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Total-body positron emission tomography imaging to accelerate radiotracer discovery pipelines
Get PDFThe development of the first total-body positron emission tomography (PET) clinical scanner is a transformational moment in nuclear medicine, reigniting the field by tackling 2 long-standing and critical barriers to the widespread clinical use of PET: radiation dose and patient throughput. Total-body PET also provides several other unique research and clinical opportunities, including potential to streamline radiotracer discovery and development pipelines. PET does not exist without radiotracers. However, despite decades of radiotracer development programs, the number of successful PET radiotracers adopted and approved for human use is extremely low. In neurology, an important area for nuclear medicine, only approximately 4% of all novel radiotracers that survive the radiotracer translational “valley of death” are adopted clinically. The potential for total-body PET technology to reverse these low numbers of radiotracer development and adoption is high. This will require the PET community to come together with the regulators to chart new frameworks for radiotracer development and translational pipelines. This article will discuss which stages of the radiotracer discovery pipeline can benefit most from the recent development of total-body PET technology. It will review the latest key developments in radiochemistry modernization and describe how these could ameliorate regulatory hurdles and deliver the groundbreaking potential of total-body PET. Finally, this article will highlight emerging radiotracer discovery opportunities that could be rapidly facilitated by total-body PET
Time to Revisit Exact Match
No full textTemporal question answering is an established method for evaluating temporal reasoning in large language models. Expected answers are often numeric (e.g., dates or durations), yet model responses are evaluated like regular text with exact match (EM), unable to distinguish small from large errors. In this investigative work, we frame temporal question answering as a numerical estimation task to assess the shortcomings of EM. We introduce TempAnswerQA, a benchmark distilled from Test of Time and TempTabQA, where all questions require a numerical, temporal answer, allowing us to evaluate models beyond EM. We use the forecasting metrics symmetric mean absolute percentage error (sMAPE) and mean absolute scaled error (MASE). With sMAPE, we find that error size and EM are decoupled. Models with low EM still have low sMAPE (both 20%), and some models have high sMAPE despite high EM. Scaling errors by the deviation of the ground truth data with MASE reshuff les model rankings compared to EM, revealing gaps in models’ understanding of temporal domain knowledge, especially when trained with synthetic data. Lastly, the models’ most frequent error is to deviate by only ±1 from the ground truth. sMAPE and MASE, unlike EM, adequately weight these errors. Our findings 1 underscore the need for specialised metrics for temporal QA tasks
Between the pages: a qualitative inquiry into researcher wellbeing
No full textDespite the growing emphasis on research productivity and project development within academic institutions worldwide, the concept of academic wellbeing remains relatively underexplored. This study aims to identify the specific needs and challenges faced by researchers, emphasizing the critical role of psychological wellbeing in fostering a supportive and sustainable research environment. Employing a qualitative research design, the study utilizes in-depth interviews with 20 participants from two research universities in Türkiye, representing diverse academic departments. The participants, encompassing various academic ranks such as Research Assistants, Associate Professors, and Professors, provide a broad and multifaceted perspective on the determinants of academic wellbeing. Thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews was conducted to examine the key factors influencing academic wellbeing. Findings indicate that researchers encounter substantial challenges related to work–life balance, institutional support, and professional identity, which are prevalent concerns in academia globally. By delineating these challenges, this study underscores the necessity for targeted interventions and institutional policies that promote academic wellbeing across diverse research contexts. Furthermore, this research contributes to the broader discourse on the significance of academic wellbeing in higher education institutions, advocating for its integral role in enhancing research quality, academic productivity, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and resilient research ecosystem
Probiotic-based materials as living therapeutics
Get PDFThe growing demand for safer, more targeted therapeutics requires
the development of advanced biomaterials. Among these, Engineered Living Materials (ELMs)—which integrate synthetic biology with material science— are emerging as promising platforms for biomedical applications. This review focuses on a subclass of ELMs based on genetically engineered probiotics combined with matrices, that are termed Probiotic Living Materials (PLMs) to differentiate them from Living Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs). Recent studies highlight PLM’s potential in addressing different health conditions, offering targeted and dynamic therapies. However, PLMs face multiple challenges to be implemented in clinics, including a lack of robust genetic toolkits for probiotic engineering, concerns about biosafety (e.g., horizontal gene transfer or non-desirable biological activity), difficulties in translating
preclinical results to humans, and the absence of clear regulatory guidance for clinical use. This review first explores the fundamental features of ELMs, then provides an overview of probiotics, followed by recent advances in the design of engineered PLMs for biomedical applications, particularly in biosensing development, infection treatment, bone repair, wound healing, vaginal imbalances, gut-related conditions, and cancer therapy. Finally, biosafety issues and current gaps in regulatory frameworks to ensure safe and effective use of PLMs, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations, are discussed
Transgender equality and the UK Supreme Court: a UK Gender Studies community roundtable
No full textNo abstract available
Non-Fungible Token Innovation
No full textFrom 2020 to late 2022, the market for blockchain-enabled non-fungible tokens (NFTs) expanded rapidly. At the time, stories about the sale of digital or “tokenized” assets for millions of dollars drove a speculative boom and stirred interest in the technology from a broad range of audiences. Subsequently, NFT technology has been applied to a range of use cases and across industries—including entertainment, fashion, luxury goods, and video gaming—to varying degrees of success.
However, the NFT hype went into a sudden and rapid decline in late 2022, leading to sharp market corrections that caused many NFTs to lose most of their value. Although this development could partly be attributed to market saturation, some of it was also caused by the dark side, downside, and destructive side of NFT technology, particularly concerns relating to high energy consumption and the persistent occurrence of fraud and other types of misuse. Nevertheless, the technological affordances associated with NFTs and their potential implications for business and society remain, thus warranting academic attention. Specifically, there are six core research themes: (a) digital property rights and ownership, (b) digital entrepreneurial opportunity and its enablers, (c) digital materialism and new marketing, (d) price movement and diversification, (e) moral and ethical foundations, and (f) the technological architecture of NFT
Hypertension precision medicine: the promise and pitfalls of pharmacogenomics
No full textPharmacogenomics (PGx) has the potential to revolutionize hypertension management by tailoring antihypertensive therapy based on genetic profiles. Despite significant advances in genomic research, the clinical translation of PGx in hypertension remains challenging due to genetic complexity, variability in drug response, and implementation barriers. This review explores the genetic basis of hypertension, highlighting key pharmacogenomic markers that influence antihypertensive metabolism and efficacy, including CYP2D6, CYP3A4, UMOD, and ACE polymorphisms. We also examine the role of Mendelian randomization, polygenic risk scores in drug development and stratifying hypertension treatment response. While PGx offers opportunities for personalized medicine – such as reducing trial-and-error prescribing and improving adherence – several obstacles hinder its widespread adoption. These include limited clinical actionability, lack of large-scale randomized controlled trials, cost constraints, and concerns about equity and accessibility. Furthermore, drug-gene interactions and phenoconversion add complexity to implementation. Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence-driven prescribing, microbiome integration, and pharmacoepigenomics, may enhance PGx precision in hypertension management. However, further research, clinical validation, and policy frameworks are necessary before PGx can be routinely incorporated into hypertension care. This review critically evaluates both the promise and limitations of PGx in hypertension, offering insights into the future of precision medicine in cardiovascular health
Understanding the Heterogeneity in Cycling Behaviour of Disabled People
Get PDFMany cities have come to see the promotion of cycling as a way of reducing emissions, cutting congestion, and promoting public health. However, an assumption is often made that disabled people don’t cycle. This can lead to the development of disabling infrastructure and environments, limiting the mobility of disabled people. A growing body of research has highlighted that not only do disabled people cycle, but that cycling can be one of the most accessible transport modes for some as well as providing health benefits.
When quantitative studies analyse cycling behaviour, if they include disability at all it is usually included as a binary variable indicating whether the person has a disability or not. Often this will refer to a physical disability. There is a lack of research on how cycling behaviour may vary with different types of impairments. In this paper, we make use of the National Travel Survey for England and a more detailed description of types of disabilities to gain an overview of who currently cycles. The focus is placed on differences in cycle rates between people reporting different sorts of impairments (for example vision, hearing or dexterity). The analysis then looks at how sex and age interact with these relationships. Our findings show substantial heterogeneity in how different impairments impact the likelihood of cycling as well as how these impacts vary by group
Augmented Academia: Workshop 3 - Using GenAI for Authentic and Accessible Assessments and Rubrics
No full textAn academy of nations? The enduring eurocentrism of the best international feature film award
Get PDFAlthough the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film is often promoted as a celebration of world cinema, its record tells a different story. By mapping every nomination and win since the category adopted a competitive format in 1956, this study exposes a sharp geographic
imbalance. A proportional-symbol cartogram shows Europe ballooning to dominate the visual field, while much of the Global South, especially Africa, nearly disappears. Four of the five most-honoured countries are European, together with Japan accounting for more than half of all victories. This pattern is interpreted as a geographic expression of cultural hegemony, explained partly by the theory of ‘cultural proximity’, where Academy voters may gravitate towards narratives reflecting
familiar cultural values. The cartogram thus visualizes more than just awards; it depicts a durable geography of cultural influence
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