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Tchajwanská společnost Jmem Tek v dubnu otevře pobočku v Praze, přičemž se zaměří na vývoj bezpečných čipů pro drony a obranu • . • Nové brněnské centrum ACDRC propojuje české vědce s tchajwanskými firmami a pomáhá s komerčním využitím pokročilého výzkumu. • Spolupráce láká další investory jako ...

The popular HTTP client known as Axios has suffered a supply chain attack after two newly published versions of the npm package introduced a malicious dependency that delivers a trojan capable of targeting Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. Versions 1.14.1 and 0.30.4 of Axios have been found to inject "plain-crypto-js" version 4.2.1 as a fake dependency. According to StepSecurity, the two

The popular HTTP client known as Axios has suffered a supply chain attack after two newly published versions of the npm package introduced a malicious dependency that delivers a trojan capable of targeting Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. Versions 1.14.1 and 0.30.4 of Axios have been found to inject "plain-crypto-js" version 4.2.1 as a fake dependency. According to StepSecurity, the two Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

V návaznosti na ohlášení procesoru Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 připomenul šéf PC divize AMD letošní desetileté výročí platformy AM4 a ohlásil, že s AM5 má společnost podobné plány…

Rspamd (Wikipedie), tj. open source systému pro filtrování nevyžádané pošty, byl vydán v nové major verzi 4.0.0. Přehled novinek v Changelogu.

The genetically engineered cells can be rewired to tackle a range of bacteria in the battle against antibiotic resistance.

A mixture of bacteria lounge in a dish. Like the bugs populating our guts, most are benign or beneficial. But a deadly strain hides among them. These bacteria can easily escape last-line antibiotics, rapidly spread, and cause mayhem.

But in this case, a single dose of genetically engineered cells hunts them down and wipes out nearly the entire population in a day, while leaving all the other harmless cells alone.

This strategy, called minicell therapy, fights fire with fire: Researchers engineer hunter cells by stripping bacteria of the ability to replicate and then genetically loading them up with proteins to home in on dangerous foes. The cells grab their targets and inject toxins into them, releasing a hurricane of chemicals that causes the bacteria’s insides to collapse.

Developed by a team at the University of Oxford, the approach is completely different than current defenses against bacteria, making it harder for dangerous bugs to develop resistance. It’s also fairly simple to reprogram the engineered cells to target different bacterial strains.

The work shows how synthetic biology can bring wholly new weapons to the fight against deadly bacteria resistant to antibiotics, the authors wrote.

Brewing Crisis

Antimicrobial resistance is a critical global challenge projected to cause over 10 million deaths each year by 2050. Superbugs that dodge current treatments could spark the next pandemic, but our arsenal against them is dwindling.

Antibiotics work in different ways. Some puncture a bacteria’s protective wall, causing it to rupture. Others shut down protein production, damage DNA, or block metabolism to prevent growth.

Fighting bacteria is an evolutionary cat-and-mouse game. With time, bacterial genes mutate, and cells that escape one or many antibiotics grow, reproduce, and become dominant. Resistant bacteria can also share their genes with other cells to spread newly evolved defense systems.

Tweaking the chemical structure of an antibiotic buys some time. But what’s really needed are drugs that work in different ways. Unfortunately, the last new class of antibiotics now used in clinics dates back to the 1980s, followed by a decades-long lull. A novel class discovered in 2024 and the rise of AI-designed antibiotics have reinvigorated the field. But testing the candidates takes time, and they may not be able to catch up with the rapid spread of resistant bugs.

Other solutions are in the works. Phage therapy destroys bacteria with viruses and is already in clinical trials with initially positive results. Antibodies that neutralize bacterial toxins have also succeeded in early patient tests.

“However, these approaches face limitations such as stability issues, potential toxicity, and high manufacturing cost,” wrote the team.

A Smart Living Drug

Instead, they turned to an unusual creation called minicells to develop a completely new type of antibiotic. These cells, known more specifically as SimCells (short for “simple cells”), are made by stripping E. coli bacteria of their ability to replicate. Deleting an additional gene turns them into mini-SimCells that are roughly five times smaller.

Although some strains of E. coli can cause serious infections in the wild, the bacteria are reliable workhorses in research, synthetic biology, and biomanufacturing. They’re hardy, easy to grow, and plenty of tools already exist to genetically rewire their biology.

E. coli are also part of a growing effort to turn bacterial foes into living medicines to tackle conditions from metabolic disorders to cancer. Typically, benign probiotic strains are genetically modified to produce protein “bloodhounds” that help them seek out their cellular prey. Even familiar pathogens, like Salmonella, have been similarly repurposed. Once attenuated, they no longer cause disease and can be engineered to attack and inhibit cancer growth.

Though selected for safety, there’s a lingering risk of bacteria growing uncontrollably inside the body, triggering immune attacks, or escaping into the environment, wrote the team.

SimCells and their miniaturized cousin provide yet another layer of safety. Both are stripped of their native DNA so they can’t reproduce. But they retain all the other cellular machinery needed to survive and can make proteins from designer DNA. These cells are the perfect canvas for synthetic biology and have shown promise as shuttles for cancer drugs. One formulation even received “Fast-Track” status from the FDA to speed up development.  

But they needed some biological rewiring to go after drug-resistant bacteria. The plan was to engineer SimCells and mini-SimCells that worked like “‘smart bioparticles’ to selectively eradicate pathogens, while sparing non-target bacteria,” the team wrote.

They first screened a library of nanobodies—tiny protein hooks that selectively latch onto a type of bacteria—and inserted genetic instructions for their chosen hooks into both types of designer cells. They then added another genetic payload encoding an enzyme that, with a small dose of aspirin, converted the drug into a chemical that produces hydrogen peroxide. After confirming the added genes, they introduced the cells into a dish full of bacteria.

The new cells were vicious. Their nanobodies guided them toward their prey and, when physically close, deployed their weapons. Nano-needles punctured the bacteria’s outer shell, releasing high doses of antimicrobial compounds—naturally made inside E. Coli as a defense system—into their foes. The cells also pumped out hydrogen peroxide for several days, forming a toxic environment that ruptured the bacteria and prevented stragglers from dividing.

This one-two punch slowed bacterial growth within six hours. After a day, 97 percent of the target bacteria were gone. Another day drove elimination to 99.9 percent.

“This antimicrobial strategy provides both immediate and sustained antimicrobial effects” that could prevent infections from coming back, wrote the team. In another test, the researchers engineered a range of SimCells and mini-SimCells dotted with different nanobodies that also reliably fought off multiple types of common drug-resistant bacteria.

But bacterial strains don’t exist in isolation. A kaleidoscope of beneficial bacteria support the gut, skin, and brain. These become collateral damage with classic antibiotic treatment. The new therapy was far more specific. Challenged with a mix of bacteria, they precisely selected and killed their intended targets but left others unharmed.

The therapy is still early. How the designer cells work inside the human body, especially alongside immune cells, remains to be tested. But thanks to a promising safety profile in a cancer clinical trial, the team is optimistic their infection-fighting versions are safe.

Though there weren’t any signs of resistance over the years-long study, the bacteria might eventually develop it. Researchers will have to track the cells over more time.

The post Forget Antibiotics: These Killer Cells Wipe Out Deadly Superbugs in a Day appeared first on SingularityHub.

Přehled únorových vydání Jaderných novin: stav vydání jádra, citáty týdne a seznam článků týkajících se jádra.

Všechny podstatné informace o daňovém přiznání k dani z příjmů za rok 2025 na jednom místě. Pokud se stále můžete přiznávat papírově nebo chcete získat přeplatek na dani co nejdříve, už vám moc času nezbývá.

Sezónní zaměstnanci v zemědělství mají od 1. dubna možnost odpracovat na dohodu o provedení práce více hodin a zároveň získají slevu na pojistném. Jaké jsou podmínky?

GNOME 50 odstraňuje podporu pro X.org v roli zobrazovacího serveru. Vylepšuje vzdálenou plochu, zapíná variabilní obnovovací frekvenci a neceločíselné škálování. Zlepšil se také výkon na grafických kartách Nvidia.

Dnes si popíšeme způsob práce se sprity (pohyblivými objekty na obrazovce). Tento typ grafiky se u Atari nazývá PMG neboli Player-Missile Graphics. O zobrazení PMG se stará čip GTIA, jenž ideově vychází ze staršího čipu TIA.

Kvantové kejkle se obvykle dělají s nehmotnými fotony. Tým Australian National University to udělal s atomy metastabilního helia-4. Vytvořil z nich Bose-Einsteinovy kondenzáty, v nichž vznikaly kvantově provázané páry těchto atomů s opačným momentem hybnosti. Výzkum otevírá dveře kvantovým experimentům s atomy.

…aneb Pár vět o dějinách výtvarné rekonstrukce pravěku

Chatboty dnes používá skoro každý a hodně lidí jim věří. Problém je v tom, že chatboti stále dělají až překvapivě velké množství závažných chyb. Vypadá to tak, že svěřujeme myšlení a důvěru někomu, kdo je dost problematický. Jako bychom kognitivně kapitulovali. Nejspíš nás čekají velmi zajímavé časy.

CEO ARM promluvil o chystaném procesoru AGI, který má přinést vysokou energetickou efektivitu a mimo jiné i díky tomu připravit další výrobce procesorů o část podílu na serverovém trhu…

Healthcare IT firm CareCloud has disclosed a data breach incident that exposed sensitive data and caused a network disruption lasting approximately eight hours. [...]

SolveSpace (Wikipedie), tj. multiplatformní open source parametrický 2D/3D CAD, byl vydán v nové verzi 3.2. Přehled novinek v Changelogu na GitHubu. Vyzkoušet lze novou oficiální webovou verzi.

Google has launched new tools for its AI assistant Gemini that make it easier to switch from other chatbots, TechCrunch reports.

The feature allows users to transfer both “memories” and entire chat logs from platforms such as ChatGPT or Claude.

This way, Gemini can quickly learn the user’s preferences, relationships, and background, and even let the user continue previous conversations.

Memories are transferred by having Gemini guide the user to generate relevant information in the old chatbot, which is then copied into Gemini. Chat logs, on the other hand, can be exported as ZIP files and uploaded directly.

Related reading:

• How to use Gemini AI to write (and rewrite) in Google Docs and Gmail
• Google Workspace: 7 great ways to use the Gemini AI sidebar
• 6 ways Gemini supercharges Google Sheets
• 5 ways Gemini can help you make Google Slides presentations
• A beginner’s guide to Google Gemini Gems

A newly identified malicious implant named RoadK1ll is enabling threat actors to quietly move from a compromised host to other systems on the network. [...]

Check Point says outbound controls blocked web traffic but overlooked DNS

OpenAI talks up data security for its AI services, yet Check Point says that ChatGPT allowed data to leak through a DNS side channel before the flaw was fixed.…