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New MIT Computer Model Helps Identify Mutations That Drive Cancer

Lead Image: An MIT-led team has built a new system that rapidly scans the genome of cancer cells and could help researchers find targets for new drugs. Credit: Dylan Burnette and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, National Institutes of Health, edited by MIT News The system rapidly scans the genome of cancer cells and could help scientists find targets for new drugs Cancer cells can have thousands of DNA mutations. However, only a small number of those actually drive the progression of cancer; the rest are just along for the ride. Researchers could identify better drug targets if they are able to distinguish…

“Bold Theory” That T. rex Was 3 Species Rebutted – “Tyrannosaurus rex Remains the One True King of the Dinosaurs”

As part of the Museum’s temporary exhibition T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, which was on view from 2019-2021, visitors encountered a massive life-sized model of T. rex with patches of feathers—the most scientifically accurate representation of T. rex to date. Credit: D. Finnin/ ©AMNH Paleontologists find insufficient evidence that the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex should be reclassified. A bold assertion made earlier this year that fossils identified as belonging to the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex really represent three distinct species is debunked by new research. The rebuttal finds that the earlier proposal lacks sufficient evidence to split up the iconic species. The…

Changing What Time You Exercise Can Help You Lose More Weight

Lead Image: For the first time, a randomized controlled experiment demonstrates how the time of day influences the efficacy of physical exercise. Depending on the exercise and training goals, as well as differences between men and women, morning or evening exercise may be more beneficial. The new multimodal weekly exercise routine described here, however, nevertheless enhances health and performance for both sexes regardless of the time of day. For the first time, scientists demonstrate that the best time of day to exercise varies on one’s sex and training goals. When should I fit in my regular workout routine? The majority…

Physicists Create Mind-Bending New Phase of Matter That Acts Like It Has Two Time Dimensions

Lead Image: Physicists have created a remarkable, never-before-seen phase of matter in a quantum computer. Physicists demonstrated a way of storing quantum information that is less prone to errors by subjecting a quantum computer’s qubits to quasi-rhythmic laser pulses based on the Fibonacci sequence. Physicists have created a remarkable, never-before-seen phase of matter by shining a laser pulse sequence inspired by the Fibonacci sequence at atoms inside a quantum computer. Despite there still being only one singular flow of time, the phase has the benefits of two time dimensions, the physicists reported on July 20 in the journal Nature. This…

Extraterrestrial Life: Ancient Microbes May Help Us Find Alien Life Forms

Lead Image: Artist’s rendering of the process by which microbes captured sunlight for energy with rhodopsin proteins. Credit: Sohail Wasif/UCR Light-capturing proteins illuminate Earth of billions of years ago. Scientists have reconstructed what life was like for some of Earth’s earliest organisms by using light-capturing proteins in living microbes. These endeavors could help us recognize signs of alien life on other planets, whose atmospheres may more closely resemble our early, pre-oxygen planet. The earliest living things on Earth, which included bacteria and single-celled organisms called archaea, inhabited a primarily oceanic planet without an ozone layer to protect them from the…