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\"Thomas Edison closely following the alternative physics work of Albert Einstein and Max Planck, convincing him that there was an entire reality unseen by the human eye. This led to the last and least-known of all Edison's inventions, the spirit phone. His former associate, now bitter rival, Nikola Tesla, was also developing at the same time a similar mysterious device. Edison vs. Tesla examines their quest to talk to the dead. It reveals: Edison's little-known near-death experience formed his theory that animate life forms don't die, but rather change the nature of their composition. It is this foundational belief that drove him to proceed with the spirit phone. Tesla monitored Edison's paranormal work, with both men racing to create a device that picked up the frequencies of discarnate spirits, what today is called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). Both men were way ahead of their time, delving into artificial intelligence and robotics. Although mystery and lore surround the details of the last decade of Edison's life, many skeptics have denied the existence of the mysterious spirit phone. The authors have researched both Edison's and Tesla's journals, as well as contemporary articles and interviews with the inventors to confirm that tests were actually done with this device. They also have the full cooperation of the Charles Edison fund, affording them access to rare photos and graphics to support their text. Edison vs. Tesla sheds light on this weird invention and demonstrates the rivalry that drove both men to new discoveries.\"--Publisher's description.

To test whether differences in pupil responses to melanopsin-isolating spectral stimuli in glaucoma may be useful as a diagnostic biomarker. Spectral stimuli were presented to 20 glaucoma and 15 age-similar healthy control participants. Stimuli were pairs of silent-substitution spectra designed to provide (1) equal stimulation to cone photoreceptors but maximum (~325%) contrast to melanopsin or (2) equal stimulation to melanopsin but ~325% contrast to cones. Narrowband long-wavelength/red (657 nm) and short-wavelength/blue (471 nm) pulses were also presented from a dark background to 16 glaucoma and 12 control participants. Pulses lasted 3 seconds and pupil size was measured for 15 seconds. Pupil response metrics were compared by t-test and relationships with visual field and OCT summary indices were assessed by Spearman's rank correlation. Diagnostic accuracy was measured by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Pupil constriction was more persistent after pulse offset for the melanopsin-directed stimulus (2% mean paired difference 6s post-pulse offset, p < 0.001). All pupil parameters were similar between groups (p = 0.04-0.90) for all stimuli. Correlations between pupil response parameters and visual field summary indices and circumpapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness were weak (rho 0.02-0.57, all p > 0.05). Diagnostic accuracy for all pupil parameters was poor, with AUC 95% confidence intervals overlapping 0.5 for all but time to maximal constriction for the cone-directed stimulus. Pupil responses to melanopsin-isolating spectra were similar between glaucoma and control participants. Pupillary responses to melanopsin-isolating silent substitution spectra are unlikely to be useful as a diagnostic biomarker for glaucoma.

Targeted insertion of transgenes at pre-determined plant genomic safe harbors provides a desirable alternative to insertions at random sites achieved through conventional methods. Most existing cases of targeted gene insertion in plants have either relied on the presence of a selectable marker gene in the insertion cassette or occurred at low frequency with relatively small DNA fragments (<1.8 kb). Here, we report the use of an optimized CRISPR-Cas9-based method to achieve the targeted insertion of a 5.2 kb carotenoid biosynthesis cassette at two genomic safe harbors in rice. We obtain marker-free rice plants with high carotenoid content in the seeds and no detectable penalty in morphology or yield. Whole-genome sequencing reveals the absence of off-target mutations by Cas9 in the engineered plants. These results demonstrate targeted gene insertion of marker-free DNA in rice using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and offer a promising strategy for genetic improvement of rice and other crops. Existing examples of targeted gene insertion in plants either rely on a selectable marker gene or result in short DNA inserts. Here, the authors use an optimized CRISPR-Cas9 method to insert a 5.2 kb carotenoid biosynthesis cassette into genomic safe harbors in rice, and obtain marker-free lines with high carotenoid content.

Maximal heart rate (MHR) is a key measure for cardiorespiratory exercise prescription yet is often estimated using age-based prediction equations. The accuracy of these equations may vary by individual characteristics, including cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), but limited research has examined predictive accuracy across CRF levels. Therefore, we evaluated the accuracy of seven commonly used MHR prediction equations in adults with varying CRF to assess whether prediction error differs by fitness level. Data from 230 healthy adults (76% male, mean age 38.5 ± 12.3 years) who completed maximal graded exercise tests between 2019 and 2024 were analyzed retrospectively. Predicted MHR values were calculated using the Fox, Tanaka, Gellish, Arena, Åstrand, Nes, and Fairbairn equations. Linear mixed-effects models (LMM) tested the influence of VO₂max and its interaction with prediction equation on error, with sex included as a covariate. Estimated marginal means and slopes were extracted, with pairwise contrasts adjusted by the Tukey method. Prediction equation accuracy was evaluated by comparing predicted and measured MHR using Bland-Altman analyses, and metrics including mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). LMM indicated a significant main effect of prediction equation on error (p < 0.001) and a significant equation × VO₂max interaction (p = 0.015), though neither sex (p = 0.49) nor VO₂max (p = 0.18) alone influenced error. The conditional R2 for the LME model was 0.70, with a marginal R2 of 0.02. Post-hoc linear regressions showed higher VO₂max was associated with greater prediction error for several equations in males, but not females, with a small amount of variance explained (R2 ≤ 0.06). Agreement analyses indicated small mean biases across equations (-3 to +6 bpm) but wide limits of agreement (~±18-24 bpm). Arena, Tanaka and Gellish equations showed the lowest MAE and RMSE. Among the equations, Fox showed the most stable performance across MHR ranges, being the only formula without proportional bias across the sample. The findings indicate that CRF had only a limited influence on MHR prediction error, with small associations observed in males but not females, reinforcing age as the primary determinant of MHR. Although some equations (e.g., Tanaka, Gellish, Arena, Fox) performed better than others across agreement metrics, none demonstrated high individual level accuracy, which highlights a lack of precision when estimating MHR for exercise prescription and monitoring purposes. Future work should explore more individualized modeling approaches, though adjusting for CRF alone may not substantially improve prediction accuracy in healthy adults.

Tactical athletes must maintain high levels of physical and cognitive readiness to handle the rigorous demands of their roles. They frequently encounter acute stressors like sleep deprivation, muscle fatigue, dehydration, and harsh environmental conditions, which can impair their readiness and increase the risk of mission failure. Given the challenging conditions these athletes face, there is a vital need for non-invasive, rapidly deployable point-of-care assessments to effectively measure the impact of these stressors on their operational readiness. Salivary biomarkers are promising in this regard, as they reflect physiological changes due to stress. This systematic review aims to investigate salivary markers as potential indicators for readiness, specifically focusing on their sensitivity to acute stressors like sleep deprivation, dehydration, environmental factors, and muscle fatigue. A search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (PROSPERO; registration #: CRD42022370388). The primary inclusion criteria were the use of a quantitative analysis to assess salivary biomarkers changes in response to acute stressors. Risk of bias and methodological quality were evaluated with the modified Downs and Black checklist. Hormonal salivary biomarkers were the most commonly studied biomarkers. Muscle damage and fatigue were the most frequently studied acute stressors, followed by sleep deprivation, multiple stressors, dehydration, and environmental. Biomarkers such as creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, uric acid, cortisol, testosterone, and the testosterone to cortisol ratio were indicative of muscle damage. Dehydration influenced osmolality, total protein, flow rate, and chloride ion concentrations. Sleep deprivation affected proteins, peptides, and alpha-amylase levels. Environmental stressors, such as hypoxia and cold temperatures, altered cortisol, pH, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-s), and salivary IgA levels. The current body of research highlights that various salivary biomarkers react to acute stressors, and proteomic panels appear promising for predicting physical and cognitive outcomes relevant to the operational readiness of tactical athletes.

The complex world of arthropods The evolutionary interrelationship of arthropods (jointed-legged animals) has long been a matter of dispute. A new phylogeny based on an analysis of over 41,000 base pairs of DNA from 75 species, including representatives of every major arthropod lineage, should ease the way towards a consensus on the matter. The data support the idea that insects are land-living crustaceans, that crustaceans comprise a diverse assemblage of at last three distinct arthropod types, and that myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) are the closest relatives of this great 'pancrustacean' group. The evolutionary interrelationships of arthropods has long been a matter of dispute. A new phylogeny applies an arsenal of techniques to more than 41,000 base pairs of DNA from 75 arthropod species. The results support the idea that insects are land–living crustaceans, that crustaceans comprise a diverse assemblage of at last three distinct arthropod types, and that myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) comprise the closest relatives of this great 'pancrustacean' group. The remarkable antiquity, diversity and ecological significance of arthropods have inspired numerous attempts to resolve their deep phylogenetic history, but the results of two decades of intensive molecular phylogenetics have been mixed 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 . The discovery that terrestrial insects (Hexapoda) are more closely related to aquatic Crustacea than to the terrestrial centipedes and millipedes 2 , 8 (Myriapoda) was an early, if exceptional, success. More typically, analyses based on limited samples of taxa and genes have generated results that are inconsistent, weakly supported and highly sensitive to analytical conditions 7 , 9 , 10 . Here we present strongly supported results from likelihood, Bayesian and parsimony analyses of over 41 kilobases of aligned DNA sequence from 62 single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes from 75 arthropod species. These species represent every major arthropod lineage, plus five species of tardigrades and onychophorans as outgroups. Our results strongly support Pancrustacea (Hexapoda plus Crustacea) but also strongly favour the traditional morphology-based Mandibulata 11 (Myriapoda plus Pancrustacea) over the molecule-based Paradoxopoda (Myriapoda plus Chelicerata) 2 , 5 , 12 . In addition to Hexapoda, Pancrustacea includes three major extant lineages of ‘crustaceans’, each spanning a significant range of morphological disparity. These are Oligostraca (ostracods, mystacocarids, branchiurans and pentastomids), Vericrustacea (malacostracans, thecostracans, copepods and branchiopods) and Xenocarida (cephalocarids and remipedes). Finally, within Pancrustacea we identify Xenocarida as the long-sought sister group to the Hexapoda, a result confirming that ‘crustaceans’ are not monophyletic. These results provide a statistically well-supported phylogenetic framework for the largest animal phylum and represent a step towards ending the often-heated, century-long debate on arthropod relationships.

The availability of a whole-genome sequenced mutant population and the cataloging of mutations of each line at a single-nucleotide resolution facilitate functional genomic analysis. To this end, we generated and sequenced a fast-neutron-induced mutant population in the model rice cultivar Kitaake (Oryza sativa ssp japonica), which completes its life cycle in 9 weeks. We sequenced 1504 mutant lines at 45-fold coverage and identified 91,513 mutations affecting 32,307 genes, i.e., 58% of all rice genes. We detected an average of 61 mutations per line. Mutation types include single-base substitutions, deletions, insertions, inversions, translocations, and tandem duplications. We observed a high proportion of loss-of-function mutations. We identified an inversion affecting a single gene as the causative mutation for the short-grain phenotype in one mutant line. This result reveals the usefulness of the resource for efficient, cost-effective identification of genes conferring specific phenotypes. To facilitate public access to this genetic resource, we established an open access database called KitBase that provides access to sequence data and seed stocks. This population complements other available mutant collections and gene-editing technologies. This work demonstrates how inexpensive next-generation sequencing can be applied to generate a high-density catalog of mutations.

Over the past decade, stereotactically placed electrodes have become the gold standard for deep brain recording and stimulation for a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Current electrodes, however, are limited in their spatial resolution and ability to record from small populations of neurons, let alone individual neurons. Here, we report on an innovative, customizable, monolithically integrated human-grade flexible depth electrode capable of recording from up to 128 channels and able to record at a depth of 10 cm in brain tissue. This thin, stylet-guided depth electrode is capable of recording local field potentials and single unit neuronal activity (action potentials), validated across species. This device represents an advance in manufacturing and design approaches which extends the capabilities of a mainstay technology in clinical neurology. Electrodes available for deep brain recording and stimulation have a number of limitations. Here the authors describe a thin-film depth electrode that may offer improved spatial and temporal resolution for recording brain activity.