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- Sciences and discoveries: the mystery of the "tomb of Cerberus" and unique mice
Sciences and discoveries: the mystery of the "tomb of Cerberus" and unique mice
Space debris can fall anywhere on Earth, and it will take only 10 minutes to reach its surface. Russian scientists have found a method that will make it possible to select a drug most effectively in the process of photodynamic cancer therapy, and have created unique mice that have helped to test drugs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. And scientists from Italy have opened a 2,000-year-old sarcophagus and found a mummy inside in remarkably good condition. These and other interesting science and technology news are described in the Izvestia article.
Scientists have accelerated the search for effective cancer drugs
Russian scientists have found a method that will make it possible to select the drug most effectively in the process of photodynamic cancer therapy. This is a treatment method based on the use of photosensitive substances (photosensitizers) and light of a certain wavelength.
Scientists explained that drugs, when they enter the human body, primarily interact with proteins contained in the blood. How effective a drug is depends on the degree of its binding to serum albumin, a protein responsible for the transport of substances in the body and contained in blood plasma. If the binding is too strong, the concentration of the drug in the blood will be reduced, and if it is weak, the drug may be unevenly distributed in the body or completely destroyed before reaching the desired goal. Researchers have found an accurate way to identify binding sites.
In their approach, they combined molecular modeling methods with experimental data obtained by the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) method, which makes it possible to determine the structure of compounds based on information about how they absorb microwave radiation. The scientists tested their combined approach by investigating the binding of albumin to photosensitizers.
— During the experiments, we have shown with atomic precision where the molecules of these compounds bind to albumin. Our combined approach will make the analysis of anti—cancer compounds much more accurate, and the process of developing new drugs for cancer therapy easier and faster," Mikhail Kolokolov, a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Electronic Paramagnetic Resonance at the International Tomographic Center, told Izvestia.
The work was performed by specialists from Novosibirsk State University, the International Tomographic Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and employees of RTU MIREA.
Alice with an AI agent
Yandex has opened an entry for early access to a new feature in Alice for AI agents. These are built-in programs that can perform simple tasks at the user's request: sign up for a haircut, find a cheaper product, or collect information on the right topic. Alice will be able to search for the necessary data herself, make decisions and produce a ready result, and the user will only have to clarify the details.
There are three main agents currently represented. One of them helps to book tables in restaurants and slots in beauty salons — just write down where and for what time you need to sign up. The second one searches for products at a better price by comparing offers from different websites and marketplaces. A third agent can conduct research: collect information, analyze documents, and make calculations if you need to prepare a report or understand a complex topic.
As Ilya Shibanov, head of Yandex Browser, noted in a conversation with Izvestia, Alice AI and the browser are now developing as equal partners: the teams work together so that the neural network helps users solve tasks right in the browser — from searching for products at the best price to booking services and analyzing documents.
Yandex 360 also announced a large-scale update of the Documents. In the update, office programs, for example, have a new AI assistant that will work in tables. In addition, the service has announced a number of other changes for 2026.
Mice will help in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Researchers from Mari State University (Yoshkar-Ola) and colleagues have made a breakthrough in creating a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a hereditary disease that occurs due to a deficiency in the body of the protein dystrophin. This protein plays a key role in protecting muscle fibers from damage during contractions.
An important breakthrough in the work was the creation of a new experimental model of the disease for Russia — mice of the D2.DMDel8-34 line. Previously, the country mainly used a model with moderate symptoms of the disease, which poorly reproduces the severe course of Duchenne myodystrophy in patients.
"This is critically important for the correct assessment of potential therapy options," Mikhail Dubinin, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor at Mari State University, told Izvestia.
Using this model, the authors experimentally proved that a drug that blocks the channel for calcium entry into the mitochondria, the energy stations of the cell, slows down the disease. In animals, muscle strength increased by 40%. The discovery will help develop new therapies aimed at maintaining the proper functioning of mitochondria in muscle cells, experts say.
The problem of space debris
South African scientists have created a model for calculating the trajectories of falling space debris, which has shown that the danger of objects is underestimated. The new study describes the process of reducing the remnants of space technology from low orbits more realistically, as it takes into account a larger number of factors, such as wind and gravitational disturbances.
"Critically, several high—speed trajectories result in a collision with the surface in less than 10 minutes," according to an article in the scientific journal Space Exploration.
According to the study, the fall of an object weighing 1 kg from orbit is equivalent to the explosion of an aircraft rocket with 12 kg of TNT. Currently, there are more than 6 thousand tons of space debris around the Earth. And by 2030, the number of artificial satellites will increase by another 60,000, which will significantly worsen the problem, the article says.
On October 27, a video of an unknown glowing object falling appeared online. The shooting was done around 06:30 in the Moscow region. The body radiating a green glow leaves a fiery trail in the sky. As explained by Sergey Bogachev, a professor at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it was most likely a fall of space debris.
A cover from a tomb with a perfectly preserved mummy
In the Italian city of Giugliano in Campania, archaeologists have made an outstanding discovery. They opened a 2,000-year-old sarcophagus and found a mummy inside in remarkably good condition. This discovery provides scientists with an exceptional opportunity to study ancient burial practices and provides new insights into how people in the region treated the dead at that time.
The sarcophagus was found in the "Tomb of Cerberus", located in an area rich in archaeological sites. The tomb remained sealed, which ensured the safety of its contents.
The unique preservation of the mummy is explained by the special climatic conditions inside the burial chamber, which protected the body from decomposition. The shroud covering the body mineralized over time, which preserved its shape and gave archaeologists invaluable information about ancient fabrics and funeral customs. In addition, the body was treated with creams based on marie and wormwood, which are known to have preservative properties. These substances, as well as pollen and other organic materials found in the tomb, shed light on the sophisticated embalming techniques used in ancient times.
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