1. Results from phase two clinical trials at UT Southwestern Medical Center showed that a suspension of gold nanocrystals taken daily by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) significantly reversed deficits of metabolites linked to energy activity in the brain and resulted in functional improvements. The findings, published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology, could eventually help bring this treatment to patients with these and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to the authors. “We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to prevent or even reverse some neurological disabilities with this strategy,” said Peter Sguigna, M.D., who leads the active MS trial. (Sources: utsouthwestern.edu, jnanobiotechnology.biomedcentral.com, utswmed.org)
2. Scientists have invented a potential drug candidate that successfully combats antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” in non-human tests, according to research. The new antibiotic, known as cresomycin, is effective in mice against several bacteria that cause serious infections and are increasingly resistant to existing treatments, said a paper published in Science on Thursday. “What is most important is that it kills antibiotic-resistant strains in animals,” said Yury Polikanov, co-author of the research and an associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago. “It’s more potent [than its predecessors] — and more potent against deadly bacteria.” Cresomycin’s synthesis is part of urgent research efforts to defeat anti-microbial resistance (AMR), which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites evolve the ability to resist treatments. (Source: ft.com)
3. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind;
This is an exciting time for AI. New advances in the field have the potential to make AI more helpful for billions of people over the coming years. Since introducing Gemini 1.0, we’ve been testing, refining and enhancing its capabilities.
Today, we’re announcing our next-generation model: Gemini 1.5.
Gemini 1.5 delivers dramatically enhanced performance. It represents a step change in our approach, building upon research and engineering innovations across nearly every part of our foundation model development and infrastructure. This includes making Gemini 1.5 more efficient to train and serve, with a new Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture. (Source: blog.google)
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