science

Key points

• The hippocampus enables abstract reasoning; LLMs mirror this through pattern-based language prediction.
• Future AI could emulate human inference by integrating multimodal learning and reinforcement methods.
• AI's evolution hinges on bridging prediction and reasoning, moving toward deeper, human-like understanding.

Auf dem Prüfstand: Tausende Klimaschutzmaßnahmen wurden bisher in verschiedenen Ländern umgesetzt – aber nur 63 dieser Maßnahmen trugen in größerem Umfang zur Reduktion der globalen Treibhausgas-Emissionen bei, wie eine Auswertung ergab. Der Erfolg dieser Klimapolitik beruht meist auf einer Kombination von Einzelmaßnahmen, die an die Situation des jeweiligen Landes angepasst waren. Was bedeutet dies konkret?

Ob Stürme, Starkregen oder immer neue Temperaturrekorde: Der Klimawandel ist längst konkret spürbar – auch bei uns. Umso dringlicher wird die Frage, wie wir die globale Erwärmung noch aufhalten können. Zwar gibt es schon seit einigen Jahrzehnten Bemühungen, den Ausstoß von Treibhausgasen zu verringern und von fossilen Brennstoffen auf erneuerbare Energien umzusteigen. In einigen Ländern haben solche Klimaschutzmaßnahmen auch schon erste positive Wirkungen gezeigt. Sie reichen aber nicht aus, um den globalen Klimawandel zu bremsen oder gar zu stoppen.

Das wirft die Frage auf, welche der bisher in verschiedenen Ländern umgesetzten Klimaschutz-Maßnahmen überhaupt wirksam sind und die CO2-Emissionen effektiv senken.

A new study published in Nature Microbiology has pioneered the use of a single-celled parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, to inject therapeutic proteins into brain cells. The brain is very picky about what it lets in, including many drugs, which limits treatment options for neurological conditions.

As a professor of microbiology, I’ve dedicated my career to finding ways to kill dangerous parasites such as Toxoplasma. I’m fascinated by the prospect that we may be able to use their weaponry to instead treat other maladies.

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.

Don't recall TRAPPIST-1 mentioned in any news but seems much effort has gone into studying this fly-speck.

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.

DALLAS — A team of researchers, led by SMU paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs, found matching sets of Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprints on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean – in Brazil and Cameroon.

More than 260 footprints were found in the two locations – now separated by 3,700 miles – showing where land-dwelling dinosaurs were able to freely cross between South America and Africa millions of years ago.

“We determined that in terms of age, these footprints were similar,” Jacobs said. “In their geological and plate tectonic contexts, they were also similar. In terms of their shapes, they are almost identical.”

Sorry, I tried finding the original press release and couldn't.

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.

• Researchers have just found evidence of “dark electrons”—electrons you can’t see using spectroscopy—in solid materials.
• By analyzing the electrons in palladium diselenide, the team was able to find states that functionally cancel each other out, blocking the electrons in those “dark states” from view.
• The scientists believe this behavior is likely to be found across many other substances as well, and could help explain why some superconductors behave in unexpected ways.

Initially, THC boosted brain metabolism and synaptic protein levels, indicative of heightened cognitive processes. Subsequently, it shifted towards reducing metabolic activities in the body akin to the effects seen with caloric restriction or intensive exercise, known for their anti-aging benefits.

As efforts step up to protect coastal regions affected by erosion, scientists have found an unexpected way to protect communities—zapping the shoreline with electricity.

In a study published in the journal Communications Earth and the Environment, researchers from Northwestern University demonstrated the novel technique to strengthen marine sand, potentially offering a sustainable solution to combat erosion caused by climate change and rising sea levels.

"Over 40 percent of the world's population lives in coastal areas," Alessandro Rotta Loria, who led the study, said in a statement.

"Because of climate change and sea-level rise, erosion is an enormous threat to these communities. Through the disintegration of infrastructure and loss of land, erosion causes billions of dollars in damage per year worldwide," he said.

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Their attosecond system involves a powerful laser split into two components: a fast electron pulse and two ultrashort light pulses. The first light pulse, called the pump pulse, energizes a sample, triggering electron movement or other rapid changes. The second pulse, known as the optical gating pulse, creates a brief window to generate a single attosecond electron pulse. The timing of this gating pulse determines the image resolution. By precisely synchronizing these pulses, researchers can control when the electron pulses probe the sample, allowing them to observe ultrafast atomic-level processes.

MIT leaders describe the experience of not renewing its largest journal contract as overwhelmingly positive. MIT has long tried to avoid vendor lock-in through big deal contracts and, in 2019, maintained individual title-by-title subscriptions to approximately 675 Elsevier titles. In 2020, they took the significant step of canceling the full Elsevier journals contract – all 675 titles – leaving users with immediate access to only pre-2020 backfile content. Since the cancellation, MIT Libraries estimates annual savings at more than 80% of its original spend. This move saves MIT approximately $2 million each year, and the Libraries provide alternative means of access that fulfills most article requests in minutes.

After laying the groundwork with faculty and university administrators, the transition has been relatively seamless with minimal push back from researchers. Most faculty have been supportive of the Libraries in taking a principled stand in line with MIT values and are finding alternative means of access to needed research without an Elsevier subscription. Four years out, the faculty who continue to be most challenged by lack of immediate access are in the life sciences.

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