Science thread

[Mark F]

Scientists Demonstrate Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-demonstrate-direct-brain-to-brain-communication-in-humans/

and, same article:

 Elon Musk recently announced the development of a robotically implantable BCI containing 3,000 electrodes to provide extensive interaction between computers and nerve cells in the brain. While impressive in scope and sophistication, these efforts are dwarfed by government plans. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been leading engineering efforts to develop an implantable neural interface capable of engaging one million nerve cells simultaneously. While these BCIs are not being developed specifically for brain–to-brain interfacing, it is not difficult to imagine that they could be recruited for such purposes.

 

 

[FrostyWinnipeg]

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

Scientists Demonstrate Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans.

[blue_gold_84]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/us-fusion-announcement-1.6682497

Quote

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced a "major scientific breakthrough" on Tuesday in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars.

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it, something called net energy gain, the Energy Department said.

The achievement will pave the way for advancements in national defence and the future of clean power, Granholm and other officials said.

"This is a landmark achievement for the researchers and staff at the National Ignition Facility who have dedicated their careers to seeing fusion ignition become a reality, and this milestone will undoubtedly spark even more discovery," Granholm told a news conference in Washington.

The fusion breakthrough "will go down in the history books," she said.

...the lab used 192 lasers focused on the inner wall of a cylinder that contained a small capsule, about the size of a BB. 

That generated X-rays from the wall that struck the capsule, and fusion fuel in the capsule was squeezed. That fusion fuel stayed hot, dense and round enough, for long enough, that it ignited, producing more energy than what was required by the lasers.

While the energy produced was small — about three megajoules, or enough to power a light bulb — it marks an historic first in nuclear fusion energy.

Proponents of fusion hope that it could one day produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy, displacing fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources. Producing energy that powers homes and businesses from fusion is still decades away. But researchers said it was a significant step nonetheless.

 

[JCon]

That's so crazy and great. 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

Though, they are still decades away from making functional fusion, this is a huge step.

 

And weirdly, not getting the amount of fanfare this should be generating...

Edited December 13, 2022 by Wanna-B-Fanboy

[FrostyWinnipeg]

50 minutes ago, JCon said:

That's so crazy and great. 

[Tracker]

This is not an unmixed blessing. If ever clean energy becomes readily available and cheap, what incentive do people have to insulate their homes and use said energy wisely? Can you imagine what would happen to global warming/change if billions of homes and individuals begin to pour massive amounts of heat and light into the atmosphere?

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

This is not an unmixed blessing. If ever clean energy becomes readily available and cheap, what incentive do people have to insulate their homes and use said energy wisely? Can you imagine what would happen to global warming/change if billions of homes and individuals begin to pour massive amounts of heat and light into the atmosphere?

[Fatty Liver]

18 hours ago, Tracker said:

This is not an unmixed blessing. If ever clean energy becomes readily available and cheap, what incentive do people have to insulate their homes and use said energy wisely? Can you imagine what would happen to global warming/change if billions of homes and individuals begin to pour massive amounts of heat and light into the atmosphere?

Cheap is gone, like the Bluebird of happiness it ain't coming back.

[Tracker]

https://9gag.com/gag/aA03DPo

[Tracker]

                                                 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

On 2022-12-13 at 11:20 AM, blue_gold_84 said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/us-fusion-announcement-1.6682497

 

To give the announcement a bit more context, here is a solid article:

 

[Tracker]

                                                     

[Wideleft]

 

 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

31 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

 

 

 

 

I am still waiting on those virus assembled batteries.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Wanna-B-Fanboy

[Tracker]

                                          

[Tracker]

https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/axoWxAW_460svav1.mp4

[Tracker]

Bacterial ‘Syringe’ Could Lead to Brand New Cancer Therapies

It should go without saying by now: You should get your shots. However, your traditional syringe only goes so far. Sometimes, it’s helpful to get an even more precise inoculation on a cellular level. This type of injection could help pave the way for new, more effective biomedical treatments like cancer and gene therapy.

In a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers developed a bacterial “syrigine” that’s capable of injecting proteins directly into cultured human and mouse cells. The technique utilizes the bacteria’s natural process of interacting with host cells to deliver a variety of different types of proteins into cells.

The study’s authors, who hail from MIT, specifically modified a bacterial protein that’s more typically found targeting insects called the Photorhabdus virulence cassette (PVC), which is named for the bacterium Photorhabdus asymbiotica. While this bacteria is deadly for different species of insect larvae and used as a pesticide, it’s relatively harmless in humans. This latest study builds off of past research that found that PVCs can be used to target and deliver proteins into non-human cells.
To develop the syringe, the researchers utilized AlphaFold, the powerful AI program from Google used to predict suitable protein structures. They then identified Photorhabdus—which typically targets insect cells—and re-engineered it in order to inject proteins into human cells in petri dishes.

Kreitz et al. / Nature: “[We] demonstrated the application of PVCs as delivery tools in diverse contexts, such as in the specific killing of cancer cells or as mediators of genome editing, and we showed that the system operates as intended in insect cells, human cells, primary cells, and in live mice,” the authors wrote.

They added that PVCs are a “versatile class of programmable protein delivery tools that are well-suited for use in a variety of applications ranging from biocontrol to human gene therapy.”

To develop the syringe, the researchers utilized AlphaFold, the powerful AI program from Google used to predict suitable protein structures. They then identified Photorhabdus and re-engineered it in order to inject proteins into human cells in petri dishes. This suggests that it could one day be used to help deliver treatments directly into human cells. For example, proteins could be used as nanoscale carriers delivering antibodies into tumor cells.

The beauty about PVCs is both how versatile and efficient it is. Not only can it be customized depending on the kind of cargo or treatment it’ll deliver, but the Nature study found that it can target human and mice cells with “efficiencies approaching 100 percent.”

 

[blue_gold_84]

https://newatlas.com/medical/mrna-treatment-peanut-allergy

Quote

Peanut and tree nut allergies affect around three million Americans, yet there’s only one approved treatment and it only tackles its severity. And despite the amount of research behind finding a way to counter, or cure, this often deadly condition, there's been only glimmers of hope for sufferers.

But a major breakthrough might be around the corner, with scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) testing a world-first mRNA medicine packaged up in tiny nanoparticles that not only reversed peanut allergies in mice but equipped the body with the microbiological tools needed to stop the often-life-threatening condition developing.

Taking a cue from COVID-19 vaccines, the team packaged up mRNA inside a nanoparticle and delivered it to the liver, where it instructed specific cells to tolerate peanut proteins. The researchers focused on the liver in particular because of its tolerance with foreign substances and it being home to antigen-presenting cells, which help train the immune system to tolerate foreign proteins, rather than attack them.

It builds on 2021 research by the team, which saw a nanoparticle deliver a protein fragment, known as an epitope, to the liver to alleviate egg allergies in mice. In 2022 the researchers uncovered the epitope connected to peanut allergies.