A recent study shows that computer algorithms can be used to find molecules that can be developed into anti-inflammatory drugs. In the article, the researchers also describe how the same strategy can be used to search through 10 sextillion alternatives to identify the best drug candidate.

From integrated photonics to quantum information science, the ability to control light with electric fields — a phenomenon known as the electro-optic effect — supports vital applications such as light modulation and frequency transduction. These components rely on nonlinear optical materials, in which light waves can be manipulated by applying electric fields.

Led by Anatoly Kolomeisky, professor of chemistry and chemical and biomolecular engineering, the research team has developed a theoretical framework that quantitatively predicts menopause timing. By analyzing how ovarian follicles transition through different stages, the researchers’ model explains why menopause occurs and sheds light on individual variability and cross-population differences. These insights could improve fertility planning, inform health care decisions related to hormonal therapies and enhance our understanding of age-related health risks associated with ovarian aging.

Microsoft Quantum published an article in Nature on Feb. 19 detailing recent advances in the measurement of quantum devices that will be needed to realize a topological quantum computer. Among the authors are Microsoft scientists and engineers who conduct research at Microsoft Quantum Lab West Lafayette, located at Purdue University. In an announcement by Microsoft Quantum, the team describes the operation of a device that is a necessary building block for a topological quantum computer. The published results are an important milestone along the path to construction of quantum computers that are potentially more robust and powerful than existing technologies.

In a paper published in National Science Review, a team of Chinese scientists developed an attention-based deep learning model, CGMformer, pretrained on a well-controlled and diverse corpus of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data to represent individual’s intrinsic metabolic state and enable clinical applications. It can accurately characterize individual dynamic glycemic behaviors such as maintenance of fasting blood glucose homeostasis and adaptation to postprandial hyperglycemia., It can assist in the diagnosis, disease duration assessment, and complication prediction of type 2 diabetes, subtype classification of non-diabetic populations, predict postprandial glucose responses accurately and provide personalized dietary recommendations for diabetes patients, thereby enabling lifestyle intervention recommendations.

New observations of 2024 YR4 conducted with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) and facilities around the world have all but ruled out an impact of the asteroid with our planet. The asteroid has been closely monitored in the past couple of months as its odds of impacting Earth in 2032 rose to around 3%, the highest impact probability ever reached for a sizable asteroid. After the latest observations, the odds of impact dropped to nearly zero.