Latest news with #researchTeam
Entrepreneur
5 days ago
- Health
- Entrepreneur
MIT Biology Team develops FragFold computational method
Researchers from MIT's Department of Biology have developed a new computational method called FragFold, which shows promise for advancing biological research and therapeutic applications. The newly created tool represents a... This story originally appeared on Calendar Researchers from MIT's Department of Biology have developed a new computational method called FragFold, which shows promise for advancing biological research and therapeutic applications. The newly created tool represents a step forward in computational biology, offering scientists additional resources for understanding complex biological systems. According to the research team, FragFold's capabilities could help address current challenges in biological research while potentially opening new avenues for therapeutic development. How FragFold Works While specific technical details about FragFold's functioning remain limited, the computational method appears to process biological data in ways that could benefit researchers across multiple disciplines. The MIT Biology team behind the innovation has indicated that the method can analyze biological fragments and predict folding patterns, which is critical for understanding protein structures and functions. Proteins, the workhorses of cellular function, depend on their three-dimensional structure to perform their roles correctly. The ability to predict how these structures form has been a long-standing challenge in molecular biology. FragFold may offer new approaches to this problem. Research Applications The primary value of FragFold lies in its research applications. Scientists studying fundamental biological processes may use this computational method to: Predict protein structures from sequence data Analyze interactions between biological molecules Model complex biological systems Generate hypotheses for experimental testing These capabilities could accelerate discovery in fields ranging from basic cell biology to evolutionary studies. By providing computational predictions, FragFold may help researchers prioritize experiments and focus their laboratory work on the most promising directions. Therapeutic Potential Beyond basic research, FragFold shows potential for therapeutic applications. Drug discovery often relies on understanding how potential medications interact with their biological targets, typically proteins. By improving predictions of protein structures and interactions, FragFold could help pharmaceutical researchers identify new drug candidates or optimize existing ones. Computational methods like this can significantly reduce the time and resources needed in early-stage drug discovery,' noted one researcher familiar with similar technologies. 'The ability to accurately predict how molecules interact can mean fewer failed candidates and faster development timelines.' The therapeutic applications might extend to personalized medicine, where understanding how genetic variations affect protein structure could help predict individual responses to treatments. Challenges and Limitations As with any computational method, FragFold likely faces limitations in accuracy and scope. Biological systems are notoriously complex, and computational predictions require experimental validation. The MIT team has not yet published comprehensive validation studies showing how FragFold compares to existing methods in the field. Additionally, computational resources required to run such analyses can be substantial, potentially limiting access for some research groups without high-performance computing capabilities. The development of FragFold adds to a growing toolkit of computational methods in biology. As researchers continue to refine these approaches and integrate them with experimental data, our understanding of biological systems is likely to deepen, potentially leading to new insights and therapeutic strategies for addressing human diseases. The post MIT Biology Team develops FragFold computational method appeared first on Calendar.
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Japan Times
Team develops esophageal cancer prediction method using the inside of the cheek
A team of Kyoto University and other researchers has developed a method of predicting with high accuracy the risk of someone developing esophageal cancer by analyzing cells collected from inside the person's cheeks. If brought into practical use, the method could facilitate early cancer detection and cancer prevention through lifestyle improvements. The team's findings were published in an online international medical journal in April. Its study covered 222 people age 40-94, all with a history of smoking and drinking who either had esophageal cancer or did not. The team swabbed the inside of their cheeks to extract cheek mucosa cells and analyzed any genetic mutations. Participants with a lower tolerance for alcohol had more genetic mutations in their extracted cells when their alcoholic intake increased. On the other hand, those whose bodies were capable of processing alcohol well did not display such an increase. The team also found that esophageal cancer patients had more genetic mutations than those who did not, even if their cancer was discovered at an early stage. The team managed to make cancer probability predictions with an accuracy of over 70% by analyzing various genetic mutation data together. The team found "what is believed to be a biomarker that indicates (cancer) risks more objectively and accurately than with the conventional method of interviewing (patients) on their lifestyle habits and predispositions," said team member Akira Yokoyama, lecturer at Kyoto University Hospital.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Earth's core holds a vast reservoir of gold - and it's leaking towards the surface
You might think the Earth's largest gold reserves are locked up at Fort Knox. But Earth's core is rich with the precious metal – and it's slowly making its way up towards us, according to a new study. Ultra-high precision analysis of volcanic rocks show Earth's core is 'leaking' into rocks above. And it's bringing gold and other precious metals with it. Dr Nils Messling, at Göttingen University's Department of Geochemistry, said: 'When the first results came in, we realised that we had literally struck gold! 'Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the Earth's mantle above.' More than 99.999 per cent of Earth's stores of gold lie buried under 2,900km (1,800 miles) of solid rock, locked away within the Earth's metallic core and far beyond the reaches of humankind. The team analysed rocks on the island of Hawaii, specifically looking at traces of the precious metal ruthenium (Ru). Compared to the Earth's rocky mantle, the metallic core contains a slightly higher abundance of a particular isotope called 100Ru. That's because this ruthenium, which was locked in the Earth's core together with gold and other precious metals when it formed 4.5 billion years ago, came from a different source than the scarce amount that is contained in the mantle today. These differences are so small it was impossible to detect them in the past. Now, new procedures developed by the research team made it possible to analyse them. The unusually high 100Ru levels they found in lava on the Earth's surface can only mean that these rocks ultimately originated from the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle. Professor Matthias Willbold, who also worked on the study, said: 'Our findings not only show that the Earth's core is not as isolated as previously assumed. 'We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material – several hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of rock – originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth's surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii.' The findings mean that at least some of the precarious supplies of gold and other precious metals that we currently have access to may have come from the Earth's core. It's believed that when the Earth was forming, gold and other heavier elements sank down into its interior. As a result, the majority of gold we currently have access to on the Earth's surface was delivered here by meteors bombarding our planet. Other elements that could currently be 'leaking' out of the core include palladium, rhodium and platinum. Despite the findings it's unlikely these precious metals are emerging at a particularly fast rate. It would also be impossible to drill down to where the Earth's core begins – approximately 2,900km (1,800 miles) - to access the gold contained down there. The findings were published in the journal Nature. Earth has an unusually high proportion of precious metals near the surface, which is surprising, as they would usually be expected to settle down near the core of the planet. Until now, this has been explained by the 'late veneer' theory, which suggests that foreign objects hit Earth, and in the process deposited the precious metals near the surface. New computer simulations from the Tokyo Institute of Technology took into account the metal concentrations on Earth, the moon and Mars, and suggests that a huge collision could have brought all the precious metals to Earth at once. The researchers believe that this happened before the Earth's crust formed – around 4.45 billion years ago. The findings suggest that Earth's history could have been less violent than previously thought.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China claims its new stealth tech could evade US' proposed Golden Dome missile defense
Scientists in China have debuted a new material that could evade the proposed US missile defense system announced by President Donald Trump, dubbed the Golden Dome. Designed to evade both infrared and microwave detection, the material could be well-suited for use on high-speed aircraft and missiles. Developed by a team led by Professor Li Qiang at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, the high-performance stealth material is capable of operating across multiple detection ranges—including short-wave, mid-wave, and long-wave infrared, as well as microwaves—even at temperatures reaching 1,292 degrees Fahrenheit or 700 degree Celsius. With detection technologies becoming increasingly advanced, stealth materials have adapted to provide multispectral protection, masking objects across wavelengths from visible light to microwaves. However, many key military systems function in high-temperature environments, testing the limits of these coatings. High temperatures on military platforms often arise from external forces like aerodynamic heating or internal sources such as engine exhaust producing intense infrared radiation. Traditional stealth materials can struggle under these conditions as elevated heat may compromise their effectiveness or even lead to structural damage. This has created an urgent demand for materials that combine multispectral stealth with robust thermal resistance. This is where the new stealth material comes in offering a viable recourse. To test the material's stealth ability, the team compared it to a blackbody, which absorbs electromagnetic radiation. When heated to 1,292°F, the material's radiation temperature was about 790°F to 510°F lower than the blackbody's, the South China Morning Post writes. The material showed a significant reduction in radiation intensity, with levels 63.6% lower than a blackbody in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) band and 37.2% lower in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) band. Beyond its ability to avoid detection, the material also does a great job releasing heat. When heated to 700 degrees Celsius, it gave off heat much more effectively than typical metals. The substance's breakthrough design comes from a composite structure that combines multilayer films with a microwave metasurface. The top layer acts as a moisture barrier, while the bottom layer ensures strong adhesion to the surface beneath. Additionally, the multilayer film is carefully laser-etched to let microwaves pass through without affecting its infrared stealth capabilities. According to the research, the device reaches a maximum operating temperature and heat dissipation performance that exceeds current leading technologies for combined high-temperature infrared and microwave stealth. Just a few days ago, US President Donald Trump announced plans to develop the 'Golden Dome' missile defense system—the American counterpart to Israel's 'Iron Dome'—aiming to build it within the next few years. The system is intended to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, and cruise missiles, and will reportedly include space-based tracking sensors. If infrared tracking proves to be the primary method for the Golden Dome system to detect and intercept hypersonic weapons, materials that offer combined infrared and microwave stealth—like the one developed by Li's team—could significantly reduce the chance of detection.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Do you thrive on three hours sleep? You might have 'short sleeper syndrome', scientists say
We're all regularly told of the benefits of getting at least seven hours of sleep a night. But a new study has revealed that a small group of people can thrive on as little as three hours of slumber. While the rest of us would likely nod off at our desks, or start snoring on the train, they appear bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Now, experts have pinpointed a new genetic variant linked to 'short sleeper syndrome'. And it could help to develop treatments for sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnoea. So, are you one of the lucky few who can flourish on just a few hours of kip? 'Our bodies continue to work when we go to bed, detoxifying themselves and repairing damage,' co-author Ying-Hui Fu, a neuroscientist at the University of California in San Francisco, told Nature. 'These people, all these functions our bodies are doing while we are sleeping, they can just perform at a higher level than we can.' Since the turn of the millennium Professor Fu and her team have been analysing the genes of short sleepers – people who can get by on six hours or less per night. So far they have identified five mutations in four genes that can contribute to the trait. This includes in one gene that helps to regulate circadian rhythm – the internal clock responsible for regulating our sleep-wake cycle. A part of the latest study, the researchers searched for new mutations in the DNA of a naturally short sleeper who slept an average of 6.3 hours per night. They discovered one in SIK3, a gene that produces a particular type of protein which sends chemical signals to other proteins to change their function. Mice engineered with the same genetic mutation also slept less, the researchers found – though not by much. These animals typically snooze for around 12 hours a day, and those with the genetic mutation slept for around 31 minutes less. The researchers found that the genetic mutation might shorten sleep by supporting the brain's ability to regulate itself and maintain a stable environment. WHAT IS 'SHORT SLEEPER SYNDROME'? Short Sleeper Syndrome (SSS), or Familial Natural Short Sleep (FNSS), is a condition where individuals can function normally with less sleep than most people, typically between four and six hours per night. However, some can thrive on as little as three hours of slumber every day. They often wake up feeling refreshed and alert, without needing to nap or sleep longer on weekends. SSS is not considered a sleep disorder, and individuals with SSS don't typically experience negative health consequences from their short sleep duration Since the mice only lost a fraction of their sleep, it indicates that the SIK3 mutation is not a major cause of reduced sleep needs, Clifford Saper, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said. However, it clearly does have some impact. 'This work fits very well with what is known about SIK3, and that may help us understand the basis for sleepiness,' he said. The researchers hope that finding enough mutations in naturally short sleepers could get a better idea of how sleep is regulated in people, which could lead to treatment for sleep disorders. Famous faces that didn't get much sleep include Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, who allegedly got by on just four or five hours' slumber. However, for the average person, this is ill-advised. A 2022 study found that getting less than five hours of shut-eye per night in later life could raise the risk of getting a chronic illness by a fifth. Researchers looked at 7,864 British people, who were asked at the age of 50, 60 and 70 how much sleep they got on an average weeknight. These people were tracked over 25 years to see if they developed any of a list of 13 common chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease or dementia. People aged 50 getting five hours of sleep a night or fewer, compared to those sleeping for seven hours, were found 20 per cent more likely to develop one of the 13 illnesses for the first time. But they also had a higher risk of going on to get two or more of these diseases. It shows a lack of sleep is not only linked to illness in later life, but to multiple illnesses which people live with at the same time, raising their risk of hospitalisation and disability. Jo Whitmore, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, which helped to fund the research, said: 'This research adds to a growing body of research that highlights the importance of getting a good night's sleep.' ABOUT CIRCIDIAN RHYTHMS Our internal circadian rhythms, or circadian clock, is responsible for waking our bodies up in the morning and ensuring they get a good night's rest. In a healthy person, cortisol levels peak at around 8am, which wakes us up (in theory), and drop to their lowest at 3am the next day, before rising back to its peak five hours later. Ideally, this 8am peak will be triggered by exposure to sunlight, if not an alarm. When it does, the adrenal glands and brain will start pumping adrenaline. By mid-morning, the cortisol levels start dropping, while the adrenaline (for energy) and serotonin (a mood stabilizer) keep pumping. At midday, metabolism and core body temperature ramp up, getting us hungry and ready to eat. After noon, cortisol levels start their steady decline. Metabolism slows down and tiredness sets in. Gradually the serotonin turns into melatonin, which induces sleepiness. Our blood sugar levels decrease, and at 3am, when we are in the middle of our sleep, cortisol levels hit a 24-hour low.
