Agregátor RSS

A woman battling the conditions went from “two handfuls of pills” and blood transfusions daily to medication-free.

The 47-year-old woman was at the end of her rope.

In 2014, she was diagnosed with a rare form of anemia. Her body’s B cells, which normally produce antibodies to fight infections, had gone rogue, endlessly attacking oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Two other autoimmune disorders soon followed, one crippling her body’s ability to stop bleeding, the other increasing the risk of blood clots.

She had tried nine treatments. None helped. Her life was centered on blood transfusions, up to three daily, to keep the symptoms at bay. But constant fatigue made every day a struggle. The threat of deadly bleeding or blood clots loomed over her life.

Out of options, her care team tested an experimental treatment called CAR T cell therapy. They made a “living drug” out of the patient’s own T cells, editing the cells’ DNA so they would seek and destroy a specific biological enemy. Though CAR T is best known as a treatment for blood cancer, it’s also shown early promise in autoimmune disease. Trying to take on three conditions at the same time raised the bar, but it worked.

A single infusion of engineered cells rapidly killed off the misbehaving B cells. The woman was able to end blood transfusions within a week, and her red blood cell count was near normal in roughly a month. Her strength returned, and at the 11-month follow up, she was free of medication and able to enjoy life again.

“It was an entirely uncontrolled disease. And now she’s off any therapy. That tells you that, at least for now, we did something very right,” study author Fabian Müller at University Hospital Erlangen in Germany told Nature.

Runaway Train

The body’s B cells are powerful defenders. They watch for infections or cancer, generate antibodies to take out threats, and rally other immune cells to join the fight.

But sometimes B cells break down. Genetic mutations can lead to blood cancer. Some B cells struggle to produce antibodies, rendering them powerless to counter infection. And in autoimmune disorders, the cells mistakenly attack and damage healthy tissue—a kind of immune friendly fire—that can damage organs if left untreated.

In the woman’s case, malfunctioning B cells relentlessly attacked red blood cells, stripping them of their ability to carry oxygen. They also destroyed platelets—tiny, disc-shaped fragments in the blood that stem bleeding. The cells also attacked a protein that helps prevent clot formation.

This triple whammy ”can kill you very rapidly,” said CAR T pioneer Carl June at the University of Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the study.

Steroids to dampen the immune system didn’t work. Neither did antibodies that inhibit B cells or other classic autoimmune drugs. After attempting nine treatments and exhausting their options, the team offered CAR T cell therapy as a last resort.

CAR T drugs are usually made from a patient’s own T cells, genetically boosted to hunt down, grab onto, and destroy targets. Researchers originally developed CAR T for blood cancer, but efforts are underway to expand its use against solid cancers. In other studies, scientists have made these cancer-fighting soldiers directly inside the body to slash cost and time. Because CAR T cells can divide and replenish their numbers, a single dose could last over a decade.

The treatment is largely plug-and-play. The surfaces of all cells are dotted with protein beacons. Tumors have a unique protein signature. B cells have one too—a protein called CD19. Scientists have already had early success treating autoimmune diseases by designing CAR T cells that selectively hunt and destroy B cells.

A small CAR T trial in 2014 restored movement in patients with systemic sclerosis, a condition that causes tissue rigidity. Earlier this year, Müller helmed a clinical trial testing Zorpo-cel, T cells engineered to seek out CD19 in a variety of autoimmune conditions with promising results. Six months after treatment, all patients had ended their use of steroids and other treatments.

“For the very first time in severe autoimmune diseases, you actually have a treatment-free period,” Müller told Medscape at the time. “That is really a new perspective that has never been achieved before.”

One for All

Simultaneously tackling three autoimmune diseases was uncharted territory. Too many CAR T cells could trigger a deadly runaway immune reaction, which could risk even the brain.

The team turned to Zorpo-cel. They isolated the woman’s T cells and gene edited them to produce protein “hooks” targeting CD19 in the lab. The patient then underwent standard chemotherapy to wipe out most of her immune system. This step is obviously very tough on the body, but it’s needed to remove immune cells that would shut down CAR T.

A week after infusion, the woman’s red blood cells had rebounded, ending the need for blood transfusions. A month later, most of her disease-related blood work had improved, and she “experienced a rapid and remarkable increase in physical strength and has been able to carry out normal everyday activity,” wrote the team.

Now, a year on, she no longer needs the “two handfuls of pills” she took to manage the conditions. Her liver struggled at several points during the trial, but she avoided major immune reactions and other severe side effects. It’s not clear if the liver trouble was due to CAR T or lingering damage from earlier treatments.

Battling three autoimmune disorders with CAR T is unprecedented. But there are limitations. It’s a single-case study, and researchers will need to keep an eye on the patient’s health over time. Also, CAR T cells can dwindle and allow target cells to return. At the end of the study, the team found signs of newly formed B cells. However, they were “naïve,” in that they hadn’t learned to target normal tissues yet—and they may never learn.

Hundreds of CAR T clinical trials targeting autoimmune diseases are in the works. Multiple commercial companies have joined the race. “I think, within a year or two, there’s going to be approvals in the US,” said June.

The post One Shot Just Crushed Three Deadly Autoimmune Diseases appeared first on SingularityHub.

Microsoft has released the Windows 10 KB5082200 extended security update to fix the April 2026 Patch Tuesday vulnerabilities, including 2 zero-days. [...]

Education company McGraw-Hill has confirmed in a statement to BleepingComputer that hackers exploited a Salesforce misconfiguration and accessed its internal data. [...]

Každý měsíc vybíráme nejlepší chytré hodinky v několika kategoriích • Dělíme je podle zaměření, ale i podle propojení s mobilními systémy • Nezapomněli jsme ani na fitness náramky

Microsoft has released Windows 11 KB5083769 and KB5082052 cumulative updates for versions 25H2/24H2 and 23H2 to fix security vulnerabilities, bugs, and add new features. [...]

Today is Microsoft's April 2026 Patch Tuesday with security updates for 167 flaws, including 2 zero-day vulnerabilities. [...]

Nové procesory od Intelu výrazně zamíchaly kartami, mají hodně výkonu pro práci za nižší ceny oproti AMD. Doporučujeme je nyní do pracovních sestav včetně počítače pro střih videa, který s přechodem na Intel celý upravujeme. Nechcete moc číst? Tady jsme celou sestavu naskládali do nákupního košíku ...

A malicious Ledger Live app for macOS available from Apple's App Store has drained approximately $9.5 million in cryptocurrency from 50 victims in just a few days this month. [...]

Nejnovější X.Org X server 21.1.22 a Xwayland 24.1.10 řeší 5 bezpečnostních chyb: CVE-2026-33999, CVE-2026-34000, CVE-2026-34001, CVE-2026-34002 a CVE-2026-34003.

Microsoft is testing new features for Microsoft 365 Copilot inspired by the open-source platform Openclaw, according to The Information. The goal is to make the AI assistant more autonomous so it can perform tasks automatically on behalf of the user.

The technology behind Openclaw gained popularity earlier this year; it allows users to build AI agents that work more independently on the computer. At the same time, experts have warned of major security concerns about the highly advanced tool.

Microsoft’s solution could, for example, monitor emails in Outlook and a user’s calendar and then suggest daily tasks and priorities. The company is also reportedly exploring AI agents for various professional roles, such as marketing, sales, and finance, where each agent would have limited permissions to reduce security risks.

Microsoft is expected to showcase parts of its work during its Build developer conference in June.

Po roce vývoje od vydání verze 1.28.0 byla vydána nová stabilní verze 1.30.0 webového serveru a reverzní proxy nginx (Wikipedie). Nová verze přináší řadu novinek. Podrobný přehled v souboru CHANGES-1.30.

Two high-severity security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Composer, a package manager for PHP, that, if successfully exploited, could result in arbitrary command execution. The vulnerabilities have been described as command injection flaws affecting the Perforce VCS (version control software) driver. Details of the two flaws are below - CVE-2026-40176 (CVSSRavie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

Microsoft has rolled out a fast-track process to help developers regain access to accounts recently suspended from its Windows Hardware Program, following widespread complaints that they were locked out without warning. [...]

Microsoft has decided to drastically raise the prices of its Surface series computers, according to Windows Central. As a result, the flagship models of the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro now cost $1,499 — $500 more than they did at launch in 2024.

The main reason for the price hikes is tied to the global shortage of RAM, which has made it more expensive to manufacture computers.

It’s noteworthy that Microsoft chose to raise prices on its older models when there are strong indications new models will be released within a few months. The move makes Microsoft’s computers now more expensive than Apple’s equivalents.

Důležité inovace Androidu vznikly v komunitních ROM od nezávislých vývojářů • Google postupně převzal myšlenky pro úpravu vzhledu a navigaci gesty • Díky uzamčeným zavaděčům už volná éra komunitních systémů skončila

Apple’s all-new Apple Business platform is expected to launch as a free service in the US and 200 other countries starting today. It’s the go-to platform for small business seeking better management tools for their Apple tech and a great accompaniment to the millions migrating to the Mac with MacBook Neo.

What is Apple Business

Apple Business combines three previous business-related Apple services: Apple Business Connect, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Essentials. 

What you get:

• Managed Apple accounts that separate private and company data with an identity service provider.
• The ability to configure employee and/or employee group hardware.
• Mobile Device Management tools to manage Mac, iPhone, and iPad settings and security.
• Tools to manage and deploy apps and settings using Blueprints and the App Store.
• Zero-touch deployment of new hardware.
• Brand management tools — include your business logo across Maps, Wallet, Mail and other Apple services.
• API-level automation access for larger businesses.

This is particularly useful to small business customers who can now manage their devices, including app deployment, and — for a fee — agree to an AppleCare+ for Business package to protect their tech. Prices start at $6.99 per month, per user for up to three devices. 

But there’s another string to this bow, based around location and business identity.

Apple’s new local advertising business

Apple Business also sees the company begin to muscle in on the market for paid local discovery advertising, with tools to make it very easy for small business users to place such ads via their Apple Business account. 

The way this works is that an enterprise verified by Apple Business can bid for ad placements that will subsequently appear in search results or within suggested locations. The offer goes a little further: you can also create professional communications and online location ads using domain names, built in email, calendar and other services. 

These ads are supported by other aspects of Apple Business. For example, a company can select images, special offers, contact details, and more and make this information available via its placeholder in Maps. It can then deploy highly targeted local ad dollars to attract potential customers to the listing.

These new services matter, given that Apple has over 1 billion active devices and the ads can be booked via Maps, Siri, and Spotlight. Apple is currently testing ads in Maps in the second beta of iOS 26.5.

While it’s arguable that the last thing anyone really wants is ads in Maps, particularly as these will inevitably populate part of the user experience for future visionOS devices, you can’t argue that ads in Maps won’t be a good business for Apple given the number of customers it has. 

Polaris Market Research tells us the global location-based advertising market was worth around $110 billion in 2023 and is forecast to hit $387 billion by 2032. Apple’s 1 billion active users mean the company has a good opportunity to grab some of that market on the basis of its commitment to privacy, which not every location-based ad service provides. Apple says ad information is not linked to an Apple Account, and promises no data is collected by the company or shared with third parties.

So, at no consequential cost to the privacy of their own customers or potential customers, many small businesses worldwide will be able to reach people using ads in Maps (unless they happen to be in South Lebanon). The bad news? There is no way to opt-out of these ads, at least not yet.

What you must do now

While existing users will be automatically migrated to the new platform, if you already use Apple Business Manager, you will be asked to agree to new terms and conditions when you first login to your account once the service goes live. If you’re an existing user, it’s important to do this as soon as you can to help ensure you don’t experience any issues with automated device enrollment. 

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, and Mastodon.

Raspberry Pi OS, oficiální operační systém pro Raspberry Pi, byl vydán v nové verzi 2026-04-13. Přehled novinek poznámkách k vydání. Nově ve výchozím nastavení příkaz sudo vyžaduje heslo.

Značka Soundcore (patří pod známý Anker) zkouší něco, co v kategorii projektorů není úplně běžné. Model Nebula X1 Pro totiž není jen projektor, ale kompletní „kino v krabici“, které spojuje obraz, prostorový zvuk i chytrý systém do jednoho zařízení. A ambice nejsou malé, neb výrobce mluví ...

Google has announced the integration of a Rust-based Domain Name System (DNS) parser into the modem firmware as part of its ongoing efforts to beef up the security of Pixel devices and push memory-safe code at a more foundational level. "The new Rust-based DNS parser significantly reduces our security risk by mitigating an entire class of vulnerabilities in a risky area, while also laying Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]