Sci. Immunol. 11, eaec1627 (2026). DOI:10.1126/sciimmunol.aec1627
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Rethinking brain-like artificial intelligence: New study reveals hidden mismatches
A new study by York University researchers has found a potential striking flaw in artificial intelligence (AI) models. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), a type of AI model built to solve vision tasks for computers, have surprisingly emerged as the current best understanding of how our own brain’s visual system works, in the last decade. But does current AI really work like a primate brain?
“Artificial intelligence systems are often described as ‘brain-like’ because they can predict activity in parts of the brain that help us recognize objects,” says York University Assistant Professor Kohitij Kar, senior author of a new study. “Until now, scientists mostly tested this in one direction. They asked whether AI models can predict brain activity.”
In this study, the researchers flipped the question—if AI truly mirrors the brain, shouldn’t brain activity also be able to predict what’s happening inside the AI model?—and developed a reverse predictivity test to find the answer. The findings are published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.
Study reveals why some cancer therapies don’t work for all patients
Drugs that block enzymes called tyrosine kinases are among the most effective targeted therapies for cancer. However, they typically work for only 40 to 80 percent of the patients who would be expected to respond to them.
In a new study, MIT researchers have figured out why those drugs don’t work in all cases: Many of these tumors have turned on a backup survival pathway that helps them keep growing when the targeted pathway is knocked out.
“This seems to be hardwired into the cells and seems to be providing activation of a critical survival pathway in cancer cells,” says Forest White, the Ned C. and Janet C. Rice Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT. “This pathway allows the cells to be resistant to a wide variety of therapies, including chemotherapies.”
Cell ratio control using synthetic circuits
PrimeC demonstrated comparable safety to placebo and showed slowed functional decline, reduced ALS-related complications, and modulation of iron-regulatory and microRNA biomarkers in adults with ALS over 18 months of treatment.
Question Is PrimeC safe and well tolerated in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and does it demonstrate clinical and biomarker activity?
Findings In this randomized clinical trial, PrimeC demonstrated a safety profile comparable to placebo over 18 months. Continuous treatment was associated with slower functional decline, reduced risk of ALS-related complications, and increased probability of overall survival, alongside significant modulation of iron-regulatory and microRNA biomarkers.
Meaning These findings reinforce the safety and treatment effect in conjunction with biologic activity of PrimeC treatment and support confirmatory evaluation in phase 3 trial as a potential disease-modifying therapy for ALS.
Significant Genes Associated with Mortality and Disease Progression in Grade II and III Glioma
Background: The Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a critical role in the tumorigenesis and maintenance of glioma stem cells. This study aimed to evaluate significant genes associated with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway involved in mortality and disease progression in patients with grade II and III glioma, using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Methods: We obtained clinicopathological information and mRNA expression data from 515 patients with grade II and III gliomas from the TCGA database. We performed a multivariate Cox regression analysis to identify genes independently associated with glioma prognosis. Results: The analysis of 34 genes involved in Wnt/β-catenin signaling demonstrated that four genes (CER1, FRAT1, FSTL1, and RPSA) related to the Wnt/β-catenin pathway were significantly associated with mortality and disease progression in patients with grade II and III glioma.
Deus Ex: Invisible War’s audio director says ‘there was room for improvement,’ but remains proud of the team’s work
After serving as a composer on the original Deus Ex, and contributing some voices, Alexander Brandon was made audio director on its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War. The second game in the series has long been divisive, and was Brandon’s first time as an audio director. As he told PC Gamer’s Wes Fenlon in a recent interview, “There was room for improvement, I will just put it that way.”
Brandon remains pleased with a lot of the team’s work, however. “As far as the content goes, I think we did really, really well,” he said. “I’m proud of the main theme. My now ex-wife did the vocals on it, and did an amazing job on that. And I was given a little more freedom to express thematic, melodic stuff, even though it was muted in comparison to the original main theme. It wasn’t this ’90s cyberpunk Johnny Mnemonic cheese fest that everybody reveled in at that time.”
Periodic Therapeutic Phlebotomy Mitigates Systemic Aging Phenotypes by Promoting Bone Marrow Function
Leeches, anyone? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1259991996251634&set…680&type=3
Aging is the primary risk factor for numerous chronic diseases, making the identification of safe and effective anti-aging strategies a critical focus in biomedical research. Heterochronic parabiosis by blood exchange shows that the exchange interaction between young and old plasma can exert anti-aging effects through exchange of bloodborne factors. However, the limited plasma source greatly affects clinical translation. Here, we demonstrate that periodic therapeutic phlebotomy in D-galactose-induced aging models exerts significant and comprehensive anti-aging effects, which is reflected by a notable improvement in aging-associated behavioral deficits and neurogenesis, a significant decrease in the level of circulating senescence-associated secretory phenotypes, and an obvious mitigation of aging-associated structural degradation and molecular alterations within the muscle, bone, liver, kidney, and nervous systems. Mechanistically, periodic therapeutic phlebotomy induces bone marrow microenvironment restoration through functional rescue of mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial cells, thereby reestablishing balanced hematopoietic homeostasis. This hematopoietic revitalization subsequently drives systemic improvements in peripheral blood composition and function. In conclusion, our work provides preliminary evidence suggesting that periodic therapeutic phlebotomy exerts anti-aging effects by restoring bone marrow function and mitigating aging phenotypes, subsequently driving peripheral blood functional restoration. Given its technical simplicity and safety profile, this periodic therapeutic phlebotomy strategy will hold potential to pave the way for clinical translation.
Current Knowledge on the Use of Neuromonitoring in Thyroid Surgery
Thyroid surgery rates have tripled over the past three decades, making it one of the most frequently performed procedures within general surgery. Thyroid surgery is associated with the possibility of serious postoperative complications which have a significant impact on the patient’s quality of life. Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy and external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) palsy are, next to hypoparathyroidism and postoperative bleeding, some of the most common complications. The introduction of neuromonitoring into thyroid surgery, which enabled both the confirmation of anatomical integrity and the assessment of laryngeal nerve function, was a milestone that began a new era in thyroid surgery.