🤖 Computer Science

A deep position-encoding model for predicting olfactory perception from molecular structures and electrostatics

Predicting smells from molecules is complex. Mol-PECO, a new deep learning model, uses the Coulomb matrix to encode molecular structures and electrostatics. It outperforms traditional methods, effectively capturing odor space and enabling clustering and retrieval of similar odorants. This advances the understanding of olfactory mechanisms.

Addressing Imbalance for Class Incremental Learning in Medical Image Classification

Deep convolutional neural networks struggle with class incremental learning (CIL) in medical imaging due to class imbalances and catastrophic forgetting. This study introduces two methods to address these issues: a balanced classification loss and a distribution margin loss. Experiments on benchmark datasets demonstrate that these methods outperform current state-of-the-art techniques.

⚛️ Physics and Chemistry

Scientists replicate enzyme that captures carbon

Scientists from King's College London and Imperial College London have recreated the active site of Acetyl-CoA Synthase (ACS), an enzyme that captures atmospheric carbon. This research offers a potential new solution for CO2 capture and advances understanding of ACS, which transforms CO2 into acetyl coenzyme-A. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

See What Nuclear Fusion Looks Like in This 3D Tokamak Simulation

Nuclear fusion powers stars by fusing light nuclei into a heavier one, releasing immense energy. Achieving net energy gain from fusion could provide a zero-carbon energy source. Methods include lasers and superheated plasma in tokamaks, with the largest tokamak being built in southern France.

🧬 Biology & Medicine

Rare 'stiff person syndrome' treated with reconfigured cancer therapy

Stiff person syndrome (SPS), a rare disorder causing painful muscle spasms, might be treatable with a cancer therapy, according to a recent case report in PNAS. SPS, which gained attention after Céline Dion's diagnosis, leads to severe muscle stiffness and breathing difficulties. Existing treatments only alleviate symptoms.

Mice live longer when inflammation-boosting protein is blocked

Blocking the inflammation-promoting protein IL-11 increased lifespan by 25% in middle-aged mice, boosting metabolism and reducing frailty. This protein and its partners are also present in humans, and drugs targeting IL-11 are in clinical trials, raising hopes they might improve longevity as well.

New drugs show promise in shrinking breast cancer brain metastases

Researchers from Drexel's College of Medicine have found new drugs that successfully shrink breast cancer tumors in the brain by targeting the enzyme ACSS2, which is crucial for tumor growth. These drugs, identified using computer models, can cross the blood-brain barrier and inhibit ACSS2, marking a potential advance in treating brain metastases from breast cancer.

🔭 Space & Astronomy

Virgin Galactic completes new Delta space plane manufacturing facility in Arizona

Virgin Galactic's new Delta-class space planes will start production in 2025 and are expected to begin flights no earlier than 2026. Their previous space plane, VSS Unity, made its final flight on June 8, 2024. Initial Delta-class flights will include astronauts Kellie Gerardi, Shawna Pandya, and Norah Patten.

NASA Space ROS Sim Summer Sprint Challenge

Space ROS, an open-source framework based on ROS 2, is tailored for safety-critical space robotics. NASA plans to enhance it with improved demo environments and additional features.

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