optimism

why this time there are reasons for optimism

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Until now, the scientific narrative about Alzheimer’s It has been, for the most part, one of resistance. Current treatments, and those on the way, focus primarily on slow the progression of the disease or try prevent it before the damage is massive. Cure right now seemed impossible, but a recent study has given a small hope of cure, although with a long-term view. They have reversed the disease. The news is fantastic. Science has managed to completely reverse Alzheimer’s and recover brain function in animal models. Something that has earned the Case Western Reserve University team a publication in the prestigious journal Cell Reportssince it opens a path of hope that is as revolutionary as it is cautious. A change of focus. In a simple way, Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a neuronal alteration that literally causes accumulate protein plaques that are not destroyed. We can say that They accumulate garbage inside and that is why its function begins to be altered. That is why science I was focused on cleaning these “plaques” from the brain or slow down the appearance of more. They have now changed this to focus on repairing the energy metabolism of neurons. The key in this case is a molecule called NAD+essential for any cell in the body generate power and initiate repair mechanisms. The results. In the case of Alzheimer’s, this energy molecule is in a minimum concentration, which leaves the cells without the ability to defend themselves. In this way, scientists have used an experimental drug called P7C3-A20 to be able to solve this problem with very positive results. The first thing that was seen was that the tau protein, one of the major germs of Alzheimer’s, began to activate less. Something that generated a minor damage to neurons. But in addition to this, the mice began to recover the memory they had lost with Alzheimer’s, including the ability to learn new things. Standardization. Along with cognitive recovery and damage reversal, the mice began to normalize the biomarker in your blood p-tau217, which is used today as a way to diagnose the disease in humans. In this way, Alzheimer’s was practically cured thanks to this treatment. From mouse to human. Although it seems like spectacular news, the reality is that there are several nuances, since “cure mice“It is not “curing humans.” Many promising drugs have died along the way after great results in rodents, since we are not at all the same and there are many changes between species. However, this study adds an extra layer of optimism: the researchers identified 46 specific proteins that are altered in Alzheimer’s mice and that return to normal with the drug. Proteins that are also altered in an identical way in a diseased human brain. This suggests that the mechanism found could be extrapolated because it is something we share between species. A long road. This is where we must apply precision surgery to our hopes. And although the study speaks of a “complete reversal”, there are several factors that force us to keep our feet on the ground. The first of them is that the study is in a preclinical phaseso it has not yet been tested in humans. Something that can take years or decades to occur, and always with the risk that the failure rate in neurology is always very high. Something that is logical, since the human brain is infinitely more complex than that of a laboratory mouse. This may mean that what in an animal is a full recovery, in humans, could be only a partial improvement or have side effects that have not been seen in animals. A change of era? Despite the caution, the importance of this finding is undeniable. It challenges the idea that Alzheimer’s is a one-way street to degradation. If it is confirmed that the brain has the ability to recover once its metabolic balance is restored, the approach to 21st century medicine will radically change. In this way, we are facing a hopeful study, although we must be patient to see if it really has great results when it enters the complexity of our organism. Images | Robina Weermeijer In Xataka | The relationship between sleep and Alzheimer’s, in a “simple” action: our brain also has to clean

There is already a first crack in Chinese technological optimism: DeepSeek

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Chen Deli, senior researcher at DeepSeek, has admitted at a state conference who is “extremely positive about technology, but pessimistic about its impact on society.” It is the first time that a representative of the Chinese company has spoken publicly since February, when its founder met with Xi Jinping after provoking that world earthquake with the launch of R1. And he has done it with that pessimistic outlook. Why is it important. This message comes from a company that the Chinese government has turned into a symbol of technological capacity and resilience in the face of US sanctions. That one of its leaders recognizes great risks for employment is a notable turn in a country where the official discourse is usually triumphalist. The facts. Chen participated in the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen along with the heads of five other companies known in China as “the six little dragons” of AI. His diagnosis has a gloomy tone: in one or two years, AI will be good enough to start replacing human jobs. In a decade or two it could take care of the rest. “Society could face an enormous challenge,” has said. “Tech companies need to take on the role of advocate.” Between the lines. This is not an American CEO peddling apocalypse smoke to inflate his valuation. In China, the State regulates technology with a firm hand. When Sam Altman says that AI will “probably lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime there will be big companies,” it sounds like marketing. When a DeepSeek executive says it at a conference organized by the government, after many months of silence and after its founder met with Xi, it sounds like a party line. The context. DeepSeek exploded in January with DeepSeek-R1a low-cost, open-source language model that was on par with American leaders. Since then, absolute exit. The founder, Liang Wenfeng, has appeared only once in all this time: at a televised symposium with Xi Jinping in February. Neither Liang nor the company has made public comments since then, and they have skipped all major Chinese tech conferences. Yes, but. While sending this message of caution, DeepSeek is in the process of consolidating itself as a cornerstone of the Chinese AI ecosystem. Chip manufacturers such as Cambricon and Huawei have developed hardware compatible with their models. In September, the company launched an “experimental” version of its V3 modelnotable not so much for its efficiency as for creating an alternative to NVIDIA’s CUDA API and its support for Chinese GPUs. In August, the simple announcement of a model optimized for national chips shares of the sector skyrocketed in the local market. And now what. Xi Jinping has proposed a little over a week ago on the APEC forum that there should be a global body that governs AI, making it “a public good for the international community.” Now a DeepSeek representative talks about AI as a potential threat that requires a unified approach from the technology sector. The narrative is shifting from triumphalism to preventive regulation. Featured image | Xataka, DeepSeek In Xataka | We believed that no open model could outperform GPT-5. A Chinese startup proves us wrong

The problems of nuclear fusion are falling behind each other. Optimism cornering denialism

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The challenges raised by the nuclear fusion intimidate. And it is to replicate on our planet and small scale the same reactions that take place in The interior of the stars It is a titanic challenge. Even so, The human being has already traveled A very important part of this path. There is a belief that defends that in the field of nuclear fusion we have barely advanced since World War II, but, as we will see in this article, it is not so. There is much to do, but we have advanced a lot. In order for electric power plants equipped with fusion reactors to be viable, it is necessary to solve problems that are still dealing with engineers. And it is that the challenges posed by nuclear fusion right now reside in the field of engineering, and not in that of basic science. In fact, Spain will actively participate In the search for the solution to one of these problems thanks to IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion materials irradicion facility demo-eraned neutron source), The installation that is under construction (Granada). Its purpose in broad strokes will be to develop a source capable of producing high energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary to test candidate materials to be used in future fusion energy plants. This is one of the pending challenges, but many others have already been left behind thanks to the great work that scientists have carried out in experimental reactors, such as the already “retiree” JET (Joint European Torus), which is housed in Oxford (England). Let’s trust the reactor JT-60SA of Naka (Japan), and, above all, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor), are up to expectations. Eurofusion and the University of Texas have made two new relevant contributions We can imagine in an intuitive way a nuclear fusion reactor as a pressure cooker in which two essential ingredients are cooked: deuterium and trity. To ensure that the nuclei of these two hydrogen isotopes merge and release the neutron that will ultimately allow us to obtain a large amount of energy it is necessary to confine them in an extremely hot plasma. In fact, so that this process takes place, a temperature of at least 150 million degrees Celsius must reach. Scientists know how to do it, so submitting the deuterium and tritium nuclei at the pressure and temperature to get me to merge is no longer a problem. What still represents a challenge is to achieve Keep turbulence under control. Otherwise, the plasma will be destabilized, its density in the critical regions will be affected and the support of the fusion reaction over time will not be possible. The mechanisms that govern this process are very complex, but little by little physicists and engineers who work in fusion energy are getting them better. The QCE (‘Quasi-Continuous exhaust’) regime is characterized by eliminating periodic instabilities that occur on the edge of plasma In broad strokes what they intend is to minimize turbulence so that the loss of plasma energy is minimal. Two of the tools that these technicians have are the artificial intelligence (AI), which is playing a very important role in understanding the mechanisms that govern plasma behavior, and Rebco superconductor magnets. In fact, The sparc fusion reactor that is building the American company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) uses them. Precisely Eurofusionthe European organization that is responsible for promoting and supporting the scientific research necessary to bring to fruition The European Nuclear Fusion Planhas recently made an important contribution in this field. And it has shown that in the reactors Tokamaklike Jet or Iter, it is possible to use an operation mode known as Qce (Quasi-counts exhaust) that is characterized by eliminating periodic instabilities that occur at the edge of plasma, and, at the same time, it supports high density in this region of gas and preserves a very high level of energy. Gradually the confinement and stabilization of plasma are no longer a problem. The other recent contribution in which I propose that we investigate it briefly has been carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Texas and the National Laboratory of Los Alamos, both in the US. In the article they have published in Physical Review Letters These scientists propose the creation of a magnetic confinement system without leaks ten times faster, according to their calculations, than the standard method without sacrificing a precision apex. This innovation is important because it helps to resolve the containment of high energy particles within the reactor, and, therefore, to avoid the loss of temperature and density in the critical regions of plasma. Yes, as I mentioned a few lines above, much remains to be done in the field of nuclear fusion, but definitely every day we are one step closer to commercial fusion energy. Image | Fusion for Energy More information | Eurofusion | Texas University In Xataka | Iter has faced one of the great challenges of nuclear fusion: prevent plasma from 150 million ºC to destroy the reactor

the first plasma produced by the SMART reactor invites us to optimism

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We have news of the experimental reactor of nuclear fusion from the University of Seville. Very good news. The SMART Tokamak plan aims to develop a type reactor tokamak extraordinarily compact. In fact, the acronym SMART comes from the English name ‘SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak’. Building a compact fusion energy reactor is not easy. In fact, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), the experimental fusion reactor that an international consortium led by Europe is building in the French town of Cadarache, is gigantic for several good reasons. The most relevant is that a large vacuum chamber together with high intensity magnetic fields allow the plasma to be stabilized more effectively. And the other advantage is that This design minimizes energy loss. The SMART experimental fusion reactor that the engineers at the University of Seville are working on does not have the titanic size that ITER will have in its favor, but this does not mean that it will not come to fruition. In fact, its strategy is radically different from that of ITER and its design is surprisingly innovative. In any case, the development of SMART is being carried out within the international initiative Fusion2Gridso Seville researchers are not alone in this adventure. They work side by side with scientists from the Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University (USA). SMART has generated the first plasma with negative triangularity The vacuum chamber in which the fusion of the deuterium and tritium nuclei, the two isotopes of hydrogen involved in the fusion reaction, occurs does not need to be as large in the SMART reactor as in ITER or other experimental fusion machines because because it has negative triangularity in its favor. Broadly speaking, triangularity identifies the geometry of the plasma within the tokamak by being confined inside the magnetic field. SMART’s negative triangularity causes the plasma cross section to compress toward the center By adopting positive triangularity, which is common in experimental fusion reactors of the type tokamakthe widest part of the triangular section of the plasma is outside the center of the vacuum chamber. This geometry is very well known, and it works, although it is not optimal to control plasma turbulence. In contrast, SMART’s negative triangularity causes the plasma cross section to compress toward the center, so the widest part faces the inside of the vacuum chamber. Negative triangularity has two major advantages. On the one hand, it is very effective in controlling plasma instabilities. And, in addition, it helps to distribute the heat at the base of the reactor in a more homogeneous way. Its biggest problem is that this technology is still young and requires much more research. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Seville are on the right track. On a very good path. And they have already done the first plasma testa milestone that marks the beginning of the experimental phase of the SMART reactor. “We were all very excited to see the first magnetically confined plasma, and we look forward to harnessing the capabilities of the SMART reactor together with the international scientific community (…) SMART has attracted enormous interest around the world“, Eleonora Viezzer has declaredphysicist and professor at the University of Seville. The initial investment in this project has been slightly more than five million eurosbut over its estimated 10 years of development it will presumably require a total investment of about 500 million euros. Image | University of Seville More information | Nuclear Fusion | University of Seville In Xataka | “We are already on the last step”: how Spain has obtained the key to making nuclear fusion a reality

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