Recommendable!
Monday, March 31, 2025
Who Is Nidhi Tewari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Newly Appointed Private Secretary
Let good looking, young women be around me! Caution: satire!
Auroras Spotted on Neptune for the First Time with Palki Sharma
Very recommendable! Amazing stuff! This video also talks about the other auroras found in our solar system and compares them.
Goodbye Chips & Soda? Inside Mexico’s Junk Food Ban For Schools with Palki Sharma
Government prohibition is usually the dumbest thing to do and it often does not work! Is it not foremost the responsibility of parents to make sure that children eat healthy?
Inside Israel's Historic Shift in Its West Bank Security Strategy
Recommendable! How to get permanently rid of murderous Arab terrorism?
US Defense Secretary Hegseth pushes uniform combat standards for men and women in military
Generally, a good idea. Will e.g. improve more cohesion and combat readiness when women are trained like men. How far will it go?
US is Making a “War-Fighting Base” in Japan to Counter China with Palki Sharma
Very recommendable! Good news!
Trump’s First Foreign Trip: Why Saudi Arabia Again? with Palki Sharma
If President Trump e.g. can add Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords, then he will go down in history as a great peacemaker!
Will the young Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia be bold and help to end the decades old Arab-Israeli conflict for a better future of the Middle East?
Hope and pray!
Ukraine-Krieg: Damit provoziert Putin die Nato | Reportage
Empfehlenswert! Was für ein Beruf! Wem verdanken wir diesen ständigen und enormen Aufwand? Putin dem Schrecklichen!
US Treasury Secretary Bessent Announces Sanctions Against Financiers Of Major Drug Cartel Sinaloa
Good news! President Trump means business!
Marine Le Pen found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running for public office for five years
Good news! Maybe is a great opportunity for her political party National Rally (French: Rassemblement national) to clean up the act and find a better candidate to challenge President Macron.
Many news media reports suggested or claimed this was some kind of lawfare to eliminate a strong opposition candidate comparing it e.g. with Donald Trump's struggles. Or more generally, some claimed that the judiciary and not the voters would decide elections and Le Pen was made a victim. I readily admit, I am not very familiar with the details of this case. However, some politicians are crooks, why not her?
Maybe this nepotism (party leadership handed from father to daughter) had to come to this end! I was skeptical for a long time about this and Marine Le Pen never convinced me!
"Marine Le Pen and eight MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] were found guilty of misappropriation of public funds ..." (Source)
"... Le Pen has also been given a four-year prison sentence - two years will be spent with an electronic tag rather than in custody, while the other two are suspended ..."
Marine Le Pen (age 56)
How President Trump could try to stay in power after his second term ends. Really!
This kind of or similar nonsense has now been reported several times in the media over the past week or so. I also found similar reports in German news media.
This is one way these media are trying very hard to claim that President Trump is a dictator! This is another great example for the Trump Derangement Syndrome this time spread by a college professor.
Yes, President Trump may have made some remarks to this effect, but was he serious?
President Trump will be 82 years old at the end of his second term. Being a US President is a very demanding job (except for the sleepy 46th President).
"Though the 22nd Amendment prohibits Trump from being elected president again, it does not prohibit him from serving as president beyond Jan. 20, 2029. The reason for this is that the 22nd Amendment only prohibits someone from being “elected” more than twice. It says nothing about someone becoming president in some other way than being elected to the office. ...
And while Trump claims he’s only joking when he floats the idea of a third term, he has a long history of using “jokes” as a way of floating trial balloons. ..."
Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court. Really!
This is what you get when a nutty professor defends criminals of a foreign organized crime gang!
Nice try to confuse illegal immigrants and foreign criminals as well as illegal immigrants with citizens!
If e.g. the Venezuelan government is directly or indirectly in cahoots with these criminals (which is very likely), then the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 may apply.
Of course, there are legitimate legal concerns about that some of the deportees are innocent. However, these innocent deportees are still illegal immigrants.
"A federal appeals court on March 26, 2025, upheld a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants [???], including alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. ...
Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said the deportations are necessary as part of “modern-day warfare” against narco-terrorists. ...
the Trump administration’s evidence against the migrants, which relied in part on the immigrants’ tattoos and deleted social media pictures, is “flimsy.” [???]
Those who are challenging Trump’s actions in court say the administration has violated constitutional principles of due process. That’s because it gave the migrants no opportunity to refute the government’s claims that they were gang members. ..."
Prisoners stand in a cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025 (would standing in front of these criminals give you any goosebumps?)
Anthropic: Tracing the thoughts of a large language model
How much do you really want to learn about the secret sauce? 😊😇
Unfortunately, Anthropic did not publish it's two new papers in the usual way for scientific review, but as self published. The first paper is very long like a book chapter or even longer than that (with lots of illustrations).
"... Knowing how models like Claude think would allow us to have a better understanding of their abilities, as well as help us ensure that they’re doing what we intend them to. For example:
- Claude can speak dozens of languages. What language, if any, is it using "in its head"?
- Claude writes text one word at a time. Is it only focusing on predicting the next word or does it ever plan ahead?
- Claude can write out its reasoning step-by-step. Does this explanation represent the actual steps it took to get to an answer, or is it sometimes fabricating a plausible argument for a foregone conclusion?
...
Today, we're sharing two new papers that represent progress on the development of the "microscope", and the application of it to see new "AI biology".
In the first paper, we extend our prior work locating interpretable concepts ("features") inside a model to link those concepts together into computational "circuits", revealing parts of the pathway that transforms the words that go into Claude into the words that come out.
In the second [paper], we look inside Claude 3.5 Haiku, performing deep studies of simple tasks representative of ten crucial model behaviors, including the three described above. Our method sheds light on a part of what happens when Claude responds to these prompts, which is enough to see solid evidence that:
- Claude sometimes thinks in a conceptual space that is shared between languages, suggesting it has a kind of universal “language of thought.” We show this by translating simple sentences into multiple languages and tracing the overlap in how Claude processes them.
- Claude will plan what it will say many words ahead, and write to get to that destination. We show this in the realm of poetry, where it thinks of possible rhyming words in advance and writes the next line to get there. This is powerful evidence that even though models are trained to output one word at a time, they may think on much longer horizons to do so.
- Claude, on occasion, will give a plausible-sounding argument designed to agree with the user rather than to follow logical steps. We show this by asking it for help on a hard math problem while giving it an incorrect hint. We are able to “catch it in the act” as it makes up its fake reasoning, providing a proof of concept that our tools can be useful for flagging concerning mechanisms in models.
... "
Shared features exist across English, French, and Chinese, indicating a degree of conceptual universality.
Hegseth’s younger brother, a social media entrepreneur, is serving in a key role inside the Pentagon
Not sure this is a good idea! Nepotism? Has President Trump approved this?
Pete Hegseth himself does not have exactly the credentials to lead the US Department of Defense. Does his brother have the credentials for this new job?
"... Phil Hegseth’s official title is senior adviser to the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Defense Department ...
... Based on Phil Hegseth’s publicly available resume, his past experience includes founding his own podcast production company, Embassy and Third, and working on social media and podcasts at The Hudson Institute. ..."
Sweden pledges $1.6 billion in new Ukraine aid, including air defense
Good news! Hopefully, other European countries will step up too!
Make the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible regret ever to have invaded Ukraine!
"Sweden announced additional military aid for Ukraine to the tune of 16 billion Swedish kronor ($1.6 billion), in response to a Ukrainian request for capabilities in air defense, artillery, satellite communications and the maritime domain.
The new military aid package, Sweden’s biggest yet, brings support for Ukraine’s defense to 29.5 billion kronor this year, the government said on Monday. The Nordic country said it has provided 80 billion kronor of military aid to Ukraine since 2022. ..."
AI takes step towards cracking biology’s toughest problem – protein sequencing
Good news! Way to go!
"A new AI system, dubbed InstaNovo, could revolutionise protein sequencing just as AlphaFold transformed protein structure prediction, its developers claim.
While DNA sequencing is routine, determining protein sequences remains one of biology’s toughest challenges ... InstaNovo aims to change that by directly reading protein sequences from raw experimental data, unlocking vast areas of previously inaccessible biology. ..."
"... Another use case was conducted on small pieces of protein, called peptides, displayed on the surface of cells. These help the immune system recognize infections and diseases such as cancer. The InstaNovo models identified thousands of new peptides that were not found using traditional methods. In personalized cancer treatments empowering the immune system—immunotherapy for short—these peptides are all potential attack points. ..."
"What Are InstaNovo and InstaNovo+?
InstaNovo is a transformer-based model designed for de novo peptide sequencing. ... it translates fragment ion peaks from mass spectrometry data into peptide sequences with unprecedented precision.
Unlike traditional methods that rely on pre-existing databases, InstaNovo identifies peptides that have never been documented before—expanding the landscape of proteomic discovery.
A key innovation of the InstaNovo models is InstaNovo+, a diffusion-based iterative refinement model that enhances sequence accuracy by mimicking how researchers manually refine peptide predictions. InstaNovo+ begins with an initial sequence—either derived from InstaNovo or generated at random—and improves it, step by step.
When paired with InstaNovo, InstaNovo+ significantly reduces false discovery rates (FDR) and improves sequence accuracy, not just by refining predictions, but by exploring a broader range of potential peptide sequences.
Unlike autoregressive models such as InstaNovo and others, which predict peptide sequences one amino acid at a time, InstaNovo+ processes entire sequences holistically, enabling greater accuracy and higher detection rates. ..."
From the abstract:
"Mass spectrometry-based proteomics focuses on identifying the peptide that generates a tandem mass spectrum. Traditional methods rely on protein databases but are often limited or inapplicable in certain contexts.
De novo peptide sequencing, which assigns peptide sequences to spectra without prior information, is valuable for diverse biological applications; however, owing to a lack of accuracy, it remains challenging to apply.
Here we introduce InstaNovo, a transformer model that translates fragment ion peaks into peptide sequences. We demonstrate that InstaNovo outperforms state-of-the-art methods and showcase its utility in several applications.
We also introduce InstaNovo+, a diffusion model that improves performance through iterative refinement of predicted sequences.
Using these models, we achieve improved therapeutic sequencing coverage, discover novel peptides and detect unreported organisms in diverse datasets, thereby expanding the scope and detection rate of proteomics searches.
Our models unlock opportunities across domains such as direct protein sequencing, immunopeptidomics and exploration of the dark proteome."
New AI models possible game-changers within protein science and healthcare (original news release) "Researchers have developed new AI models that can vastly improve accuracy and discovery within protein science. Potentially, the models will assist the medical sciences in overcoming present challenges within, e.g. personalised medicine, drug discovery, and diagnostics."
Enhancing Peptide Sequencing with AI (a brief summary from the website of InstaNova)
De novo peptide sequencing with InstaNovo: Accurate, database-free peptide identification for large scale proteomics experiments (open access; this bioRxiv paper appears to be the early version of this paper)
InstaNovo enables diffusion-powered de novo peptide sequencing in large-scale proteomics experiments (open access)
Fig. 1: InstaNovo pipeline overview.
Figure 1: illustration of how InstaNovo+ iteratively refines InstaNovo’s output.
Figure 2: illustration of how InstaNovo interprets this mass spectrum, mapping fragment ion peaks to peptide sequences. 
Copper Theft Up 76% In Phoenix, Threatening Disruption Of Essential Services And More
Bad news! That serious!
"A rash of copper theft has exploded over the Phoenix metro area with Lumen Technologies, the parent company of CenturyLink, observing a 76% year-over-year spike. The increase in theft has been connected with both small-time criminals and drug addicts, as well as organized criminal enterprises targeting critical communications infrastructure. ...
described the level of damage occurring as “rivaling natural disasters.” ... warned that “these thefts can disrupt essential services, affecting access to online health and emergency services, and endangering people with medical devices. Manholes containing gas and power lines pose severe risks if tampered with.” ...
“The Phoenix area of Arizona is in the top five of total losses when we rank by state. ...”
The losses ... include copper thefts, fiber cuts, and any equipment losses that Lumen sustains in the Arizona market. ..."
Two new approaches to prostate cancer treatment
Good news! Perhaps more men will be willing to undergo treatment earlier etc.
Approach no. 1: A new type of prostate cancer surgery NeuroSAFE-guided RARP
"A new type of prostate cancer surgery aims to save nerve tissue in the outer layers of the prostate, which increases the chances of men retaining erectile function after the operation. During the procedure — coined NeuroSAFE — samples of the removed prostate are flash frozen and analysed to determine the boundaries of the tumour. If no cancer is found on the surface of the prostate, the outer layers can be left intact. In a phase III trial, fewer men who had a prostatectomy with NeuroSAFE experienced erectile dysfunction a year after the surgery than those who got the standard procedure."
From the abstract:
"Background
Sparing the periprostatic neurovascular bundles during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) improves postoperative erectile function and early urinary continence recovery. The NeuroSAFE technique, a standardised frozen section analysis, enables accurate real-time detection of positive surgical margins during nerve-sparing, increasing the likelihood of successful nerve preservation. However, the impact of the technique on patient outcomes remains uncertain. We aimed to assess the effect of NeuroSAFE-guided RARP versus standard RARP on erectile function and urinary continence.
Methods
NeuroSAFE PROOF was a multicentre, patient-blinded, randomised, controlled phase 3 trial done at five National Health Service hospitals in the UK. ...
The primary outcome was erectile function at 12 months, assessed using the IIEF-5 score, in the modified intention-to-treat population, which included all randomly assigned participants who had surgery.
Secondary endpoints were urinary continence scores at 3 and 6 months, evaluated using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ), and the erectile function domain of the IIEF (IIEF-6) scores at 12 months. ...
Findings
Between Jan 6, 2019, and Dec 6, 2022, 407 patients were recruited, of whom 381 had surgery (190 participants in the NeuroSAFE group and 191 participants in the standard RARP group), and were included in the modified intention-to-treat population. ...
At 12 months, the mean IIEF-5 score was 12·7 (SD 8·0) in the NeuroSAFE group versus 9·7 (7·5) in the standard RARP group (adjusted mean difference 3·18 [95% CI 1·62 to 4·75]; p<0·0001).
At 3 months, the ICIQ score was significantly lower in the NeuroSAFE group than the standard RARP group (adjusted mean difference –1·41 [95% CI –2·42 to –0·41]; p=0·006).
At 6 months, no significant difference in ICIQ score was observed between groups (adjusted mean difference –0·37 [95% CI –1·35 to 0·62]; p=0·46).
At 12 months, the mean IIEF-6 score was higher in the NeuroSAFE group than in the standard RARP group (15·3 [SD 9·7] vs 11·5 [SD 9·0]; adjusted mean difference 3·92 [95% CI 2·01 to 5·83]; p<0·0001). ...
Interpretation
The use of NeuroSAFE to guide nerve-sparing during RARP improves patient-reported IIEF-5 scores at 12 months and short-term urinary continence. The erectile function benefit is enhanced in patients who would not otherwise have undergone bilateral nerve-sparing by standard practice. ..."
Approach no. 2: Image-Guided Prostate Cancer Treatment OPTIMUM
"A less expensive, more accessible, and comfortable alternative exists for those facing a prostate cancer biopsy, according to findings from a new clinical trial ...
Authors say OPTIMUM, the first head-to-head trial comparing micro-ultrasound-guided versus MRI-guided biopsies, signifies a breakthrough in image-guided treatment. ..."
From the key points and abstract:
"Key Points
- Question
Is high-resolution microultrasonography-guided biopsy noninferior to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fusion-guided biopsy in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer? - Findings
In this randomized clinical trial that included 678 participants, microultrasonography-guided biopsy was noninferior to MRI fusion-guided biopsy for detection of Gleason Grade Group 2 or higher prostate cancer (difference, 3.52% [95% CI, −3.95% to 10.92%]; noninferiority P < .001). - Meaning
Microultrasonography-guided biopsy was noninferior to MRI fusion-guided biopsy and may provide an alternative to MRI for image-guided prostate biopsy.
Abstract
...
Conclusions and Relevance
The use of microultrasonography-guided biopsy was noninferior to MRI/conventional ultrasonography fusion-guided biopsy for the detection of Gleason Grade Group 2 or higher prostate cancer in biopsy-naive men. Microultrasonography may provide an alternative to MRI for image-guided prostate biopsy."
The use of microultrasonography-guided biopsy was noninferior to MRI/conventional ultrasonography fusion-guided biopsy for the detection of Gleason Grade Group 2 or higher prostate cancer in biopsy-naive men. Microultrasonography may provide an alternative to MRI for image-guided prostate biopsy."
Figure 1 Trial profile (approach no. 1)
Reprogrammed stem cells iPS treat full paralysis caused by spinal cord injury
Good news, but slow progress! Positive results seem mixed. Only four individuals involved in this trial.
"A paralysed man can stand on his own after receiving an injection of neural stem cells to treat his spinal cord injury. The Japanese man was one of four individuals in a first-of-its-kind trial that used reprogrammed stem cells to treat people who are fully paralysed.
Another man can now move his arms and legs following the treatment, but the two others did not show substantial improvements. The results were announced at a press conference and have not yet been peer reviewed, but they suggest that the treatment is safe, say researchers."
"... Previous trials using other types of stem cell have also demonstrated that the therapy is safe, but have so far shown mixed results. “Nothing’s really worked so far,” ...
In this trial, iPS cells derived from a donor were used to create neural precursor cells. Two million of these were injected into each patient’s injury site, in the hope that they would eventually develop into neurons and glial cells.
The trial’s first surgery was performed in December 2021; the other three were conducted between 2022 and 2023. All four recipients were adult males and two were aged 60 or older. They all had surgery between two and four weeks after the damage was done ...
At the one-year follow-up, the researchers did not observe any serious adverse effects.
All individuals started the trial with the highest injury classification of A, as measured by the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS). People with this level of impairment have no sensory or motor function below the point of injury.
Two of the participants did not show improvements in their ability to feel or move in the lowest section of their spinal cord.
One individual moved up to a classification of C in the period after surgery, and can move some of their arm and leg muscles but cannot stand on their own. Another individual improved to a level D (normal function is classified as E) and can stand independently. ..."
Paralysed man stands again after receiving ‘reprogrammed’ stem cells (limite public access) "Another man also regained some movement, but two others experienced minimal improvement."
US GlobalFoundries weighs merger with No. 2 Taiwan chipmaker UMC
Wow! Looks like TSMC is not the only Taiwanese chipmaker in the news!
"U.S. contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries and United Microelectronics Corp., Taiwan's No. 2 chipmaker, are exploring the possibility of a merger amid American efforts to mitigate risks surrounding the Taiwan Strait and fend off growing competition from China in mature chips ..."
Sunday, March 30, 2025
How Yemen Destroyed Its Own Economy | Economy of Yemen | Econ
Recommendable! What a mess! And this country is sitting on substantial crude oil and natural gas reserves!
Why Catholics are leaving the church in Poland | Focus on Europe
Recommendable! I am sure that the DW is exaggerating the situation to some extent. However, quite possibly the Catholic church in Poland has become to obedient to/dependent on the government and remained too conservative since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Preserving the dead: Meet the Singapore museum curator who collects roadkill for research
What a job! But you never know what you find!
Hamas begins brutal crackdown and executes Gazan protesters
What else to expect from coward mass killers like Hamas!
Deutsche Orbitalrakete überschlägt sich nach dem Start
Deutschland will aufholen! Was fuer eine Schlappe war das bitte!
"Die Rakete „Spectrum“ des deutschen Start-ups „Isar Aerospace“ soll die erste sein, die von europäischem Boden eine Erdumlaufbahn erreicht. Doch der erste Testflug war sehr kurz."
Deutsche Presse: Was Donald Trump an der Komikerin Amber Ruffin hasst. Wirklich!
Fast jeden Tag sehe ich nun schwachsinnige oder infantile Artikel zu Präsident Trump in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung! Hier ist so ein Beispiel
Warum sollte sich Trump vielleicht dumme Witze von dieser Frau gefallen lassen? Manche Komiker sind überhaupt nicht komisch! Hat diese Komikerin nicht sogar beauptet, dass die Trump Administration eine Grupper von Mördern sei? Sie tat es!
Die Komikerin ist auch nicht "jung" wie dieser Journalist behauptet, sie ist 41 Jahre alt.
"Sie verkörpert das Amerika", welche absonderlichen Hirngespinste eines deutschen Journalisten.
P.S. Ich kenne z.B. diese Komikerin nicht.
"Die Komikerin Amber Ruffin ist klug, witzig, redegewandt und – eine junge schwarze Frau. Sie verkörpert das Amerika, das der US-Präsident und seine Leute bekämpfen. Nun darf sie bei der Korrespondentenvereinigung WHCA nicht reden."
Leakers of Confidential Supreme Court Information Targeted in Bill to impose severe criminal penalties
Good news!
It is extremely irresponsible and reckless to leak sensitive information from the US Supreme Court! The perpetrators should be severely punished!
Such leaks are a huge risk to the orderly and effective functioning of the justice system!
"Republicans will reintroduce a bill Thursday to impose criminal penalties on individuals who leak confidential information pertaining to the U.S. Supreme Court. ...
The legislation would require individuals convicted of leaking information from the Supreme Court to pay a $10,000 fine and serve a maximum of 10 years in prison, according to the text of the bill ... The bill also calls for seizing any profits that leakers may earn from disclosing sensitive information.
The Supreme Court has been rocked by several instances of high-profile leaks disclosing the justices’ internal deliberations to the public. ...
Private memos and other court documents that appeared to target Chief Justice John Roberts and related to three major cases involving President Donald Trump were leaked to the New York Times in a report published in September 2024. ...
the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. ..."
Bizarre, reversible brain "shrink" seen in long-distance runners
Bad news if confirmed! Extreme sports can be unhealthy!
Note it takes weeks if not months to recover from the loss of myelin after a marathon rung.
"... researchers warn that going the distance may not be so good for the brain – with the negative effects lingering for a month following a race. ...
Scientists ... have identified a link between marathon running and a sharp reduction in the protective myelin that surrounds nerve fibers – axons – in the brain. This insulating layer is critical for facilitating the transmission of electrical signals in the brain and spinal cord – and a loss of myelin is one biomarker of many neurological conditions, including stroke and multiple sclerosis. ...
In this observational study, the researchers examined MRI brain scans of runners before the race and then again within 48 hours of completing the grueling 26.2-mile (42.195-km) route. They found that in a dozen areas of the brain, in regions associated with motor coordination, senses and emotions, myelin had been noticeably depleted following a race. ...
further scans showed that myelin had naturally increased two weeks after the run, and then had returned to normal levels after two months. ..."
Reversible reduction in brain myelin content after endurance exercise (no public access) "We observed that an MRI surrogate of myelin content, myelin water fraction, is reduced in white matter regions after marathon running but recovers later. These findings suggest that brain myelin content is reversibly reduced after prolonged exercise, consistent with evidence in rodents that myelin lipids provide energy under extreme metabolic conditions."
Ball milling breaks PFAS down into industrially useful fluoride source
There are now a several known methods available to breakdown so called PFAS plastics. I blogged here on 3/19/2025 about another method.
Forever chemicals is an ideological misnomer spread by demagogues!
"... In 2023, researchers ... developed a safer method by ball milling the calcium fluoride with a potassium phosphate salt, producing calcium phosphate and solid potassium salts that could be used to build carbon–fluorine bonds.2
The new work arose from a chance observation when the researchers explored the effect of different jar size for this process. ‘When the jar had a seal that was made from PTFE [polytetrafluoroethylene – commonly known as Teflon] instead of rubber, the fluoride recovery was more than what we introduced as fluorspar,’ ... the researchers worked out that the phosphate acts as a nucleophilic oxyanion, causing cleavage of the carbon–fluorine bond in the PTFE. "
Fig. 1: Synthesis of fluorochemicals from PFASs.
Nearly 100% of bacterial infections can now be identified in under 3 hours
Good news!
"... Scientists at the Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have unveiled their novel diagnostic technique known as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using artificial polymers – peptide nucleic acid (PNA) – that act as probes to bind to different genetic sequences within bacteria. When the two probe molecules bind to the target, fluorescent signals are emitted, which essentially reveal the fingerprint of different pathogens. ...
And FISH can produce these results in less than three hours. Conventional diagnostic tools – blood tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses can take days to weeks. ..."
"... We developed a novel set of peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based FISH probes with optimal target specificity by analyzing the variations in 16S ribosomal RNA sequence across all bacterial species." ...
This innovative FISH method employs two PNA molecules simultaneously. By analyzing the genomic sequences of 20,000 bacterial species, the research team designed PNA sequences that specifically target the ribosomal RNA of particular species. PNA exhibits a higher sensitivity to sequence mismatches compared to conventional DNA-based probes and demonstrates superior penetration through bacterial cell walls. Furthermore, the requirement for both PNA molecules to bind to their target site before generating a signal significantly reduces the likelihood of crosstalk, thereby enhancing accuracy in situations involving multiple overlapping bacterial strains. ..."
From the abstract:
"Fast and accurate identification of pathogenic microbes in patient samples is crucial for the timely treatment of acute infectious diseases such as sepsis.
The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique allows the rapid detection and identification of microbes based on their variation in genomic sequence without time-consuming culturing or sequencing. However, the recent explosion of microbial genomic data has made it challenging to design an appropriate set of probes for microbial mixtures.
We developed a novel set of peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based FISH probes with optimal target specificity by analyzing the variations in 16S ribosomal RNA sequence across all bacterial species. Owing to their superior penetration into bacteria and higher mismatch sensitivity, the PNA probes distinguished seven bacterial species commonly observed in bacteremia with 96–99.9% accuracy using our optimized FISH procedure.
Detection based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between pairs of adjacent binding PNA probes eliminated crosstalk between species. Rapid sequential species identification was implemented, using chemically cleavable fluorophores, without compromising detection accuracy. Owing to their outstanding accuracy and enhanced speed, this set of techniques shows great potential for clinical use."
Fast and accurate multi-bacterial identification using cleavable and FRET-based peptide nucleic acid probes (no public access)
Figure 1. Schematic representation illustrating the key findings of the study.
A safe Tiny nuclear battery could power devices for decades
Good news!
"Researchers at Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology have created a nuclear battery that could turn radiation directly into electricity for decades – but without all the scary stuff associated with nuclear radiation.
Called a dye-sensitized betavoltaic cell, this battery uses beta particles, which are just high-energy electrons. The magic in this battery is the material carbon-14, a radioactive isotope that emits beta particles. These particles strike a titanium dioxide semiconductor coated with a ruthenium-based dye, which knocks electrons loose in the dye, generating an electrical current. ...
The first radioisotope battery was developed in 1954 by the Atomic Energy Commission in the US. It used strontium-90 as the radioactive source and converted energy from beta particles into electricity, similar to today's betavoltaic cells.
Shortly thereafter, in the 1960s, Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG) were being used in space missions, converting energy from alpha-emitting isotopes like plutonium-238 – which is more potent but still relatively safe when properly shielded. The very first space mission being a US Navy satellite called Transit 4A – part of the world's first satellite navigation system and precursor to modern GPS.
More recently, Betavolt announced its 3-volt diamond nuclear battery that uses nickel-63 and a diamond semiconductor using the same beta particle principle that can power a device for 50 years.
Arkenlight is another company that's been developing carbon-14 diamonds to produce atomic battery power for several years. ..."
SEC announces it will stop defending controversial climate disclosure rule
Good news! Bravo President Trump!
"The Security and Exchange Commission announced Thursday it will stop defending its controversial climate-disclosure rule against legal challenges, and it would not proceed with oral arguments.
“The goal of today’s Commission action and notification to the court is to cease the Commission’s involvement in the defense of the costly and unnecessarily intrusive climate change disclosure rules,” acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda said in a statement. ..."
Acting SEC Chairman Mark T. Uyeda
DeepSeek Is Already Everywhere in China
I can confirm this! My wife currently works in Henan province. She has already applied Deepseek in her daily work and surprised me with how well it works using English language.
Deepseek was first described in research papers around January 2024 (e.g. DeepSeek-Coder: When the Large Language Model Meets Programming -- The Rise of Code Intelligence)
“Since DeepSeek’s launch, a swathe of Chinese companies — from automakers to appliance firms — have joined the frenzy to incorporate the homegrown artificial intelligence model into their products and services…
More than 20 Chinese automobile brands have announced plans to embed DeepSeek models, according to local news reports…
China’s top five smartphone sellers have all adopted DeepSeek in their system updates…
China’s biggest home appliances company, Midea, has launched a series of DeepSeek-enhanced air conditioners…
Nearly 100 hospitals around China have announced they will adopt DeepSeek in their operations… "
Repurposing Old drugs with AI
This kind of repurposing has been a very exciting approach for decades!
This survey article below does not even seem to care for machine learning and AI very much although ML & AI are going to revolutionize drug repurposing in a major way unlike what was done before.
In a recent article, the New York Times also described how ML & AI are aiding drug repurposing (see below).
"Developing a new drug for a disease is a lengthy and expensive process, so researchers are increasingly turning to existing drugs — some of which have never been approved — to see if they can treat diseases other than the ones they were designed for. The speed at which drugs can be repurposed made this a popular strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, when drugs such as the corticosteroid dexamethasone and the rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib were used to treat severe cases of the disease. Now, a review has compiled a list of hundreds of databases and prediction models, including machine-learning algorithms, that can support drug-repurposing studies. But researchers will still need to collect clinical data, such as side effects, when the drugs are used in new ways."
From the abstract:
"Repurposing of existing drugs for new indications has attracted substantial attention owing to its potential to accelerate drug development and reduce costs. Hundreds of computational resources such as databases and predictive platforms have been developed that can be applied for drug repurposing, making it challenging to select the right resource for a specific drug repurposing project. With the aim of helping to address this challenge, here we overview computational approaches to drug repurposing based on a comprehensive survey of available in silico resources using a purpose-built drug repurposing ontology that classifies the resources into hierarchical categories and provides application-specific information.
We also present an expert evaluation of selected resources and three drug repurposing case studies implemented within the Horizon Europe REMEDi4ALL project to demonstrate the practical use of the resources. This comprehensive Review with expert evaluations and case studies provides guidelines and recommendations on the best use of various in silico resources for drug repurposing and establishes a basis for a sustainable and extendable drug repurposing web catalogue."
"In labs around the world, scientists are using A.I. to search among existing medicines for treatments that work for rare diseases. Drug repurposing, as it’s called, is not new, but the use of machine learning is speeding up the process — and could expand the treatment possibilities for people with rare diseases and few options.
Thanks to versions of the technology developed ... at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, drugs are being quickly repurposed for conditions including rare and aggressive cancers, fatal inflammatory disorders and complex neurological conditions. And often, they’re working."
Computational drug repurposing: approaches, evaluation of in silico resources and case studies (no public access, but article above contains link to PDF)
Doctors Told Him He Was Going to Die. Then A.I. Saved His Life. "Scientists are using machine learning to find new treatments among thousands of old medicines." (Credits: Human Progress weekly newsletter)
Chart of the day
Good news! But what is glaringly missing from the chart? Western countries!
Does the UNICEF suggest child marriage does not exist or occur in Western countries? Wrong!
Hamas publishes hostage video of Gaza captive Elkana Bohbot
What a cry baby! Or is this hostage suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome or something else other than asthma?
What is Saudi Arabia doing about Houthi missiles flying from Yemen over its country targeting Israel?
I Googled for it. The only related news in the search results mentions that some of the missiles crash into or disintegrate over Saudi Arabia.
Are the Saudis really not doing anything significant about it or are not willing or not capable?
I presume, the Saudis at least provide valuable intelligence about the Houthis to Israel and the US.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Schmilzt das Eis auf Grönland tatsächlich immer schneller? Klimawissen
Empfehlenswert! Sind vielleicht deswegen der US Vizepräsident JD Vance und seine Ehefrau Usha nach Grönland gereist? Um nachzusehen, wie schnell das Eis wirklich schmilzt? Vorsicht Satire!
‘Two-tier system’: British law to treat white men ‘harsher’
What!!! Incredible!
"... guidelines from the UK Sentencing Council have created a “two-tier system” where white men are treated “harsher”."
Why German Pumpernickel is a bread like no other
Recommendable! If there is one food item I miss in the US it is the wonderful, great variety of different breads made in Germany. It is unique and only available in a few countries of the world.
More large-scale federal job cuts on the way
Good news! Bravo President Trump! Shrink Big Government! More federalism again!
Moment ‘Putin’s car fleet’ is blown up in huge blast as paranoid troops search for bombs
Good news! Unfortunately, the attempt, if it was one, failed.
Metallurgy’s surprisingly ancient origins dating to about 8800 BCE
Amazing stuff! Maybe the Stone Age was not so stony at all. Give our ancestors some credit! They were experimenting and getting ready for the next stage. 😊
"Guinness World Records recognizes as the world’s oldest written customer complaint a 3700-year-old clay tablet accusing the Mesopotamian trader Ea-nāṣir of peddling crappy copper. No complaints about the copper from the Anatolian archaeological site known as Gre Filla, though. Here, a team of scientists reports evidence of what may be some of the earliest experiments with smelting copper.
In a sedimentary layer dating to around 8800 B.C.E., archaeologists unearthed an amorphous, glasslike lump of soil with a greenish yellow sheen and a ruddy bottom. Weighing about half a kilogram, it looked like it had melted on one side. In the same layer, they found a copper bar. When the researchers analyzed the artifacts’ chemical composition, they found evidence that the copper-flecked soil had been heated at high temperatures, then rapidly cooled—a sign of smelting. The copper bar had a porous structure that suggested it may have been formed from smelted metal.
While the scientists can’t say for sure if the people here were smelting copper—they haven’t found smoking-gun evidence like slag or a furnace—other experts say it’s a definite possibility. And it would suggest the hunter-gatherers who lived in the region were experimenting with metallurgy long before they adopted agriculture and built cities—and long before Ea-nāṣir received his historic one-star review."
"... In Europe, the oldest definitive evidence of smelting comes from Serbia around 5000 B.C.E. ..."
From the highlights and abstract:
"Highlights
• Gre Fılla appears to have been a location where key metallurgical principles—such as controlled heating, casting, and potential ore processing—were actively explored.
• Vitrified material (GRE-VRF) shows signs of high-temperature exposure, as evidenced by high-temperature mineral phases, FTIR/XRD transformations, and microstructural features indicating rapid cooling.
• Chromite grains and copper droplets in GRE-VRF support its relation to copper processing.
• Chromite inclusions and porosity in the bar-shaped copper object (GRE-C-002) strengthen the link to copper production at Gre Fılla.
• Lead isotope analysis of the GRE-C-002 reveals long-distance connections, with Trabzon as the source.
Abstract
The “Neolithic transformation” is characterized by major changes in human history, including advancements in cognitive skills, technological knowledge, social organization, and the establishment of permanent settlements with elaborate architecture.
Around 12,000 years ago, Anatolia became a key region as hunter-gatherer communities transitioned to a settled lifestyle. Its rich natural resources, including lithic raw materials and metal ores, played a crucial role in supporting early human settlement and technological advancements.
The origins of metallurgy have generally been classified following a sequence of technological development influenced by social and cultural organization.
The artifacts related to copper production at Gre Fılla were examined using a multi-analytical approach, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), inductively coupled mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), and handheld X-ray fluorescence (pXRF).
The results support the hypothesis that prehistoric experimentation likely played a role in leading to different pathways of development in each region. Our findings suggest a multifaceted picture of the early Neolithic period in Eurasia, including the spread of innovation packages, local traditions, and adaptations."
This lump of melted soil may push back the origin of metallurgy by thousands of years (no public access)
Early copper production by the last hunter-gatherers (no public access)
The Gre Filla site in Anatolia in Turkey Gre Fılla excavation archive 2018–2023
This misshapen lump of molten soil may represent the earliest evidence yet of copper smelting. Gre Fılla excavation archive 2018–2023
Does a tattoo increase your cancer risk? Medical research/profession is still ignorant?
I believe, this subject has been reported and discussed for at least the past 50 years. Here is some of the latest research based on a twin study. It seems large size tattoos are more dangerous.
Since it has become a big business and so many people now carry tattoos in the 21st century, the medical profession is still unable to give better answers! This is a huge skandal!
According to Google AI enhanced search: "There are roughly 20,000-26,000 tattoo parlors (or body art studios) in the United States, with the market size estimated at around $1.5 billion." & "Approximately 32% of American adults report having at least one tattoo, with 22% having more than one."
My best guess is that tattoos do not seem to be very risky when it comes to cancer. E.g. would we have not already noticed an increase of cancer cases among individuals working in tattoo parlors that can be traced to their work? Tattoos have been around for about 5,000 years.
Maybe more research into this issue seems to be necessary and recommendable.
Disclaimer: I do not intend to claim or insinuate that tattoos cause cancer or increase cancer risk or to diminish or downplay any potential or real risk.
"Assessing the cancer risk of modern tattoo ink has proven a challenge [???] — it can contain many different chemicals and production isn’t standardized worldwide. Recent studies have hinted that tattoos might be linked to lymphoma and skin cancers, with the risk increasing with tattoo size. That could be down to that tattoo stimulating a chronic immune response, says Signe Clemmensen, a public-health researcher and the co-author of one of the studies. But we’ll need much larger studies to get clearer answers."
From the abstract:
"Background
We aim to study the potential association between tattoo ink exposure and development of certain types of cancers in the recently established Danish Twin Tattoo Cohort. Tattoo ink is known to transfer from skin to blood and accumulate in regional lymph nodes. We are concerned that tattoo ink induces inflammation at the deposit site, leading to chronic inflammation and increasing risk of abnormal cell proliferation, especially skin cancer and lymphoma.
Methods
We conducted two designs of twin studies to improve confounder control: A cohort study of 2,367 randomly selected twins and a case-control study of 316 twins born in the period 1960–1996. Cancer diagnoses (ICD-10) were retrieved from the Danish Cancer Registry and tattoo ink exposure from the Danish Twin Tattoo survey from 2021. The analysis addressed effects of time-varying exposure.
Results
In the case-control study, individual-level analysis resulted in a hazard of skin cancer (of any type except basal cell carcinoma) that was 1.62 times higher among tattooed individuals (95% CI: 1.08–2.41). Twin-matched analysis of 14 twin pairs discordant for tattoo ink exposure and skin cancer showed HR = 1.33 (95% CI: 0.46–3.84).
For skin cancer and lymphoma, increased hazards were found for tattoos larger than the palm of a hand: HR = 2.37 (95% CI: 1.11–5.06) and HR = 2.73 (95% CI: 1.33–5.60), respectively. In the cohort study design, individual-level analysis resulted in a hazard ratio of 3.91 (95% CI: 1.42–10.8) for skin cancer and 2.83 (95% CI: 1.30–6.16) for basal cell carcinoma.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our study suggests an increased hazard of lymphoma and skin cancers among tattooed individuals, demonstrated through two designs: a twin cohort and a case-cotwin study. We are concerned that tattoo ink interacting with surrounding cells may have severe consequences. Studies that pinpoint the etiological pathway of tattoo ink induced carcinogenesis are recommended to benefit public health."
Tattoos are being linked to some cancers. Are they really a risk? "Having a tattoo has been linked to a higher risk of conditions like lymphoma and skin cancer, but the situation isn't clear-cut"
Tattoo ink exposure is associated with lymphoma and skin cancers – a Danish study of twins (open access)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)