China’s biotech industry booms

Good news!

"Last year, Chinese biotech firms developed over 1,250 new drugs: more than companies based in the European Union and around 200 shy of those in the United States. International restrictions on the region’s fast-growing sector — such as a US law that prevents federally funded pharmaceutical companies from working with certain Chinese companies — are prompting some in China to argue that the country should go it alone. That would be a backwards step — for China and the rest of the world ..."

"In biomedical science, China still lags behind the United States and Europe when it comes to fundamental research and conducting clinical trials involving investigators and participants from several countries. But the nation is now a global leader when it comes to drug development and manufacturing. And it is becoming increasingly important in frontier science. 

Industry analysts estimate that China now accounts for 70–95% of the global supply chain for many essential pharmaceutical products, including ibuprofen and paracetamol.

In 2024, Chinese biotechnology firms developed more than 1,250 new drugs, surpassing the European Union and approaching the US total of roughly 1,440 ... 

In 2018, China conducted only 9% of the clinical trials conducted by companies around the world. Now, it is responsible for about one-fifth of such trials ... And in the past few years, it has achieved several therapeutic milestones. ..."

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

China’s biotech boom: why the nation must collaborate to stay ahead "Increased geopolitical tensions are prompting some in China to argue that the country should go it alone in biotechnology. That would be a backwards step — for China and the rest of the world."

How do busy bees avoid overheating from flying?

Amazing stuff! 

Was it necessary to kill the bumble bees to make these measurements? "Upon completion of the experiments, unneeded individuals were humanely euthanized in accordance with approved protocols." and "To precisely measure this airflow’s cooling potential, Glass and his colleagues then euthanized 18 bumble bees. Into each they inserted a tiny temperature probe, heated the body to 50°C, and placed it into a wind tunnel that could mimic the air patterns and velocities the team had measured around a hovering bumble bee."

"... But no one had quantified the cooling that comes from air flowing around a bumblebee’s body generated by its beating wings. ...

They calculated that as a bumblebee hovers in place, the breeze it generates can lower the insect’s body temperature by 5°C. The “whopping” magnitude of that cooling means that this fanning effect is a big deal for a flying insect  ..."

From the abstract:

"Understanding how flying insects manage heat exchange is critical for predicting their survival in dynamic thermal environments. To fly, insects propel air downwards to offset body weight, inducing airflow over their bodies. Remarkably, the potential cooling effect of this self-generated airflow is largely unstudied.

We measured induced airflow and wingbeat kinematics for hovering bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) across a range of body sizes and then measured the cooling effect of airflows of the same magnitude in a vertical wind tunnel. We combined these data in heat balance models to predict transient and equilibrium body temperatures of hovering bumble bees with and without self-generated wind. Measured self-induced airflow was substantial (up to 1 m s−1) and varied with body size and wingbeat kinematics, contributing significantly to thermal stability. Without this self-induced airflow, simulated bees of all sizes rapidly overheated across a range of environmental conditions, highlighting the importance of this overlooked heat-loss mechanism in the heat budget of flying insects.

Our findings suggest that shifts in wingbeat kinematics required for altered force production not only affect energetics and, therefore, heat production, but also alter the induced airflow and associated convective heat loss."

ScienceAdviser

How do busy bees avoid overheating from flying? "New measurements could help predict pollinators’ ability to withstand climate change [??? really]"

Induced airflow cools hovering bumble bees (open access)

Fig. 1 Factors affecting the body temperature of a hovering bumble bee in still air. To stay airborne, a bumble bee relies on flight muscle metabolism

Bochumer Theater Premiere „Catarina oder Von der Schönheit, Faschisten zu töten“

Sowas nennt sich wohl Avantgarde! Wer bringt ein Theaterstück mit so einem  schwachsinnigen Titel auf eine öffentliche Bühne!

Gutmenschen greifen Schauspieler auf Bühne des Bochumer Theaters an "Bochum, Schauspielhaus: Bei der Premiere von „Catarina oder Von der Schönheit, Faschisten zu töten“ eskaliert das Publikum. Nach Buhrufen und „Halt die Fresse“-Rufen stürmen zwei Zuschauer auf die Bühne und gehen auf den Darsteller los – weil er den „Faschisten“ spielt."

Robot hand approaches human-like dexterity with new visual-tactile training

Amazing stuff!

When will the first robot play a Stradivari or Amati violin? 😊

"... To improve the way a multi-fingered robotic hand performs complex tasks, researchers from China developed a two-pronged approach using only a basic webcam and low-cost sensors. Their process is outlined in a paper published in the journal Science Robotics.

During the first stage, the robot's AI brain was pretrained by watching a large library of videos of humans performing tasks using their bare hands and gloves. This taught the robot how visual information (what a hand looks like near an object) and tactile information (when a finger touches a surface) work together. ..."

From the abstract:

"Achieving human like dexterity with anthropomorphic multi-fingered robotic hands requires precise finger coordination. However, dexterous manipulation remains highly challenging because of high-dimensional action-observation spaces, complex hand-object contact dynamics, and frequent occlusions. To address this, we drew inspiration from the human learning paradigm of observation and practice and propose a two-stage learning framework by learning visual-tactile integration representations via self-supervised learning from human demonstrations.

We trained a unified multitask policy through reinforcement learning and online imitation learning. This decoupled learning enabled the robot to acquire generalizable manipulation skills using only monocular images and simple binary tactile signals.

With the unified policy, we built a multifingered hand manipulation system that performs multiple complicated tasks with low-cost sensing.

It achieved an 85% success rate across five complex tasks and 25 objects and further generalized to three unseen tasks that share similar hand-object coordination patterns with the training tasks."

Robot hand approaches human-like dexterity with new visual-tactile training

Visual-tactile pretraining and online multitask learning for humanlike manipulation dexterity (no public access)

Representative failure modes observed in both simulation and real-world experiments.

On the atmospheric methane hysteria and alarmism

Methane is an atmospheric trace gas like CO2!

Maybe it is the fluctuations of solar activity of the sun and not these trace gases that cause global warming and cooling!

According to Google search: "Atmospheric methane concentrations reached a record high of over 1,900 parts per billion (ppb), or approximately 1.9 parts per million (ppm), in 2021, which is about 260% of pre-industrial levels" and "As of early 2026, the global average atmospheric CO2 concentration is approximately 427 parts per million (ppm), marking a roughly 50% increase since the Industrial Revolution (280 ppm)."

"Solving the mystery of a methane surge ... Methane is the second most important radiative forcing agent [???] among all the anthropogenic trace greenhouse gases, with a climate warming effect second only to carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is important to understand why its atmospheric concentration changes. Its global atmospheric abundance [???] is growing steadily but not monotonically, and the question of what factors are responsible for the variability the methane growth rate is a key one.

The long-term secular rise of atmospheric methane concentrations is, unsurprisingly, due largely to anthropogenic methane emissions from agriculture, the oil and gas industry, and waste management, which together contribute more than half of all global methane emissions. ..."

ScienceAdviser

Ultrafast 3D printing method creates complex objects in under a second. Really!

This article seems to be a case of junk science journalism!

"... Researchers from Tsinghua University in China have developed a new high-speed printing technology capable of creating complex millimeter-scale objects in just 0.6 seconds. ..."

Ultrafast 3D printing method creates complex objects in under a second

Mouth microbiome linked to obesity and metabolic health

Amazing stuff!

"... But a new study published in Cell Reports suggests the mouth may be carrying its own metabolic fingerprint. In saliva samples from 628 adults, researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi found that people living with obesity host a distinct oral microbiome, one that differs not just in species, but in what those microbes are actively doing. ...

For the study participants with obesity, bacteria were more active in pathways linked to sugar fermentation and lactate production, while showing reduced capacity to generate certain essential nutrients. Across all participants, body mass index stood out as one of the strongest drivers of oral microbial variation, suggesting the microbiome of the mouth may reflect a broader metabolic state. These changes were not random, but instead pointed in a consistent metabolic direction. Species linked to inflammation and lactate production became more prominent, including proinflammatory Streptococcus parasanguinis and Actinomyces oris, along with the lactate-producing Oribacterium sinus, while others associated with nutrient synthesis receded. A shift that went deeper than simple taxonomy. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Oral microbiome composition and functions differ significantly in obesity

• Obesity is linked to proinflammatory and lactate-producing oral bacteria

• Obese individuals show disrupted oral metabolism and altered energy balance

• Obesity-linked metabolites correlate with cardiometabolic disease markers

Summary

Obesity is a leading global health challenge and risk factor for cardiometabolic disorders, driven in part by industrialization and low-fiber, ultra-processed diets. While the gut microbiome has been implicated in obesity, the contribution of the oral microbiome—the body’s second largest microbial ecosystem—remains underexplored. We analyze a prospective cohort of 628 Emirati adults, including multi-omics profiling of 97 obese individuals and 95 matched controls, generating the most comprehensive oral microbiome analysis to date.

Obese participants show altered microbial diversity, composition, functions, and metabolites with enrichment of proinflammatory Streptococcus parasanguinis, Actinomyces oris, and lactate-producing Oribacterium sinus. Pathways for carbohydrate metabolism, histidine degradation, and obesogenic metabolites are upregulated, whereas B-vitamin and heme biosynthesis are depleted. Corresponding metabolites—including lactate, histidine derivatives, choline, uridine, and uracil—are elevated and correlate with obesity-linked cardiometabolic markers.

These findings reveal mechanistic oral microbiome-metabolite shifts, highlighting oral microbiome-host interactions as novel targets for obesity prevention and intervention."

Mouth microbiome linked to obesity and metabolic health

NYU Abu Dhabi Researchers Reveal an Association Between Mouth Bacteria and Obesity and Metabolic Health (original news release)

Integrative multi-omics analysis reveals oral microbiome-metabolome signatures of obesity (open access)

Graphical abstract

Tumors Protect Themselves from Immune Attack by Talking to the Brain

Amazing stuff! Cancer is history (soon)!

"In many tumors, nerves from our peripheral nervous system establish themselves in the cancerous tissue. The new study found that tumors can hijack these nerves to send signals to the brain. This, in turn, triggers activity that blocks immune cells from infiltrating the cancer, which enables cancer growth. ...

The team then sought to understand why this happens. Using animal models of lung adenocarcinoma, they experimented with inhibiting and activating various subpopulations of neurons to see how this impacted cancer growth. They also used single cell sequencing to identify the types of neurons innervating tumors in the lung, as well as imaging techniques to visualize how nerve and cancer cells interacted with one another. Meanwhile, collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania studied the surrounding immune cells and their signaling in the cancer microenvironment. ..."

From the abstract:

"Body–brain communication has emerged as a key regulator of tissue homeostasis. Solid tumours are innervated by different branches of the peripheral nervous system and increased tumour innervation is associated with poor cancer outcomes. However, it remains unclear how the brain senses and responds to tumours in peripheral organs, and how tumour–brain communication influences cancer immunity.

Here we identify a tumour–brain axis that promotes oncogenesis by establishing an immune-suppressive tumour microenvironment.

Combining genetically engineered mouse models with neural tracing, tissue imaging and single-cell transcriptomics, we demonstrate that lung adenocarcinoma induces innervation and functional engagement of vagal sensory neurons, a major interoceptive system connecting visceral organs to the brain.

Mechanistically, Npy2r-expressing vagal sensory nerves transmit signals from lung tumours to brainstem nuclei, driving elevated sympathetic efferent activity in the tumour microenvironment. This, in turn, suppresses anti-tumour immunity via β2 adrenergic signalling in alveolar macrophages.

Disruption of this sensory-to-sympathetic pathway through genetic, pharmacological or chemogenetic approaches significantly inhibited lung tumour growth by enhancing immune responses against cancer.

Collectively, these results reveal a bidirectional tumour–brain communication involving vagal sensory input and sympathetic output that cooperatively regulate anti-cancer immunity; targeting this tumour–brain circuit may provide new treatments for visceral organ cancers."

Tumors Protect Themselves from Immune Attack by Talking to the Brain | Yale School of Medicine

Tumour–brain crosstalk restrains cancer immunity via a sensory–sympathetic axis (open access)

Fig. 1: LUAD is innervated by VSNs. [vagal sensory neuron]

US and Bangladesh signed Trade Deal: Growing Challenges for Pakistan

Good news!

"The USA and Bangladesh signed a reciprocal trade deal on 9th February, 2026. Under this deal, 7,132 US commodities will get duty-free access in Bangladesh, and 2,500 Bangladeshi commodities will receive duty-free access in US markets. However, this agreement links the tariff concession for Bangladeshi garment exports with US-produced cotton or man-made fibre. To put it simply, preferential access to Bangladeshi garments will be provided if Bangladesh agrees to use US-produced cotton in its apparel production. This agreement could strengthen Bangladesh’s position in the USA market; however, it carries broader implications for Bangladesh and regional trade dynamics.

Bangladesh is one of the key markets for Pakistan’s cotton and cotton-related products. Alone in 2024, Pakistan exported $395 million worth of heavy pure cotton, heavy mixed woven cotton ($76.8 million) and heavy mixed woven cotton ($76.2 million). Since the tariff concession for garment exports is linked to the use of American cotton, the Bangladeshi manufacturers have a strong incentive to shift towards the US Market. After this agreement, Pakistan’s textile products will face enhanced competition in the US markets."

US and Bangladesh Trade Deal: Growing Challenges for Pakistan

Towards Autonomous Mathematics Research

Good news! Taking math to new heights with Google!

Following top researchers are listed as authors on this paper: "Demis Hassabis, Koray Kavukcuoglu, Quoc V. Le, Thang Luong"

From the abstract:

"Recent advances in foundational models have yielded reasoning systems capable of achieving a gold-medal standard at the International Mathematical Olympiad. The transition from competition-level problem-solving to professional research, however, requires navigating vast literature and constructing long-horizon proofs.

In this work, we introduce Aletheia, a math research agent that iteratively generates, verifies, and revises solutions end-to-end in natural language. Specifically, Aletheia is powered by an advanced version of Gemini Deep Think for challenging reasoning problems, a novel inference-time scaling law that extends beyond Olympiad-level problems, and intensive tool use to navigate the complexities of mathematical research.

We demonstrate the capability of Aletheia from Olympiad problems to PhD-level exercises and most notably, through several distinct milestones in AI-assisted mathematics research:

(a) a research paper (Feng26) generated by AI without any human intervention in calculating certain structure constants in arithmetic geometry called eigenweights;

(b) a research paper (LeeSeo26) demonstrating human-AI collaboration in proving bounds on systems of interacting particles called independent sets; and

(c) an extensive semi-autonomous evaluation (Feng et al., 2026a) of 700 open problems on Bloom's Erdos Conjectures database, including autonomous solutions to four open questions.

In order to help the public better understand the developments pertaining to AI and mathematics, we suggest quantifying standard levels of autonomy and novelty of AI-assisted results, as well as propose a novel concept of human-AI interaction cards for transparency. ..."

[2602.10177] Towards Autonomous Mathematics Research

Warum der Führerschein immer noch sehr teuer ist und jetzt noch teurer werden könnte

In den USA kostet der Führerschein ein paar Dollar. Die Prüfung ist extrem einfach und sehr schnell!

Warum der Führerschein jetzt noch teurer werden könnte | FAZ "Überzogene Regeln machen den Führerschein teuer. Das Beispiel steht für vieles, was hierzulande falsch läuft."

The biggest myths about Neanderthals

Recommendable!

(1) The biggest myths about Neanderthals - Bruce Hardy - YouTube

US-Japan Trade Deal: Trump Announces Japan $36B Investment Deal

Good news! More is coming!

 

(242) US-Japan Trade Deal: Trump Announces Japan $36B Investment Deal | WORLD DNA - YouTube

130,000 individuals Missing or about 1% of population: Inside Mexico’s Escalating Disappearance Crisis with Palki Sharma

Bad news! Horrible! And the disappearances have accelerated in recent years (like under President AMLO).

How much is due to organised crime or policing activity?

(242) 130,000 Missing: Inside Mexico’s Escalating Disappearance Crisis | Vantage with Palki Sharma - YouTube

Africa Overtakes Europe, America in Global Christian Population With Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

(241) Africa Overtakes Europe, America in Global Christian Population | Vantage With Palki Sharma - YouTube

India Targets $200 Billion in two years AI Push to Become Top Three AI Superpower with Palki Sharma

This is huge! Plus $17 billion additional investment!

AI models will help e.g. to deal with the 22 languages of India.

(240) India Targets $200 Billion AI Push to Become Top Three Superpower | Vantage with Palki Sharma - YouTube

How Did India and France Become Friends? with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable!

(238) Modi Meets Macron: How Did India and France Become Friends? | Flashback with Palki Sharma | N18G - YouTube

India and France special, strategic relationship with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! A very special, comprehensive and far reaching relationship!

(238) India and France to Jointly Produce Helicopters and Missiles | Vantage with Palki Sharma - YouTube

EU adds hefty anti-dumping duties to 1,4-butanediol against China, Saudi Arabia, and US

Is the long lasting prosperous era of free trade since 1945 coming to an end? Is a spiral of trade protectionism measures building up?

What will come next? A trade war?

Presented as an "anti dumping" measure.

"The European Commission has introduced massive antidumping duties on imports of 1,4-butadiene (BDO), an important intermediate molecule in chemical manufacturing. The provisional duties are 106–114% on all imports originating in China, 52% for all imports from Saudi Arabia and 136–143% on all imports originating in the US. ..."

EU adds hefty anti-dumping duties to 1,4-butanediol | Business | Chemistry World "Imports from China, US and Saudi Arabia will see tariffs of 52–143%"

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2026/270 of 4 February 2026 "imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of 1,4-Butanediol originating in the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America"

1,4-butanediol is a key intermediate and component of in various coatings, polymers and solvents

Wie politisch gewünscht: AfD in Niedersachsen gesichert rechtsextremistisch eingestuft laut Verfassungsschutz

Zustände wie in einer Bananenrepublik! Nur weiter so! (Vorsicht Zynismus)

Behrens ist eine Berufspolitikerin mit einem sehr dürftigen beruflichen Werdegang!

"Für Niedersachsens Innenministerin Daniela Behrens (SPD) ist die Bewertung des Verfassungsschutzes eindeutig: „Die größte Gefahr für unsere Gesellschaft geht vom Rechtsextremismus aus und die AfD Niedersachsen ist nach der Einstufung eindeutig diesem Phänomenbereich zuzuordnen.“ Die Partei mache den Staat und die demokratischen Institutionen verächtlich. Ob sich die Ministerin ihrer Wortwahl bewusst ist? Oder ist sie sich ihrer Wortwahl bewusst? ..."

Wie politisch gewünscht: AfD in Niedersachsen gesichert rechtsextremistisch "Vor vier Jahren hatte der Verfassungsschutz die AfD Niedersachsen bereits als Verdachtsfall eingestuft. Jetzt erfolgt die Hochstufung als „gesichert rechtsextremistisch“. Die Begründung erinnert an unschöne Zeiten."

Innenministerin Daniela Behrens (SPD, 57 Jahre), offizielles Foto. Die Dame sieht sehr unbedarft aus.

Plants that touch each other are more resilient to stress

Amazing stuff!

"New research has found when plant leaves physically touch each other, they seem to form a biological signalling network to warn each other about the upcoming stress. This can boost their resilience to withstand intense light, which is a common environmental challenge. ..."

From the abstract:

"Plants use sophisticated signaling networks to communicate with each other. While this process is thought to support the overall health and resilience of plant communities, it could also reflect eavesdropping between plants used for competition.

Here we reveal that plants that physically touch each other aboveground are more resilient to excess light stress, and that this phenomenon is dependent on the ability of plants to exchange above ground electric and H2O2 signals with each other. Using a mutant that is unable to transfer Ca2+/reactive oxygen species (ROS) signals but can transfer electric signals (hpca1), as a mediator/connector between different plants, we further separate electric from Ca2+/ROS plant-to-plant signals and transcriptional landscapes, and show that the transfer of Ca2+/ROS signals, as well as the function of several Ca2+/ROS-dependent transcripts, is required for excess light stress acclimation.

Our study reveals that plants that live together and physically touch each other establish an above ground community-wide signaling network that enhances their collective resilience to stress."

Plant leaves touching create biological warning network

United we stand: Plants that physically touch each other are more resilient to excess light stress

Fig. 1 Plants that touch each other aboveground are more resilient to excess light stress.

Energiewende mit Nebenwirkungen? Windparks beeinflussen Gezeiten

Windturbinen sind also nicht nur Massenkiller von Vögel, Fledermäusen, und Insekten!

"Bis 2050 soll sich die Offshore-Windkraftleistung in der Nordsee mehr als verzehnfachen. Das ist politisch gewollt. Technisch machbar ist es ebenfalls. Doch was bedeutet diese massive Verdichtung von Windparks für das Meer selbst?

Forschende des Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon haben erstmals die langfristigen hydrodynamischen Folgen eines solchen Ausbauszenarios simuliert. Ihre Ergebnisse erschienen in Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Die Kernaussage: Das Strömungsmuster der Nordsee könnte sich großräumig verändern. ..."

Energiewende mit Nebenwirkungen? Windparks beeinflussen Gezeiten "Neue Simulationen zeigen: Offshore-Windparks könnten Strömungen in der Nordsee um bis zu 20 % verändern. Was das für Umwelt und Planung bedeutet."

Cumulative hydrodynamic impacts of offshore wind farms on North Sea currents and surface temperatures (open access)

A nice example of the blunt and direct language of President Trump

Enjoy!

"There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland. A sewer line breach in Maryland has caused millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped directly into the Potomac River, a result of incompetent Local and State Management of Essential Waste Management Systems. This is the same Governor who cannot rebuild a Bridge. It is clear Local Authorities cannot adequately handle this calamity. Therefore, I am directing Federal Authorities to immediately provide all necessary Management, Direction, and Coordination to protect the Potomac, the Water Supply in the Capital Region, and our treasured National Resources in our Nation’s Capital City. While State and Local Authorities have failed to request needed Emergency Help, I cannot allow incompetent Local “Leadership” to turn the River in the Heart of Washington into a Disaster Zone. As we saw in the Palisades, the Democrat War on Merit has real consequences. The Federal Government has no choice, but to step in. FEMA, which is currently being defunded by the Democrats, will play a key role in coordinating the response. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"

Truth Details | Truth Social

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) (Source). Is this a DEI governor? But he is an Afghanistan War veteran.

Average cigarette pack costs US$40 in Australia thanks to drastic government anti smoking policies

Insane! What a foolish government failure despite many decades of experience with prohibition!

According to Google search "Australia has some of the world's strictest anti-smoking policies".

"Australia’s aggressive taxes on cigarettes have driven down smoking rates and raised an average pack’s cost to US$40. But they’ve also unleashed a nationwide black market ... 

The tax on a single cigarette has tripled in a decade to about US$1.06.  

Unintended consequences: 

The price spike has launched a huge demand for illegal cigarettes. A pack of under-the-counter cigarettes costs as little as US$7. "

Global Health NOW: Booming ‘Bootleg Cigarettes’ Down Under; and the Race for WHO Leadership Ramps Up

This is what the top fool look like (PM Albanese)

AI helped to solve 100 Erdős mathematical proplems

Amazing stuff! AI may transform mathematics.

"“According to a webpage started by the mathematician Terence Tao, AI tools have helped transfer about 100 Erdős problems into the “solved” column since October. The bulk of this assistance has been a kind of souped-up literature search, as it was with Sawhney’s initial success. But in many cases, LLMs have pieced together extant theorems—often in dialogue with their mathematician prompters—to form new or improved solutions to these niche problems. In at least two cases, an LLM was even able to construct an original and valid proof to one that had never been solved, with little input from a human.”"

AI Could Transform Mathematics - Human Progress

AI contributions to Erdős problems

Is AI on the precipice of revolutionizing math? It depends "LLMs have recently helped find solutions to a number of minor longstanding problems. But a new plan called First Proof is really putting them to the test"

Neue MRT-Analyse deckt Fehldiagnosen bei Parkinson auf

Good news! Empfehlenswert!

"Parkinson – oder doch etwas anderes? Diese Frage beschäftigt ... Neurologen seit Jahren. Denn nicht jede Bewegungsstörung mit Zittern, Steifheit und Stürzen ist Morbus Parkinson. Zwei seltene, aber relevante Erkrankungen werden häufig übersehen: die progressive supranukleäre Lähmung (PSP) und die kortikobasale Degeneration (CBD).

Eine internationale Studie ... dass moderne Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT) hier deutlich mehr Klarheit schafft. Die Ergebnisse wurden im Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease veröffentlicht. ...

Bei PSP zeigten sich vor allem Veränderungen im Hirnstamm und in tiefen Kerngebieten. Bestimmte kortikale Regionen waren selektiv mitbetroffen.

CBD hingegen wies stärker ausgeprägte Schäden in der Großhirnrinde auf, insbesondere in Arealen für Motorik und sensorische Integration.

„Obwohl sie klinisch sehr ähnlich aussehen mögen, schädigen PSP und CBD das Gehirn auf unterschiedliche Weise“, ... „Diese Unterschiede spiegeln sich im MRT wider, und indem wir sie zu einem Signaturmuster kombinieren, können wir viel besser bestimmen, an welcher Krankheit der jeweilige Patient leidet.“ ..."

Neue MRT-Analyse deckt Fehldiagnosen bei Parkinson auf "Ein neues MRT-Analyseverfahren unterscheidet PSP und CBD zuverlässig von Parkinson – und macht klinische Studien deutlich effizienter."

Potential role of MRI to optimize clinical trial design for progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration

A common biomarker of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder revealed

Good news!

"... Researchers ... reviewed and analyzed the findings of previous studies to further test this hypothesis and validate the existence of a psychosis spectrum of disorders. Their paper, published in Nature Mental Health, outlines common brain features in patients with schizophrenia and BD, particularly differences in the integrity of white matter. ...

Most notably, they observed shared white matter alterations in a region called the corpus callosum. This is a brain structure that connects the brain's left and right hemispheres.

"This alteration was observed across the entire psychosis spectrum, rather than being limited to a single diagnosis," said Saccaro. "Importantly, these findings remained significant (and in some cases became clearer) after accounting for age and sex, suggesting they are unlikely to be explained simply by illness duration or aging. This supports the idea that disruptions in brain connectivity may represent a core biological feature of psychosis." ..."

From the abstract:

"Psychotic and mood disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are increasingly viewed as part of a psychosis spectrum disorder (PSD) continuum, sharing genetic and neurobiological features.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examines fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity using diffusion tensor imaging in PSD. Across 96 studies (N = 4,424 PSD, N = 5,004 controls for fractional anisotropy; N = 1,607 PSD, N = 1,709 controls for mean diffusivity), fractional anisotropy reductions were consistently observed in the corpus callosum, whereas mean diffusivity increases were found in cortico-spinal projections.

Controlling for age and gender strengthened these findings, suggesting that they contribute to PSD pathophysiology rather than reflecting disease progression. Subgroup analyses revealed overlapping but distinct patterns in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These findings support a transdiagnostic model of psychosis, with corpus callosum abnormalities as a potential biomarker. Future longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causality and clinical implications."

A common biomarker of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder revealed

A systematic review and meta-analysis of transdiagnostic impairments in white matter integrity across the psychosis continuum (no public access)

Reduced FA, psychosis spectrum, TBSS studies only, corrected for age and gender.

Turkey Opens a new Gaza Mosque Named for Al-Qaeda Mentor

Erdogan has become a very dubious president trying to resurrect the Osman Empire. Plus Turkey is still a NATO member!

According to Google search there was a preexisting structure: "Reports from July 2024 indicate that an existing structure, the Abdullah Azzam Mosque located in the Nuseirat refugee camp (central Gaza, not Gaza City), was targeted in an Israeli air strike."

"Turkey has inaugurated a new mosque in Gaza City named after Abdullah Azzam, the radical cleric widely regarded as the ideological “father of global jihad” and mentor to Osama bin Laden a move drawing sharp condemnation from Israeli officials. ..."

Turkey Opens Gaza Mosque Named for Al-Qaeda Mentor

Small Modular Reactor Nuclear Power: Decarbonizing Commercial Shipping

Good news! From navy to commercial shipping!

"... To overcome this, the consortium behind the NuProShip II project is looking at how to fit Gen IV small modular nuclear reactors to heavy commercial vessels. The project’s demonstrator concept is based on a 120-m (394-ft) Vard 3 offshore subsea construction vessel, designed by Fincantieri subsidiary Vard. ..."

SMR Nuclear Power: Decarbonizing Commercial Shipping "Nuclear power isn't just for naval ships anymore as demonstrated by the Nuclear Propulsion in merchant Shipping (NuProShip II) project led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology which is looking at fitting nuclear reactors to heavy-duty commercial vessels."

NuProShip II – Pioneering the future of sustainable Marine Propulsion with Nuclear reactors "... VARD ... presents results of the research and innovation project NuProShip II. NuProShip II marks a significant milestone in the development of sustainable marine technology, exploring the integration of small 4th generation nuclear reactors into specialized offshore vessels."

Not today, but soon: fully autonomous air combat is coming (in Australia)

Is to be expected!

"... Two collaborative combat aircraft (CCAs, fighter-like drones) made pioneering shots of air-to-air missiles late last year.

There were differences between the level of autonomy that was achieved. And, when CCA’s are operational, there will probably be enduring differences between the level of autonomy that’s allowed.

On 30 November, a Baykar Kizilelma was the first ... The CCA detected, tracked and shot down a jet-powered aerial target. No uncrewed aircraft is known to have previously fired an air-to-air missile.

Notably, the Kizilelma’s own radar guided the weapon, a medium-range Gokdogan somewhat equivalent to the Raytheon AIM-120 Amraam and made by Turkey’s Tubitak Sage.

Baykar is aiming for Kizilelmas to decide on their own what to do, including launching missiles: it says that aircraft of the type will eventually perform patrol and interception missions autonomously. They’ll do this in designated airspace, it says—perhaps meaning free-fire zones, those in which anything in the air is an allowable target.

In a further step towards such missions, Baykar demonstrated two Kizilelma prototypes autonomously flying in close formation on 27 December. The design has since undergone more tests."

Not today, but soon: fully autonomous air combat is coming | The Strategist

Temples in Antiquity Jewish History in the Torah Terumah with Henry Abramson

Recommendable!

Temples in Antiquity Jewish History in the Torah Terumah - YouTube

What is Multimodal RAG? Unlocking LLMs with Vector Databases

Recommendable!

What is Multimodal RAG? Unlocking LLMs with Vector Databases - YouTube

Pilot makes aviation history after landing plane on a moving cargo train container at 120 kmh. Really!

He only briefly touched the train cargo wagon and took off again! Not very impressive!

Pilot makes aviation history after landing plane on a moving train - YouTube

The Story of America: Forgotten Heroes of the American Revolution, black Americans

Very recommendable!

The Story of America: Forgotten Heroes of the American Revolution - YouTube

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Official Video)

Enjoy!

(196) Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Official Video) - YouTube

US Airlifts Nuclear Microreactor in Historic Defense Energy Breakthrough from CA to UT

Good news! A nuclear renaissance is coming!

(195) BREAKING: US Airlifts Nuclear Microreactor in Historic Defense Energy Breakthrough | AC1B - YouTube

US Secretary of State Rubio Says US, Hungary Are Entering 'Golden Era' of Relations

Good news! Special relations between President Trump and Prime Minister Orban.

(194) Rubio Says US, Hungary Are Entering 'Golden Era' of Relations - YouTube

Texas makes MAJOR move in favor of school choice

Good news! Up to a 40,000 children have immediately signed up!

(194) Texas makes MAJOR move in favor of school choice - YouTube

Teen Pregnancy Crisis in Philippines: Government Reports 138,697 Teen Mothers

Bad news!

(194) Teen Pregnancy Crisis in Philippines: Government Reports 138,697 Teen Mothers | WORLD DNA - YouTube

Russia-Ukraine War: Moscow Hits Ukraine Missile Plant, Kyiv Retaliates on Energy Hub

Bad news! However, I bet Western countries will make up for it! Maybe this was not the only production site for critical long range drones.

(193) Russia-Ukraine War: Moscow Hits Ukraine Missile Plant, Kyiv Retaliates on Energy Hub | WION - YouTube

Putin's chilling army of 'Dumb Bond' agents revealed as spies aims to sow chaos and sabotage across UK & Europe (e.g. Poland)

Serious allegations! And not for the first time! There was a similar report about sabotage acts in Poland.

(193) Putin's chilling army of 'Dumb Bond' agents revealed as spies aims to sow chaos across UK & Europe - YouTube

Condom Crisis At Winter Olympics, 10,000 condoms Used In 3 Days, supplies are running out

Legal performance enhancement? Amore near Milano!

There are about 2,800-2,900 athletes at this Olympic Games.

(193) Condom Crisis At Winter Olympics, 10,000 Pieces Used In 3 Days | First Sports With Rupha Ramani - YouTube

Dutch Defence Minister: Can Jaibreak F-35 Software Like An iPhone

Some highly unusual news! If confirmed, then this is quite serious!

(191) Dutch Defence Minister: Can Jaibreak F-35 Software Like An iPhone | WION - YouTube

China Strikes With Zero-Tariff Africa Deal with over 50 African countries starting in May

This is huge! The Scramble for Africa goes on!

(190) Xi Strikes With Zero-Tariff Africa Deal to Counter Trump’s Trade Moves | Firstpost Africa | N18G - YouTube

Burkina Faso Under Siege: Traore Faces Deadly Terror Attacks Across Country

Bad news! Burkina Faso is now ranked like Afghanistan in terms of terrorism!

(189) Burkina Faso Under Siege: Traore Faces Deadly Terror Attacks Across Country | Firstpost Africa |N18G - YouTube

India agrees arms deals with Israel worth $8.6b - report

Good news! Two of the countries with some of the most diverse societies in the world!

"... India has been Israel's biggest defense customer for years, with 34% of total sales between 2020 and 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Figures from the Ministry of Defense International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) show that total arms sales by Israel to India during this period amounted to about $20.5 billion. But now it seems that Israeli arms sales to India are only increasing. ..."

India agrees arms deals with Israel worth $8.6b - report - Globes "The deals include SPICE 1000 precision guidance bombs, Rampage air-to-surface missiles, Air Lora air-launched ballistic missiles, and the Ice Breaker missile system, “Forbes India” reports."

China's emissions policies are helping climate change but also creating a new problem for global warming/climate change

The sun, not anthropogenic CO2 is the dominant factor for warming and cooling on earth! How variable is the sun's output?

Air pollution prevents global warming! 😊

"China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power plants have been fitted with scrubbers, heavy industry has been modernized and pollution standards tightened, leading to an over 50% reduction in atmospheric particulate matter. ...

In the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide forms sulfate aerosols, tiny particles that reflect incoming solar radiation back into space, leading to a cooling influence on the planet.

The combined aerosol radiative forcing is thought to have offset approximately one-third of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. However, as emissions fall, fewer sulfate aerosols form, meaning less sunlight is reflected and more solar radiation reaches Earth's surface, contributing to global warming. ..."

From the abstract:

"Anthropogenic emissions over China have recently declined due to environmental actions. This work estimates the sensitivity of sulfate aerosol (SO4) concentration to the amount of SO2  emissions reduction over China from 2010 to 2020 using an Earth system model with two different aerosol representations. We find that a larger rate of SO2  emissions decline over 2010–2020 from an updated Chinese emission inventory leads to improvement in modeled SO2  and SO4  concentrations when evaluated with targeted airborne observations from the Asian summer monsoon region from the 2022 Asian summer monsoon Chemical and Climate Impact Project. Updated Chinese SO2 emissions reduce SO4  concentration by >20% at 200 hPa over the North Pacific, and by >7% at 100 hPa throughout the tropics. These SO4  reductions result in an increase to global net instantaneous radiative forcing of ca. 0.10–0.15 W m-2  by 2020, with regional effects up to ca. 6 times greater."

China's emissions policies are helping climate change but also creating a new problem

Reduction of Global Sulfate Aerosol Concentration and Corresponding Radiative Effects From Recent Chinese SO2 Emission Reduction (open access)

Hamas used emojis, SIM swaps to evade Israel before and on October 7 terrorist attack

Amazing stuff!

"Hamas’s military wing began sending coded emoji messages on WhatsApp to operatives’ phones just hours before the October 7, 2023, attack, using the symbols as an agreed signal to mobilize terrorists to mosques for last-minute instructions, Israeli media reported on Monday.

Findings from an IDF General Staff investigation, which also drew on intelligence collected during fighting, indicate the high usage of emojis was one of several warning signs overnight that Hamas was preparing a large-scale assault on Israel.

According to military sources, once operatives received the emoji signal, they moved to mosques or designated collection points, where they received briefings and were directed to retrieve equipment from home or from pre-stocked “combat bags” containing military and personal gear. ..."

Hamas used emojis, SIM swaps to evade Israel on October 7 | The Jerusalem Post "Findings from an IDF General Staff investigation, which also drew on intelligence collected during fighting, indicate the emoji traffic was one of several signs that Hamas was preparing an assault."

Reprogrammed Human Stomach Organoids Secrete Insulin

Good news! This is about an older research article.

"... differentiated human embryonic stem cells into gastric organoids. They engineered the organoids such that the structures could be reprogrammed into pancreatic beta-like cells upon flipping a genetic switch using appropriate molecular cues.

The researchers then transplanted these organoids into the abdomen of mice and coaxed the organoids to produce insulin-secreting cells. Within three weeks, they observed insulin-producing cells within the organoids, which expressed key markers of pancreatic beta cells. ..."

"Highlights

• Engrafted human gastric organoids (hGOs) model human stomach in vivo

• NPM factor induction converts hGOs into insulin+ β-like cells in vitro and in vivo

•In situ gastric reprogramming offers potential for autologous diabetes cell therapy

Summary

Insulin-dependent diabetes could be treated by supplying patients with primary pancreatic islets or other types of insulin-secreting cells. Functional insulin-secreting cells can be induced in situ from the murine stomach using defined genetic factors, offering a promising method to directly produce autologous insulin-secreting cells.

Here, we modeled whether such gastric insulin-secreting (GINS) cells could be generated in vivo from human stomach tissues. We produced human gastric organoids (hGOs) from human embryonic stem cells engineered with inducible expression of reprogramming factors. The hGOs were stably transplanted for 6 months and showed robust cytodifferentiation resembling the human stomach in structure and cellular composition.

Upon hGO maturation in vivo, we activated the reprogramming factors and observed the formation of insulin+ cells, which secreted insulin into the circulation and ameliorated experimental diabetes. Our modeling indicates that GINS cells can be induced from human stomach tissues in vivo, warranting further therapeutic development for this technology."

Reprogrammed Human Stomach Organoids Secrete Insulin | The Scientist "Transplanting human gastric organoids engineered to release insulin in diabetic mice reduced hyperglycemia, offering a therapeutic avenue for type 1 diabetes."

Modeling in vivo induction of gastric insulin-secreting cells using transplanted human stomach organoids

Figure 1 Generation of hGOs from hESCs with inducible expression of NPM factors

5,300-year-old 'bow drill' rewrites story of ancient Egyptian tools

Amazing stuff!

"Researchers ... have re-examined a small copper-alloy object excavated a century ago from a cemetery at Badari in Upper Egypt, and concluded it is the earliest identified rotary metal drill from ancient Egypt, dating to the Predynastic period (late 4th millennium BCE), before the first pharaohs ruled.

The artefact (catalogued as 1924.948 A in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge) was found in Grave 3932, the burial of an adult man. When first published in the 1920s, the artefact - which is only 63 millimetres long and weighs about 1.5 grams - was described as “a little awl of copper, with some leather thong wound round it.” That brief note proved easy to overlook, and the object attracted little attention for decades.

However, under magnification, the researchers found that the tool shows distinctive wear consistent with drilling: fine striations, rounded edges, and a slight curvature at the working end, all features that point to rotary motion, not simple puncturing. ..."

From the abstract:

"This study presents a reassessment of the earliest known metal drill from Egypt, the copperalloy artefact 1924.948 A (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, The University of Cambridge) from Badari, datable to Naqada IID. Originally published by Guy Brunton but long neglected due to insufficient documentation, the object has been re-examined through microscopic and compositional analysis.

The drill exhibits clear evidence of rotary motion and retains remnants of a leather thong, identifying it as part of a bow drill mechanism.

Portable X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed a highly unusual CuAsNi material with the addition of silver and lead, suggesting either long-distance exchange networks or underexplored Eastern Desert ore sources.

The article situates the Badari drill within the broader context of Egyptian craft technologies, tracing the development and depiction of bow drills from the Predynastic through the New Kingdom.

The technological continuity observed across nearly two millennia stresses the enduring utility of the bow drill and accentuates its significance in both woodworking and bead production. This re-evaluation not only enriches our understanding of early Egyptian tool use but also raises intriguing questions about early metallurgical knowledge and interregional interactions in the ancient Near East."

5,300-year-old 'bow drill' rewrites story of ancient Egyptian tools

5,300-year-old ‘bow drill’ rewrites story of ancient Egyptian tools (original news release) "A new study reveals that Egyptians were using a mechanically sophisticated drilling tool far earlier than previously suggested."

The Earliest Metal Drill Of Naqada Iid Dating

Original photograph of the artefact published in 1927 by Guy Brunton (left) and the actual artefact