GoKawiilThe emission of ‘biophotons’ could be a cell’s way of communicating with its neighbours. Plus, a ‘timer’ in the brain that tracks sleep and who is accountable when physicians and AI work together.
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Sleep deprivation can be dangerous, but it’s difficult to measure.Credit: Getty
Chemical tags on proteins in a mouse’s brain serve as a marker of both the length of a sleep session and how likely an animal is to wake up at a given moment. An enzyme adds these tags to proteins on the surface of brain cells, and their levels follow a predictable rhythm, researchers found. The extent of protein tagging stayed high and steady when mice were awake and began a slow decline when they fell asleep, spiking if they experienced a brief interruption in their slumber.
Nature | 5 min read
Reference bioRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed)
The debate over whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems might become conscious has inspired some tech firms to hire philosophers. But researchers still haven’t agreed on what gives rise to consciousness in humans, let alone in an AI chatbot — and some say the issue is a red herring. “What we might see is a sort of capture of consciousness research by the AI sector,” says consciousness scientist Anil Seth. On the plus side, the influx of interest might help to validate a field that was not taken seriously as a scientific endeavour for years — and bring in all-important funding.
Nature | 8 min read
A small number of fertility clinics around the world are offering controversial mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT): a procedure to furnish clients’ embryos or eggs with donated mitochondria. The theory behind the treatment — which remains unproven in rigorous clinical trials — is that the donor’s mitochondria might help the embryo to mature. “I’m pretty horrified,” says fertility specialist Richard Anderson, who reviewed the MRT offering of one of the clinics identified by Nature. He says that the technique is difficult, the risks are high and the benefits are uncertain.
Nature | 8 min read
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