Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: biotech/medical

New insights on GBM resistance markers.

A research team, with the participation of the University of Granada (UGR), has made some progress in determining the causes for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the most aggressive brain tumors known, to be resistant to the drugs currently used, which is one of the main limitations of its treatment. The results have been recently published in two articles in PlosOne magazine.

The researchers have proven that proteoglycans (the cells’ structural elements), called decorin (DCN) and lumican (LUM), could be decisive in the behavior and development of a resistance to the drugs used for treating glioblastoma multiforme, such as temozolamide (TMZ). In the other hand, they have laid bare that the inhibition of the transcription of some of the sub-units belonging to the mismatch-repair (MMR) complex, a system that analyzes and repairs DNA, could be responsible of the failure of current therapies against this kind of tumor.

This is a scientific breakthrough that could be useful for the search of new resistance markers in GBM as well as for the development of new therapeutic strategies which avoid the resistance to drugs that these tumors possess.

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Absolutely; it will and that is the real danger in technology. This is why security roles will be increasingly in demand over the next 7 to 10 years.

Kaspersky director Marco Preuss looks at the future of biometric technology and bio-cybersecurity.

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Neural networks have become enormously successful – but we often don’t know how or why they work. Now, computer scientists are starting to peer inside their artificial minds.

A PENNY for ’em? Knowing what someone is thinking is crucial for understanding their behaviour. It’s the same with artificial intelligences. A new technique for taking snapshots of neural networks as they crunch through a problem will help us fathom how they work, leading to AIs that work better – and are more trustworthy.

In the last few years, deep-learning algorithms built on neural networks – multiple layers of interconnected artificial neurons – have driven breakthroughs in many areas of artificial intelligence, including natural language processing, image recognition, medical diagnoses and beating a professional human player at the game Go.

The trouble is that we don’t always know how they do it. A deep-learning system is a black box, says Nir Ben Zrihem at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. “If it works, great. If it doesn’t, you’re screwed.”

Neural networks are more than the sum of their parts. They are built from many very simple components – the artificial neurons. “You can’t point to a specific area in the network and say all of the intelligence resides there,” says Zrihem. But the complexity of the connections means that it can be impossible to retrace the steps a deep-learning algorithm took to reach a given result. In such cases, the machine acts as an oracle and its results are taken on trust.

To address this, Zrihem and his colleagues created images of deep learning in action. The technique, they say, is like an fMRI for computers, capturing an algorithm’s activity as it works through a problem. The images allow the researchers to track different stages of the neural network’s progress, including dead ends.

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The MMTP needs your support!

Have you ever considered your destiny may depend upon, you personally? And beyond that, have you considered the destiny of many others may depend upon your actions? People who have changed the world, didn’t have any doubts that the future depended on their actions. Scientists, businessmen and famous public figures didn’t wait until someone did something important for the world. They took responsibility for what was happening around and acted, despite all the difficulties. Are you ready to become such a person? Maybe you too have always wanted to make a significant difference, but didn’t know where to begin? So spend a moment to read the information below.

Today there is a unique project being prepared by a group of scientists, activists and other like minded people from many countries. A project which will give us the opportunity to rescue millions of people from future suffering. The project brings the fight against aging to a global level. Each day people suffer and die from the many diseases associated with aging. Researchers worldwide are engaged in a valiant effort to save countless lives in the near future.

We are currently preparing the first stage of the MMTP project — to test combinations of geroprotectors on mice. The results of this research will be available to the entire scientific community. It’s a big step in this work against the most serious enemy of mankind — aging and its related diseases. And now our project urgently needs the help of motivated individuals. We’re looking for volunteers who are ready to put in the time and effort, to make a future without aging a reality that much sooner.

We are therefore looking for people with experience in different fields. Our project is greatly in need of the following activists:

Copywriters. Are you able to state your thoughts on set subject well? Are you interested in discoveries in the field of regenerative medicine? Do you have a little time and a lot of desire to participate in something really important? If so we really need you!

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Autism has diverse genetic causes, most of which are still unknown. About 1 percent of people with autism are missing a gene called Shank3, which is critical for brain development. Without this gene, individuals develop typical autism symptoms including repetitive behavior and avoidance of social interactions.

In a study of mice, MIT researchers have now shown that they can reverse some of those behavioral symptoms by turning the gene back on later in life, allowing the brain to properly rewire itself.

“This suggests that even in the adult brain we have profound plasticity to some degree,” says Guoping Feng, an MIT professor of brain and cognitive sciences. “There is more and more evidence showing that some of the defects are indeed reversible, giving hope that we can develop treatment for autistic patients in the future.”

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Meet the Internet Troll & Con Slayer — Taryn Wright. No trolls or con can stay hidden long with Taryn and her team on the case.

The long read: After Taryn Wright exposed an elaborate fake tragedy on Facebook, she found herself leading a squad of online detectives – but on the internet, it doesn’t take long for a crowd to become a mob.

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WOW! Aging. AI — deep-learned predictor of age trained on blood tests.

IMAGE: Insilico Medicine launched aging. AI, a system allowing users to guess their age and gender by entering the results of their blood test. view more

Credit: InSilico Medicine, Inc.

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After 10 years of development, the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine has finally unveiled a 3D printer that can craft simple tissues, such as cartilage, into complex shapes suitable for implantation.

The printer uses cartridges filled with biodegradable plastic and human cells bound in gel form, and it can grow muscle, cartilage, and even bone. When implanted into animals, these crafted tissues have been shown to survive and even thrive for an indefinite amount of time.

“This is the first [bioprinter] that can print tissue at the large scales relevant for human implantation,” lead scientist behind the project, Anthony Atala, says in the release. “Basically, once we’ve printed a structure, we can keep it alive for several weeks before we implant it. Now the next step is to test these [printed tissues] for safety so we can implant them in the future in patients.”

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Criminal’s favorite new tool for extortion.

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center was the target of a ransomware extortion plot in which hackers seized control of the hospital’s computer systems and then demanded that directors pay in bitcoin to regain access, according to law enforcement sources.

Ransomware attacks on business data systems are becoming an increasingly common form of cyber crime. The assault on Hollywood Presbyterian computers occurred Feb. 5, when hackers prevented hospital staff from accessing patient information, according to law enforcement sources, who were not authorized to discuss the details of the investigation. The hackers then demanded an unspecified sum of computer currency.

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