As claims about conscious AI grow louder, a Cambridge philosopher argues that we lack the evidence to know whether machines can truly be conscious, let alone morally significant. A philosopher at the University of Cambridge says we currently have too little reliable evidence about what consciousness is to judge whether artificial intelligence has crossed that threshold. Because [...]

Using AI, researchers identified one tiny molecular interaction that viruses need to infect cells. Disrupting it stopped the virus before infection could begin. Washington State University scientists have uncovered a method to interfere with a key viral protein, stopping viruses from getting inside cells where they can cause disease. The discovery points toward a possible new [...]

A deadly, drug-resistant hospital fungus may finally have a weakness—and scientists think they’ve found it. Researchers have identified a genetic process that could open the door to new treatments for a dangerous fungal infection that has repeatedly forced hospital intensive care units to close. The discovery offers fresh hope against a pathogen that has [...]

Bird flu viruses present a significant risk to humans because they can continue replicating at temperatures higher than a typical fever. Fever is one of the body’s main tools for slowing or stopping viral infections, yet research led by the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow shows that avian flu strains can keep multiplying even [...]

Society has a lot to thank for nanoscience. From improved health monitoring to reducing the size of electronics, scientists’ ability to delve deeper and better understand chemistry at the nanoscale has opened up numerous untold benefits. Today, various nanotechnologies are continuing to shift from the lab to the market, creating what is set to [...]

Researchers discovered that in a rare kidney cancer, RNA builds droplet-like hubs that act as growth control centers inside tumor cells. By engineering a molecular switch to dissolve these hubs, they were able to halt cancer growth completely. In a city, coworking hubs bring people and ideas together. Inside cancer cells, something surprisingly similar takes shape, [...]

Scientists have developed platelet-inspired nanoparticles that deliver anti-inflammatory drugs directly to brain-computer interface implants, doubling their effectiveness. Scientists have found a way to improve the performance of brain-computer interface (BCI) electrodes by delivering anti-inflammatory drugs directly to the site of implantation. The study, led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in collaboration with Haima Therapeutics, has the potential [...]

For decades, researchers have been looking for ways to destroy cancer cells in a targeted manner without further weakening the body. But for many patients whose immune system is severely impaired by chemotherapy or radiation, such therapies often remain ineffective. Now Japanese scientists are providing a possible way out: a combination of two bacteria that [...]

SARS‑CoV‑2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to mutate, with some newer strains becoming less responsive to current antiviral treatments like Paxlovid. Now, University of California San Diego scientists and an international team of researchers have identified several promising molecules that could lead to new medications capable of combating these resistant variants. Instead of [...]

According to a new study, lower doses of approved immunotherapy for malignant melanoma can give better results against tumors, while reducing side effects. This is reported by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "The results are highly interesting in oncology, as we show that a lower dose of an immunotherapy drug, [...]