Nerve endings in the skin send a signal to collagen-producing cells that helps to restrain their aging. On July 17, a study on the connection between nerve endings and skin condition was published in Cell. The study, which involved 148 people, found an age-related decline in Nefh and collagen; the authors then tested the causal chain in skin models. It involves glutamate, a chemical signal that nerve cells use to transmit messages to neighboring cells. Fibroblasts produce collagen, which keeps tissue elastic. As people age, they enter senescence - they stop dividing normally and change their environment. The new work checks how the nerve fiber signal affects fibroblasts in a skin model. The authors add a nerve ending to this picture. Fibroblasts often came into contact with nerve fibers carrying Nefh. This protein was predominantly found in neurons that release glutamate. Nefh is a neurofilament heavy chain protein that supports the neuron's framework. The loss of Nefh changed the state of fibroblasts through a neuronal signal. When researchers removed Nefh from neurons that release glutamate in skin models, fibroblasts more often entered a senescent state, and the skin lost collagen. Denervation of the skin had a similar effect: signs of aging intensified along with the loss of collagen. Further, the authors dissected the pathway. Cdk5 interacts with both Nefh and Vglut2 - a transporter that loads glutamate into vesicles for release from the neuron. In fibroblasts, the action of glutamate depended on Slc1a3, a carrier protein. In models, the addition of glutamate weakened signs of senescence and maintained collagen production. In skin models, disruption of the signal from a neighboring nerve changed the state of fibroblasts and collagen content. Studies of skin aging can now test how to preserve the connection between the nerve ending and the tissue it serves. In human samples, the work shows an age-related correlation, and the removal of Nefh and addition of glutamate were investigated in skin models. Separate data on signal delivery, safety, and duration of effect are needed for therapy. In models, the loss of Nefh in neurons that release glutamate reduced this signal, enhanced fibroblast senescence, and decreased collagen content.

🔗 Read original →

SonoThera claims to have delivered a full-size dystrophin gene to monkeys' muscles without a virus. Gene therapy is hindered by delivery: a large gene needs to be introduced into the necessary cells, and a common viral vector often cannot be administered repeatedly. SonoThera demonstrates an alternative approach in animals: DNA is introduced with microbubbles, and then focused ultrasound temporarily opens a pathway into cells. The company has no clinical data or peer-reviewed article. Duchenne muscular dystrophy occurs due to defects in the dystrophin gene. Without this protein, muscle fibers gradually deteriorate. The full version of the gene is too large for a conventional viral vector, so viral therapies usually carry a shortened micro-dystrophin. On July 2, Elixirgen described a different approach to the same goal: localized mRNA with full-size dystrophin should remain at the injection site. SonoThera is attempting to deliver DNA with ultrasound directly into multiple muscle tissues. According to biologist Avi Ro, the company introduces DNA with microscopic gas bubbles and directs ultrasound to the target tissue. The bubbles help make the cell membrane permeable for a short time, after which the DNA enters. No virus is needed; theoretically, such a procedure can be repeated. On a poster, the company showed expression of full-size human dystrophin in the muscles, heart, and diaphragm of mice with a Duchenne model. In the skeletal muscle of monkeys, SonoThera claims up to 50% of the normal protein level. This figure has a specific limitation: the used antibody detects both the monkey's natural protein and the delivered human protein. Therefore, the authors separately searched for human RNA and a specific label on the delivered protein in the treated muscle fibers. On July 17, STAT quoted two Duchenne researchers who found the results in animals too unusual to accept without further verification. SonoThera has no human trials yet; the company plans its first trial for 2027, and the disclosed data exists in the form of a conference poster. Ultrasound needs to prove two properties in human muscles: to transport large DNA into a sufficient number of cells and to withstand repeated dosing without hazardous consequences. Then, part of gene therapy may be able to move beyond the size of a viral shell and transport more complete repair programs into tissues.

🔗 Read original →

According to mathematician Kerger, GPT-5.6 Sol proposed a proof of the limits of optimization; Lean checked a new lower bound. On July 14, Berkeley instructor Philip Kerger posted a preprint on the problem of convex optimization, where the algorithm receives only numerical answers to a function. According to Kerger, GPT-5.6 Sol found a proof construction in a session lasting around 2.5 hours; the open Lean project gathers a new lower bound with precisely specified accuracy. Let's present the problem: one needs to find the lowest point of an unknown "bowl" in a space with d parameters. The algorithm chooses a point and receives one number - the height of the bowl at that point. The next move must be chosen based on the history of such numbers. How many measurements are inevitably required before one can guarantee approaching the minimum? At an accuracy of the order of 1/√d, Protasov's 1996 method gave an algorithm with approximately d² log²d measurements. The strictly proven ban was much weaker: around d measurements. Between these estimates, there remained the possibility of an algorithm that would be radically more economical. In Kerger's preprint, a new lower bound is stated: any deterministic algorithm will require approximately d²/log(d+1) queries in the worst case. It almost closes the previous gap to within logarithms. Here, Lean appears - a language and program for formal proof verification. Each line of the proof receives an exact logical type, and the program's core re-checks whether the conclusion follows from the previous steps. The open code conducts this procedure for precisely the new lower bound: for each algorithm with a limited number of queries, an admissible convex function is constructed on which that algorithm misses the specified accuracy. The Lean project checks the lower bound. The upper estimate from Protasov's work, the two-sided formula for complexity, and the transfer to mixed-integer problems remain in the manuscript; they will be evaluated by mathematical reviewers. On July 16, the chief editor of the Science journals, Holden Thorp, wrote that AI can write more science than people can check. For arguments that can be recorded in strict logic, Lean sets a sequence: the model proposes a proof construction, the core checks a specific statement, and mathematicians evaluate the setup and conclusions.

🔗 Read original →

When scientists turned off nine old genes, dietary restriction extended the life of flies more strongly. On July 16, a study of eight species of Drosophila was published in EMBO Reports. The authors found a common response to dietary restriction, selected 15 evolutionarily old genes, and temporarily turned them off in adult flies. In nine interventions, lifespan on a restricted diet increased. In fly experiments, dietary restriction looks like a series of diets with different proportions of yeast - the main source of protein. A team from the University of Sheffield gave eight species of Drosophila five such diets. In five species, life was longer on less rich food, with each species having its own optimal proportion of yeast. In flies with a diet for maximum lifespan, egg laying also decreased. Then the researchers looked at which genes changed activity under such nutrition. In six species, they compared 6,926 common genes. The response turned out to be similar in direction: the same groups of genes in different flies more often turned on or off together. Most of the most responsive genes, however, arose relatively recently in evolution and are found mainly in arthropods. The common RNA signature does not yet indicate a common mechanism of longevity. This signature mixes ancient processes and local adaptations of each species to food deficiency. The authors identified 15 genes that changed activity consistently and existed even in distant animal ancestors. Each of them was temporarily turned off by RNA interference: this method forces the cell to destroy the RNA of the chosen gene and reduces the production of the corresponding protein. In 12 interventions, lifespan changed. Nine enhanced the effect of dietary restriction. Five of these nine genes usually became more active under the most restrictive diet; their shutdown gave flies an even greater gain. The authors suggest that part of the response to food deficiency protects current physiology: the cell tries to conserve and redistribute rare substances, and this compensation partially offsets the life extension. Among the selected genes, sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism - cysteine, methionine, and serine - was particularly common. These molecules are involved in protein assembly, antioxidant protection, and one-carbon group metabolism. The authors received a direction for the next check: to determine which of such compensatory reactions limit the effect of diet and whether it is possible to influence them more precisely. A review of how tissues and feedbacks weaken single interventions against aging discussed this problem in complex organisms. The new work shows a possible special case even in flies: the organism itself includes responses to food deficiency, and some of them reduce the gain in longevity. The work covers adult female flies and diets with different proportions of yeast. The path to humans will require testing these targets in mammals and a separate assessment of safety. Currently, the most valuable result is the ability to search for a common mechanism among a huge list of changed genes: comparing species, selecting ancient candidates, and immediately testing whether they change the life of the animal.

🔗 Read original →

A radio frequency field preserved pig cartilage cells during warming after vitrification. On July 16, a manuscript about the experience with pig joint cartilage was accepted for publication in Biofabrication. A piece of cartilage approximately 15 × 10 × 2.5 mm in size was vitrified in 10 ml of cryoprotective solution; after warming with an electric field, around 90% of cells throughout the cartilage thickness remained alive. Vitrification translates water in tissues into a glassy state and does not allow ice crystals to grow. The most dangerous section begins when returning to warmth. A water bath quickly heats the edge of the cartilage, while the center lags behind. The temperature difference creates mechanical stress and gives ice time to grow. Joint cartilage adds a second task: it has no vessels. The cryoprotective solution VS55 must penetrate from the surface to the center to protect cells during cooling and warming. A higher concentration helps avoid ice, but damages cells. After a three-hour staged loading, the authors achieved more than 85% of the target concentration in the center of the cartilage piece. A controlled gradient of cryoprotector concentration has already helped cells, oocytes, and skin pieces about 2 mm thick survive thawing. In the new experiment, the solution had to pass through avascular cartilage 2.5 mm thick. Then, the piece along with the solution was placed between electrodes. A 40 MHz field heated the cryoprotective solution throughout the system volume, including the solution inside the cartilage. The polar molecules of the solution followed the field oscillations and converted its energy into heat. The apparatus accounted for the change in the electrical properties of the solution and adjusted the power. In the dangerous temperature range, the difference between the edge and the center remained below 10 °C; a water bath gave a difference of about 76 °C. A water bath warmed the system with cartilage in 10 ml of solution at a rate of about 31 °C per minute, while the radio frequency setup warmed at about 110 °C per minute. In the center of the cartilage pieces after the water bath, cell viability dropped to around 60%; after radio frequency warming, about 90% was preserved throughout the thickness. By the third day of culture, metabolic activity exceeded 70% of the level of fresh control cartilage. In experiments with smaller cartilage disks, radio frequency warming preserved more than 90% of glycosaminoglycans - matrix components that hold water and help cartilage withstand load. The elasticity and permeability after the procedure were close to those of fresh cartilage. Earlier, the same research line heated cartilage through magnetic nanoparticles. Molecules of cryoprotective solution are approximately an order of magnitude smaller than particles and more easily penetrate the dense matrix. Now, the field heats the solution already delivered to the tissue. The authors checked pig cartilage pieces and observed them for five days in culture. Warming of a system with a volume of up to 65 ml exists as a calculation for now; the authors have not performed transplantation with this material. Several co-authors are affiliated with TDA Research, and patent applications have been filed for the system and loading protocol. Vitrification of a whole rabbit brain with solution M22 also gave preservation of fine structure after warming. The cartilage experiment adds dimensions necessary for dense tissue: did the cryoprotector reach the center and how much did the center lag in temperature.

🔗 Read original →

Jennifer Doudna's group created compact genome editors using AI that worked better than the natural TnpB protein in human cells. On July 16, a study was published in Science about SynTnpB, new variants of a small enzyme that guide RNA brings to the desired DNA site. The authors built these variants based on the three-dimensional form of the protein and evolutionary constraints, and then tested them in living cells. The genome editor works as a molecular tool with an address: the guide RNA recognizes a DNA site, and the enzyme cuts or changes it. For many tasks, such a tool needs to be delivered inside the cell. The size of the enzyme determines whether it can fit in the delivery vehicle along with the necessary RNA. TnpB belongs to compact ancestors of part of the CRISPR-Cas12 system, making it suitable for systems where both the enzyme and guide RNA need to fit. Jennifer Doudna's group took TnpB and separately designed two surfaces of the protein: one binds to DNA, the other holds the guide RNA. Evolutionary data suggested which amino acids could not be changed without losing function. A protein inverse folding model selected new sequences to fit the given three-dimensional shape of the remaining parts. Then, the researchers assembled combinations of these parts, filtered out non-working ones in bacteria, and tested the best ones in human and plant cells. The best SynTnpB in human cells retained or exceeded the activity of natural TnpB. One of the most active variants matched the original protein only 77% of the amino acids. Cryo-electron microscopy showed how the created enzyme holds RNA and DNA in two different positions. The laboratory obtained a working molecular machine with a new sequence and proven function. The study tested editors in bacteria, plants, and human cells. Delivery to the desired tissues, off-target DNA cuts, and human safety remain to be tested separately. The model created strongly differing designs, and experimental testing selected those that actually cut DNA. Thus, the search for genome editors combines the creation and testing of new proteins. Source: Science; independent analysis: Chemical & Engineering News.

🔗 Read original →

REGENXBIO reported stable or improved vision five years after surgery with Sura-vec in wet age-related macular degeneration. The data pertains to the third and fourth groups of an early study. The published press release does not include the size of these groups and detailed five-year follow-up metrics; the company is waiting for the primary results of two trials where Sura-vec is compared to standard treatments in the fourth quarter of 2026. In wet age-related macular degeneration, permeable vessels grow in the central zone of the retina. Fluid and blood from them damage vision used for reading and recognizing faces. Their growth is stimulated by the VEGF protein. Treatments blocking VEGF preserve vision but require repeated injections into the eye. Sura-vec is an investigational gene therapy, so it is administered under the retina during surgery under local anesthesia: the surgeon first removes the clear gel inside the eye, then delivers the treatment. Such surgery is usually performed on an outpatient basis. The AAV8 viral vector delivers genetic instructions to retinal cells for a fragment of an antibody blocking VEGF. Its goal is to reduce the number of subsequent injections. In 2024, The Lancet published two-year results of a study with 42 previously treated patients. All patients were administered a single dose of the treatment, then called RGX-314, under the retina. In most patients in the groups with higher doses, vision remained stable or improved, and additional injections of VEGF-blocking treatments were rarely or not at all required. In one patient from the maximum dose group, after 12 months, pigment changes appeared in the central zone of the retina, and vision sharply deteriorated; the connection to treatment was considered possible. Asymptomatic pigment changes in the lower periphery of the retina were more frequently noted at higher doses. Five-year follow-up checks if the clinical effect is preserved. In a July 18 statement, REGENXBIO writes that in the third and fourth groups, vision remained stable or improved, and the need for additional injections decreased. The company separately mentions a patient with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy - a form of the disease with abnormal vessels under the retina; their disease did not respond to VEGF-blocking treatments. It also reports that in long-term follow-up, it found no new safety signals, and no intraocular inflammation was observed in participants who completed the study. The published press release does not include the size of the groups, changes in visual acuity, and frequency of injections, so the results cannot be quantitatively compared to standard treatment yet. Such a comparison should be provided by the ATMOSPHERE and ASCENT studies. In these studies, participants are randomly assigned to either Sura-vec or standard treatments: ranibizumab or aflibercept. According to REGENXBIO, over 1,200 people were enrolled in the two trials. The company expects the primary results in the fourth quarter of 2026. The main test is whether the surgery will preserve visual acuity with properly prescribed glasses or lenses at least as well as regular injections.

🔗 Read original →

Michael Darwin proposes calculating in advance when to send a biostasis team to a patient. On July 13, Darwin published a 381-page review of medical methods to assess the risk of death on the horizon of months, weeks, days, and hours. He suggests gathering these assessments on one panel to prepare the cryopreservation team based on the patient's changing condition. In the new review, Darwin describes the task that begins even before cryopreservation. Biostasis preserves a person after legal death in anticipation of future medical care. The team must quickly start cardiopulmonary support, cooling, and cryopreservation preparation to reduce the time without brain circulation. According to Darwin's estimate, one team deployment within the US costs from $60,000. A doctor can tell a family "days or weeks," but such a response does not indicate when to gather specialists and transport equipment. Some medical assessments consider the risk of death in the coming months, others track how a person loses the ability to walk and care for themselves, and third ones predict the last days in palliative care. In the ICU, doctors monitor whether organ failure is accelerating. Darwin wants to link these responses to three decisions: when to alert the team, when to put it on standby, and when to send it to the patient. In February, Cryonics Monitoring introduced a ring that sends an alarm when a hand remains still for a long time. It signals after a disturbing sign appears. Darwin describes a previous stage: how to see from the course of the disease, analyzes, breathing, and organ function that the likelihood of cardiac arrest is rapidly increasing. An early forecast gives the team time to be nearby before cardiac arrest. The panel will have to be tested on real cases. Darwin takes medical assessments from nursing homes, palliative oncology, and intensive care units; for people who have chosen biostasis, their thresholds still need to be verified with real cases. Several signs of dying may come from one common failure of the body, so the program should consider their connection, rather than turning each mark into a separate confirmation. Darwin has gathered indicators and time horizons for such a system. It will need data from real cases, a comparison of forecasts with the actual time of cardiac arrest, and rules that link the risk level to the time of deployment, team composition, and equipment preparation.

🔗 Read original →

The protein TTYH3 regulates chloride flow in lysosomes, cellular cleanup, and signs of aging. On July 17, a study on TTYH3, a protein in the membrane of lysosomes, intracellular vesicles for breaking down and reusing molecules, was published in Cell Reports. In cellular experiments, TTYH3 was linked to chloride movement, autophagy - the cell's internal cleanup - and signs of cellular aging. In their new study, Chunlei Cang's group sought to answer a narrow question: who else, besides the known channel CLN7, provides chloride flow through the lysosome membrane. In part of the lysosomes of cells without CLN7, this flow was preserved. The authors associated this residual flow with TTYH3, a lysosome membrane protein. The authors measured chloride flow but have not yet established whether TTYH3 forms the pore channel itself or regulates another protein. The lysosome stores a lot of chloride inside. When TTYH3 was overexpressed, there was less calcium in it, and blocking TRPML1 - a channel that releases calcium from lysosomes - weakened the TTYH3-induced lysosome fusion. The authors associate these results with the release of calcium through TRPML1. TTYH3 also reduced the phosphorylation of proteins in the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, which inhibits autophagy. TFEB, a protein regulator of the cell cleanup program, was more often found in the nucleus, and other measurements indicated an increase in autophagic flux. In a 2021 study, the same research line showed that CLN7 works as a lysosomal chloride channel. Overexpression of TTYH3 partially corrected the consequences of CLN7 deficiency in cells: restored chloride flow, normalized lysosome pH, and reduced oxidative lipid damage and cell autofluorescence. The authors checked the connection to aging in human neuroblastoma cells SH-SY5Y. After TTYH3 was turned off in them, the levels of p53 and p21 - proteins that stop cell division - grew, and the proportion of cells with a marker of cellular aging increased. The active form of the signaling protein ERK removed part of the effect of TTYH3 shutdown. In the brains of mice, the amount of TTYH3 decreased with age, but only the protein level was measured. In a living organism, TTYH3 has been studied so far only in terms of protein quantity in the mouse brain. The authors suggest tissue-specifically turning off its gene in mice to test its role in neurodegeneration and regulation of lifespan. In a study on ASAP3, the shutdown of another autophagy regulator in mice was accompanied by fewer signs of liver aging and increased lifespan.

🔗 Read original →

Israel is investing 70 million shekels in a common language for biological data, so AI models can learn from hospital and laboratory data. The Israel Innovation Authority is gathering a consortium, IBFI, with NVIDIA, Teva, the Shiba Medical Center, biotech companies, and universities. It aims to negotiate how to represent different biological data and provide participants with an environment to create and test models. On July 12, the Israel Innovation Authority announced IBFI. Cells, proteins, tissue images, and medical histories have one inconvenient feature: they describe one organism but are stored as separate worlds. A laboratory measures gene activity, a hospital keeps clinical records, and a pharmaceutical company sees the response to a drug. A model can find a connection between these pieces only when they are matched. IBFI is trying to build a common infrastructure for this purpose. Its first element, Bio Tokens, is intended to establish a unified way to record molecular, cellular, time-varying, and clinical data. The second, Factory Model, is designed as an environment where participants can assemble models, connect them to each other, launch, and test the results. The announced consortium brings together participants who usually work separately: the technology company NVIDIA, the pharmaceutical company Teva, a hospital, biotech startups, and research groups. The state and partners are allocating approximately 70 million shekels for this work. The initial tasks are related to tumor response to treatment, the immune system, sepsis, transplant rejection, autoimmune diseases, and drug discovery. A model does not gain an understanding of biology along with a large number of parameters. It sees data in the form in which they were able to collect and connect them. Therefore, the future value of IBFI depends on much more down-to-earth things: whether participants can agree on compatible formats, safely open the necessary data, and test that the model works on patients and in laboratories it has not seen before. Aging research is particularly dependent on such a connection: it is necessary to match the state of cells and tissues with how a person maintains muscle strength, memory, immunity, and resistance to diseases over the years. IBFI does not yet have a separate program for aging. The consortium is creating a common research machine; its quality will be shown by the available data, models, and tests that appear after its launch. Source: Israel Innovation Authority

🔗 Read original →

The enzyme SIRT3 in the blood stem cells of old mice weakened inflammation and improved muscle, lung, and memory tests. The bone marrow continuously produces immune cells. The authors of the study showed that with age, this source can fix an inflammatory program in its descendants, and SIRT3 can weaken it at the level of hematopoietic stem cells. On July 16, a study by a group from the University of California, Berkeley, Buck Institute, and other centers was published in Nature Aging. The scientists studied hematopoietic stem cells - rare cells in the bone marrow from which blood and immune cells are derived throughout life. With age, these stem cells increasingly produce myeloid cells: macrophages, monocytes, and other cells of innate immunity. They are able to quickly respond to infection, but during aging, they can retain an inflammatory program and maintain an excess of alarm signals in the blood. A study on EP2 in tissue macrophages showed another part of this story: an inflammatory receptor hindered their ability to remove aging neutrophils. The SIRT3 study looks higher up the chain - at the stem cells that create myeloid descendants. This long-term setting is called trained immunity. After infection, it helps the body respond faster. The authors checked another situation: repeated damage in an old organism can turn it into a chronic mode, when the descendants of stem cells carry inflammation through tissues for years. At the center of the work was SIRT3 - a mitochondrial enzyme that helps the cell cope with oxidative stress. Its level in hematopoietic stem cells decreases with age. Researchers genetically enhanced SIRT3 in mice and saw less inflammatory TNF and IL-6 in the blood, fewer inflammatory macrophages in tissues, and higher results on strength and endurance tests. Then, the team transplanted bone marrow from young mice with enhanced SIRT3 to ordinary young mice and waited for them to age. After two years, the recipients had better muscle function, preserved activity, reduced lung alveolar size, and changed spatial memory indicators. There were fewer markers of cellular aging in tissues. Transplants and transfers of individual immune cells helped find a mediator. Descendants of stem cells with enhanced SIRT3 gave more calm myeloid cells; their transfer to young mice improved physical tests. T-cells did not show such a difference. The chain in this model looks like this: aging blood stem cell → inflammatory myeloid descendants → inflammation and decline in functions in other organs. The experiments were conducted on mice with genetic enhancement of SIRT3. The next check is to reproduce this chain in human cells and find a way to change it without bone marrow transplantation.

🔗 Read original →

In mouse experiments, SOLID nanoparticles removed interleukin-6 from the blood and broke it down in the liver. In an article published on July 9, the authors described a particle that captures an inflammatory signal in plasma and enters the liver with it. In a sepsis model, after one injection, four out of six mice that received SOLID survived after seven days; in the group with a single antibody to interleukin-6, all six mice died. Interleukin-6 is a signal protein that immune cells use to exchange messages. During sepsis, its level can increase and exacerbate inflammation. An antibody to interleukin-6 binds to this protein and blocks its interaction with the receptor. The authors removed the protein from the blood and destroyed it along with the carrier. LYTAC systems already deliver extracellular proteins to lysosomes - cellular compartments with enzymes. One part of LYTAC binds to the target, the other - to the cellular receptor; the receptor takes the complex inside the cell. In SOLID, the antibody on the surface selects the target. Particles with a polymeric core, resistant to deformation, in cellular experiments almost completely entered the lysosomes of different cell types. In the blood, the particle was covered with a protein corona - a layer of plasma proteins on the surface. The composition of this layer directed the particles predominantly to the liver, where lysosomes broke down both the carrier and the bound molecule. The antibody selects the molecule, and the properties of the particle and blood proteins direct it to destruction in the liver. In four independent samples with sepsis, the level of interleukin-6 in serum after SOLID was 70% lower than after therapy with an antibody to interleukin-6. Seven days after the introduction of the particles, four out of six mice survived, while in the group with the antibody, all six died. In a separate model of acute lung injury, the particles captured CpG-DNA fragments - short sequences similar to bacterial DNA and triggering an innate immune response. In four independent samples, the infiltration of immune cells into the lungs was 1.7 times lower than after CpG neutralization. The authors tested this method on two acute mouse models after a single intravenous injection. In these conditions, the particles bound to the selected inflammatory mediator in the blood, entered the liver lysosomes, and delivered it to enzymes for breakdown.

🔗 Read original →

Brian Johnson: posthumous fame remains in the memory of others, while the future belongs to the living. On July 19, Brian Johnson quoted a post by James Lucas about the choice of Achilles. Johnson called "immortality of name" a justification for early death: the deceased is deprived of future experiences and the opportunity to see new manifestations of intelligence. The choice Lucas wrote about is divided between two poems by Homer. In "The Iliad", Achilles sees two fates before him. A march to Troy will bring him enduring fame, but deprive him of returning home. Returning will preserve a long life, but he will lose fame. In "The Odyssey", Odysseus reminds the already deceased Achilles that during his lifetime, the Achaeans revered him as a god, and after death, he reigns over the dead. Achilles responds: "Do not comfort me with death, Odysseus. I would rather live on earth and serve a poor man than reign over all the dead." Immediately after these words, Achilles asks Odysseus to tell him about his son Neoptolemus and his father Peleus. He wants to return to his father for at least an hour with his former strength and protect him from those who take away the old man's honors. Achilles prefers to live on earth and be with his loved ones. On July 19, Johnson quoted Lucas and wrote: "There is no reward higher than being alive. People justified early death with 'immortality of name' because they saw no other way out." Johnson calls the price of a short, bright life: a person loses the future, in which they could see new manifestations of intelligence. The memory of the deceased supports loved ones, preserves knowledge, and changes the actions of others. These consequences remain with the living. The name is preserved in the memory of other people; the future remains with the person who continues to live themselves.

🔗 Read original →

Temporary suppression of the NuA4 gene regulator in early development prolonged the life of worms. In a July 16 article, researchers temporarily reduced the activity of the NuA4 complex in the nematode C. elegans. In adulthood, the animals lived longer, paralyzed less frequently in amyloid and α-synuclein models, and accumulated fewer toxic protein aggregates. The study's outcome depended on the age of intervention. In a chemically controlled removal of MYS-1, a NuA4 component, the protein was removed in embryos and first-stage larvae; by the second larval stage, its amount was largely restored. Such brief suppression protected adult worms from amyloid toxicity. When MYS-1 was suppressed later, paralysis intensified, and lifespan shortened. The age of intervention determined its outcome. NuA4 modifies histones, the proteins around which DNA is packaged, and thereby influences gene function. In embryos, after temporary NuA4 suppression, the activity of a portion of endoplasmic reticulum genes decreased, a membranous network where proteins acquire their working form. The authors suggest that this triggered reticulum stress. In the next stage, XBP-1, a protein that activates genes for reticulum expansion and handling of misfolded proteins, was activated. Through regulatory proteins SBP-1 and MDT-15, XBP-1 increased the activity of FAT-7, an enzyme involved in oleic acid synthesis. Oleic acid accumulated during development, entered membranes and fat droplets, and in adulthood was released from these reserves. Blocking XBP-1 or FAT-7 eliminated protection from protein aggregates; suppressing lipases that release fats noticeably weakened it. Adding oleic acid reproduced part of the protection, but only if the worms received it from the first larval stage. Starting the addition at the L4 stage did not change the outcome. Early NuA4 suppression also slowed worm development and reduced fertility. The human analog of MYS-1, the TIP60 protein, is involved in development, DNA repair, and cell division. The safe age, strength, and duration of exposure to TIP60 in humans require separate experiments.

🔗 Read original →

A neurointerface has restored movement and sensation in the arm of a person with complete tetraplegia, with some of the effect persisting even after the system is turned off. A study published on July 16 in Nature Medicine describes a person with a complete spinal cord injury in the cervical spine. Implants linked the person's intention to move their arm with stimulation of the muscles and spinal cord, and the signal from the hand with the sensory cortex. After a course of training, the person was able to eat and pick up fragile objects independently again. Spinal cord injury severs two lines of communication: the motor cortex sends a command to the arm, and the skin and joints return the sensation of touch, force, and finger position to the brain. Without this feedback, it is difficult to hold a glass: the hand must not only grasp but also release its grip in time. Previously, neurointerfaces addressed these tasks separately. An implant could read an attempt to move and activate electrical stimulation of paralyzed muscles. Another implant could evoke a sensation of touch in the sensory cortex. A study published the day before showed that such sensations can persist for years. The group of Santos Chandrasekaran and Chad Bouton combined movement and sensation in a dual neural bypass. Electrodes in the motor cortex read the participant's intention to open or close their hand. A program translated the signal into muscle and spinal cord stimulation, and sensors on the hand transmitted touch to the area of the cortex where the brain stores the body map. The system helped the hand move in real time, but the authors aimed to achieve more: to re-link the attempt to move, the response from the skin, and the residual pathways of the nervous system. To do this, they used a "cortical mirror": they simultaneously presented the participant with a cue to imagine touch, stimulated the skin, and activated selected electrodes in the spinal and brainstem. After repeated training sessions, the participant's elbow flexion and sensation of touch on the wrist improved. These changes persisted even when the stimulators were turned off. A neuroprosthesis can temporarily replace a damaged pathway: the brain gives a command, and electronics deliver it to the muscles. This work tests whether such an artificial bridge can preserve some movement and sensation when the device is turned off. One case does not answer whether the effect can be reproduced in other people with injuries and how long it will last. But the testable question for neurotechnology has become more precise: after the device is turned off, the person can still bring their arm to their face, hold an object, and feel their hand.

🔗 Read original →

Bristol Myers Squibb will combine two AI clusters so that data from different studies can help choose the next experiment. On July 20, BMS announced the deployment of a second NVIDIA cluster. The company plans to connect it to the first one, so that research teams at different sites can work with common data and computing resources. A cluster is a group of connected servers on which artificial intelligence models are trained and perform calculations. BMS has been using such a system for about three years. It was difficult for scientists to access it: after the company's acquisitions at different sites, local rules remained, and special skills were required to work with it. In an NVIDIA publication on July 20, BMS described the next step: the company wants to create a single computing environment for all its research sites. The search for a drug begins with the selection of a biological target - a protein or another element of the organism that the drug should act on. Then, scientists select molecules, test them in the laboratory, and decide which experiment to conduct next. BMS reports that it is already applying the Predict First approach: a model prediction helps plan a laboratory experiment before scientists start it. When BMS combines the systems, the data from the research program in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, will be able to become the input for models used by the team in San Diego. The company also plans to give scientists the opportunity to run complex predictions in plain language. The result of one study should become the material for the next hypothesis in another. The second cluster is still being deployed, and the integration of the two systems remains a BMS plan. The company has not published comparisons that can be used to judge how the common environment affects the choice of experiments, program timelines, or the number of candidates that reach clinical trials.

🔗 Read original →

Levent Alpöge published a counterexample to the Jacobian conjecture in three dimensions and thanked Fable for work on the problem. On July 20, mathematician Levent Alpöge published a formula for a map of three complex variables. He thanked Akhila Mathew for the question and Fable for the work. The Jacobian determinant of this map is always -2, but three different source points yield the same result. The Jacobian conjecture, formulated by Keller in 1939, concerned polynomial maps: sets of formulas that assign another triple to each triple of complex numbers. For such a map, a table can be compiled showing how each result changes with a small change in each input; the number calculated from this table is called the Jacobian. The conjecture claimed: if the Jacobian is constantly non-zero, the map should have an inverse polynomial formula. The value of -2 means that near each source point, a nearby result can be uniquely restored to a nearby source point. One inverse formula for the entire space requires more: each result point should correspond to exactly one source point. In Alpöge's post, he cited three different source points: (0, 0, -1/4), (1, -3/2, 13/2), and (-1, 3/2, 13/2). The map sends each of them to (-1/4, 0, 0). One result has three different preimages, so the map does not have a common inverse formula. The mathematical note reduces the search for preimages of an arbitrary result point to a cubic equation, i.e., an equation of the third degree. For (-1/4, 0, 0), it factorizes to -s(s-2)(s+2)/2. Its roots 0, 2, and -2 exactly correspond to the three published points. This map has sequences of source points that go to infinity, although their results converge to a finite point. The constant Jacobian controls the map near each point, but not throughout the space. In the original post, Alpöge described the contribution of the participants as follows: "The Jacobian conjecture is false. Thanks to my close friend Akhila for the question and my other close friend Fable for the work during the World Cup final." The published materials allow independent verification of the formula and its properties. The publications do not reveal who made each step in the search. A week before that, physicist Yuji Tachikawa reported that Claude Fable had found a computational error in a stuck problem in string theory and developed its course. In the current case, the publication provides a formula, a constant Jacobian, and three points that can be verified separately. If new coordinates are added to this map and left unchanged, the counterexample works in any number of variables starting from three. The two-dimensional case of the Jacobian conjecture remains open.

🔗 Read original →

Deep Origin has retrospectively ranked TCIP3 as the top molecule among 17 molecular glues - compounds that bring two proteins together. TCIP3 connects BCL6 with p300/CBP - enzymes that help the cell turn on genes. In lymphoma cells, this binding triggers programs that stop growth and kill the cell. Deep Origin checked if its calculation matched the molecule that the laboratory had already identified as a leader. On July 20, an article by researchers from Stanford, MD Anderson, and Deep Origin about TCIP3 was published in Cell. In some cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, BCL6 keeps genes turned off that slow down cell division and trigger cell death. TCIP3 binds to BCL6 with one part and to p300/CBP with another, bringing these enzymes to the DNA regions controlled by BCL6. TCIP3 brings p300/CBP to the genes that BCL6 keeps turned off. The enzymes acetylate BCL6 and the proteins that DNA is wound around in these regions. After this, BCL6 is less able to keep genes turned off, and the cell turns on programs that stop growth and apoptosis - controlled cell death. An open preprint by the authors in 2025 showed this mechanism in cell lines. In a 72-hour test on lymphoma cells, TCIP3 suppressed their growth with an IC50 of around 0.8 nanomoles per liter: half of the maximum suppression was achieved at a concentration of less than one billionth of a mole. Control compounds with the same chemical linker that could not bind to either BCL6 or p300/CBP were more than a thousand times weaker in toxicity to these cells. Thus, the authors showed that the effect requires the triple assembly of BCL6-TCIP3-p300/CBP. In the July 20 announcement, Deep Origin described its calculation. The company built a triple complex for each of the 17 compounds, simulated the movement of these assemblies, and calculated the stress of the chemical linker between the two parts of the molecule. This linker affects whether the proteins can maintain the necessary mutual arrangement. In Deep Origin's ranking, TCIP3 was first in a retrospective calculation: its laboratory activity had already been measured before this analysis. In the international CASP competition, teams submit predictions of protein structures that experimenters have already measured but have not yet disclosed. A similar test for Deep Origin would look like this: the calculation ranks previously unmeasured compounds, the laboratory synthesizes several candidates from the top of the list, and then measures their activity. Only Deep Origin reports on the almost complete disappearance of tumors in mice with xenografts - transplanted human tumors. The open preprint from 2025 calls TCIP3 a tool molecule and says that the authors did not study its efficacy in a live mouse model of this lymphoma at that time; the full text of the Cell version from July 20 is not available. Even successful ranking of a new series will show a prediction for a chosen laboratory system, and the connection between cellular and animal models and the result in patients will require other data.

🔗 Read original →

Retro obtained a transplant from six adult donors' cells, which twice restored human hematopoiesis in mice and preserved a DNA methylation age of around five years. On July 17, the Retro team posted an unrevised preprint on donor cells aged 18–60 years. After the second transplant, 18 of 23 immunodeficient mice had more than 1% human cells in their bone marrow; Horvath clocks estimated the age of isolated human hematopoietic cells with the CD45 marker at 5.28 ± 1.45 years. Blood stem cells constantly replenish erythrocytes, platelets, and immune cells. After transplantation, they should settle in the bone marrow and produce all these lines for a long time. With age, this becomes more difficult. Reprogramming an adult cell into an induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPSC, resets many DNA methylation age marks and lengthens telomeres. For transplantation, such a cell needs to be converted into a blood stem cell and tested in a living organism. Resetting age marks does not eliminate all damage: in serially cloned mice, by the 58th generation, cloning success sharply decreased due to accumulated genomic errors. In 2024, the Elizabeth Ng group obtained iPSC-derived cells that engrafted in the bone marrow of mice for a long time and produced several blood lines. In April, Retro described the path from iPSC to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The new preprint checks two things: whether such cells can re-engraft in the bone marrow and maintain a young DNA methylation age pattern. The team obtained iPSC-derived hematopoietic stem cells, iHSC, in 15 days and introduced them into immunodeficient NBSGW mice. In such animals, human transplants can engraft in the bone marrow. After 20 weeks, the bone marrow of recipient mice from three donor lines was transplanted into other mice. In the second cycle, 18 of 23 animals had more than 1% human cells in their bone marrow; these cells again formed erythrocytes and several types of immune cells. In the first transplant, each mouse received five million iHSC, while control animals received from 50,000 cord blood cells to one million adult hematopoietic stem cells. This design shows that cultured cells can restore blood at this dose but does not compare the potency of one iHSC to a conventional transplant. During 15 days of iHSC differentiation, the pluripotency program was turned off and the hematopoietic program was turned on, but their methylation pattern still differed from that of adult blood stem cells. After living in the mouse bone marrow, it became closer to the adult profile. Methylation was studied in a mixture of isolated human cells with the CD45 marker. Therefore, the adult profile may indicate both cell maturation in the bone marrow and the growth of a subset of cells that initially engrafted better. The methylation pattern answered two different questions: did the cells become similar to adult blood stem cells and did they preserve a young age according to DNA methylation marks? Horvath clocks translate the methylation pattern into an age estimate. After the second transplant, they gave 5.28 ± 1.45 years. In this mouse model, cells from adult donors acquired signs of adult hematopoietic transplants and preserved a young age according to DNA methylation marks.

🔗 Read original →

The White House is proposing to test the rules for awarding scientific grants with an experiment. On July 21, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report, Science: A New Golden Age, and a memorandum on research and development budget priorities for fiscal year 2028. Agency heads with research and development budget authority of at least $3 billion in fiscal year 2026 must submit an action plan to the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the White House Office of Management and Budget within 90 days. The agencies should consider these priorities in their fiscal year 2028 budget requests. The US federal government spends around $200 billion on research and development each year. The report proposes to test the rules by which the state selects recipients of scientific funding. To do this, the memorandum suggests that agencies develop metascience - research on how agencies select applications, review them, award grants, and obtain results. It proposes linking data on applications, reviewer evaluations, grant decisions, and subsequent outcomes in one system. This would allow for testing a different selection method on parts of the federal research portfolio and comparing it to the usual method based on subsequent outcomes. The proposals include portable fellowships that remain with the researcher when moving to another organization, and rapid grants for preliminary and exploratory work. A rapid grant requires only a few pages of application, and a decision should be made in less than a month. A "golden ticket" would allow a technical reviewer of an agency to recommend an unusual application that an expert panel did not support. New mechanisms, including the "golden ticket", the memorandum proposes to study, pilot, and evaluate. AI for science can quickly propose a molecular target, material, or explanation of a biological process. A laboratory then conducts an experiment and checks the prediction. The journal Science has already warned that AI can produce more science than people can check. The report proposes combining models with open data, robotized laboratories, and reproducibility packages - sets of data, code, and analysis conditions with which another laboratory or program can reproduce the result. The Genesis Mission is a federal AI for science program that combines data, computing, and research equipment. In March, Argonne presented more than a dozen Genesis projects, including AI for enzyme research and a network of autonomous laboratories. On July 22, the White House announced more than $5 billion in federal commitments and 278 selected projects in the Genesis Mission. Among the tasks of Genesis is to "help Americans live longer and healthier". To do this, the Department of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Department of War of the USA plan to combine data on molecules, genes, organism signs, treatment, and real clinical practice to search for new applications of existing drugs and to bring new therapies to patients faster.

🔗 Read original →

In four patients with complete cervical spinal cord injuries, no tumors were found after transplantation of neural cell precursors over 2-4 years. The results of the first trial of such transplantation in humans were published in Nature Medicine. Four men were administered two million cells each, 14-28 days after injury; the goal of the first phase is to test the safety of the procedure. In complete cervical spinal cord injuries, signals from the brain do not pass to the body below the injury. In double neural bypass, implants read the desire to move an arm and, with electrical stimulation of muscles and spinal cord, bypass this gap. Here, surgeons introduced cells directly into the damaged spinal cord segment. The transplant consisted of neural precursors - cells from which neurons and cells covering nerve fibers with a protective sheath - myelin, can develop. They were grown from iPSC - reprogrammed donor umbilical cord blood cells, which can again transform into different tissues. One cell line allows for the pre-manufacture of identical batches for several patients. Before transplantation, the laboratory checked the cells for genetic changes and pushed them to a more mature state to reduce the risk of excessive growth. Then, patients took tacrolimus for nine months - a drug that suppresses the immune system and prevents the body from rejecting the donor cells. Over the first year, doctors recorded 84 undesirable events: two moderate surgical complications and 22 mild or moderate reactions related to tacrolimus. MRI and positron emission tomography (PET), which shows tissue metabolism, did not reveal signs of tumor growth at the transplantation site. Over 2-4 years of observation, none of the four patients experienced severe reactions related to the cell product, and neurological functions did not worsen. In all participants, scores on movement and self-care scales increased over the year. Two patients developed voluntary movements below the injury. These improvements cannot be attributed to the transplantation without comparison with similar patients who did not receive cells. In the first months after injury, some functions return on their own. The next study should distinguish between natural recovery and the effect of cells. The current work answered a different question: can a uniform cell product be prepared, introduced into the damaged spinal cord, and patients be observed for several years without signs of tumor growth.

🔗 Read original →