays and tiny lenses, and offer visual stimulation over a wide field of view while tracking the mouse’s eye movements and changes in pupil size.

Johns Hopkins computer scientists have created an artificial intelligence system capable of “imagining” its surroundings without having to physically explore them, bringing AI closer to humanlike reasoning.

The new system—called Generative World Explorer, or GenEx—needs only a single still image to conjure an entire world, giving it a significant advantage over previous systems that required a robot or agent to physically move through a scene to map the surrounding environment, which can be costly, unsafe, and time-consuming. The team’s results are posted to the arXiv preprint server.

Continue reading “AI system can envision an entire world from a single picture” »

*Project AMIE: progress towards specialist-level medical expertise*.

We present two new advancements for Project AMIE: progress towards specialist-level medical expertise and a new partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for safe, prospective real-world validation.

Quantum trickery is improving the resolution of X-ray images while reducing the radiation dose, say scientists.

Summary: Researchers identified variants in the DDX53 gene, located on the X chromosome, as contributors to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These genetic variants, found predominantly in males, provide critical insights into the biological mechanisms behind autism’s male predominance.

The study also uncovered another potential gene, PTCHD1-AS, near DDX53, linked to autism, emphasizing the complexity of ASD’s genetic architecture. This research highlights the importance of the X chromosome in ASD and opens avenues for more precise diagnostics and therapeutics.

Continue reading “New Genetic Link to Autism Identified on X Chromosome” »

Researchers have found evidence of a theorized quantum phenomenon, quantum spin liquid, in a material called pyrochlore cerium stannate.

Internal emails from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) reveal that the regulator withheld knowledge of DNA contamination risks relating to the modRNA vaccines from the public, presenting a picture of certainty on safety where there is none.

Released under Freedom of Information (FOI), the cache of emails shows that high-level TGA staff knew elements of the modRNA vaccines can enter the cell nucleus and integrate into the genome, despite the agency’s official line that such events are not possible.

However, TGA personnel appear more preoccupied with “allaying fears in the public” than with investigating the potential risks.

Researchers find naturally occurring acid induces pseudo-starvation effects, resulting in anti-ageing effects in animals.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new funding opportunity through the launch of the PROactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience, or PROSPR, program. The big question that drives the program is, “What if we had therapies to extend healthspan and prevent the onset of age-related diseases?”

ARPA-H PROSPR Program Manager Andrew Brack, Ph.D., says, “the ultimate goal is to extend healthspan—meaning the number of years aging adults live healthy lives and enjoy overall well-being by compressing the frailty and disability that comes with aging, into a shorter duration of time near the end of life.” The PROSPR program builds on foundational work by the National Institute of Aging and will work with industry and regulators to accelerate the testing and availability of new therapeutics targeted at healthspan.

This commitment by ARPA-H is not only an investment in national health, but an impactful economic investment. The number of people 65 and older accounts for 18% of the U.S. population and is projected to increase to 23% by 2054. Considering their increased care needs relative to younger ages, health care costs will increase by 75% if nothing is done to prevent the progressive loss of physical functioning during aging, according to a Pew Research Center Study. It is estimated that increasing the average American healthspan would lessen health care costs due to a combination of fewer medical needs, less reliance on assistance by others, and increased potential for individuals and their family caregivers to remain in the workforce. Because of these and other factors, it is estimated that extending healthspan by one year in only 10 percent of the aging population would reduce costs of U.S.