#breakthrough

Due to neurological plasticity, regions of the brain must maintain their territory through constant stimulation/activity. Scientists hypothesise that REM sleep (and therefore dreams) is a sort of screensaver to keep your visual system active while you sleep. Use it or lose it!

The current cutting edge of cybernetic prosthetics is astounding.

China’s FAA (i.e., the CAA) has approved the first autonomous flying (VTOL) taxis.

Boom Technology is developing Overture, it’s new supersonic jet.

Swiss company Climeworks is capturing carbon in Iceland, bucking widespread skepticism for direct-air capture.

Desalination is a crucial technology for the future because it allows us to keep up with rising demand for fresh water, and will enable us to green our growing deserts.

In most places power from new renewables is now cheaper than new fossil fuels.

Startup Fervo is using hydraulic fracturing techniques to expand the applicability of geothermal energy. They will contribute to the Nevada grid as soon as this year.

Form Energy has developed a battery platform made from iron, air, and water. One of many emerging battery solutions that avoid rare-earth minerals.

Cement accounts for 8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, so is a major hurdle in reducing carbon.

Air conditioning accounts for 4% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Perversely, as the globe warms, we use air-conditioning more, furthering the problem.

UC San Francisco researchers developing a new treatment for kidney failure, potentially eliminating need for dialysis or immunosuppressant drugs post-transplant.

Researchers from UC Berkeley, Shanghai, and Osaka University have trained a computer to analyse brain activity while listening to music and recreate the song, including a recognisable version of Another Brick in the Wall.

Gene-edited pig hearts were transplanted into two brain-dead human recipients. The cardiac function and immune response were then assessed over 66 hours. Both hearts:

The study presents an AI model that can predict how viral variants affect protein–protein binding.

Scientists analysed accelerometry data from those who later developed Parkinson’s. Machine learning models trained on this data were highly accurate in predicting the disease.

This study aimed to tackle a crucial aspect of ageing in eukaryotic cells, involving a loss of epigenetic information. Epigenetic changes play a pivotal role in regulating gene expression without altering the DNA sequence itself.

Scientists are using AI to design new antibiotics, as shown in a study by researchers from MIT and McMaster University that identified an antibiotic effective against the drug-resistant bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii.

A trial shows fecal transplants with PD-1 inhibitors are safe and effective for treating advanced melanoma.

Can we GMO trees to capture more CO2?

Taking the drug osimertinib once a day after surgery reduces chance of patients dying by 51%, trials show.

Thanks to a new AI-generated algorithm. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if we get a thousand improvements like this each year thanks to AI, the impact could be massive.

The drug can target one of the three most dangerous bacterial superbugs, say researchers.

People taking Ozempic for weight loss say they have also stopped drinking, smoking, shopping, and even nail biting. This might mean Ozempic is more useful than we expected.

A new system was able to capture exact words and phrases from the brain activity of someone listening to podcasts. This breakthrough is incredibly important.