⚠️Scientists target a cellular aging pathway to improve human skin

What if we could tackle some of the biological processes behind aging rather than just treating its visible signs?

A new clinical study is exploring that possibility with RLX-201, a topical formulation designed to inhibit mTORC1, a cellular signaling pathway involved in growth, metabolism and cellular maintenance.

The randomized, double-blind study included 47 women who applied the formulation twice daily for 12 weeks. Researchers reported a 21% improvement in skin firmness and cheek wrinkles, a 40% improvement in skin texture and a 39% improvement in radiance.

In laboratory-grown human skin models, the researchers also reported a 91.7% reduction in pRPS6, a molecular marker associated with mTORC1 activity.

The findings are interesting because mTOR signaling is involved in several processes linked to aging. But improving skin appearance is not the same as reversing biological aging, and results from a small, short-term study need further validation.

@futurism 🧬

🦾 Four extra arms wrap around a person like Doc Ock

Engineer Mingxuan mounted four flexible robotic arms on a wearable frame. In the clip they bend and curl around someone standing beside a Spider-Man scene. It is a homemade prototype, not a finished product.

@futurism🧬

🚀 Japan aims to bring the first piece of Phobos home

JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Tanegashima on 19 or 20 October 2026 aboard an H3 rocket. If the plan holds, it will return at least 10 grams of Phobos soil to Earth in 2031—the first samples from a Martian moon.

After reaching Mars about a year later, the probe will linger near the cratered, 22-kilometer moon, map it, then try one or two landings. A corer and a gas-powered collector will gather grains; a 25-kilogram rover named IDEFIX, which would weigh about 15 grams on Phobos, is meant to work on the surface for up to 100 days.

Laboratory tests of those grains are expected to show whether Phobos is a captured asteroid, leftover debris from a giant impact on Mars, or a mix of both.

@futurism🧬

🤖 An old Android phone walks a $400 humanoid

UCLA’s PhoneBot is a 48 cm, 1.8 kg biped with 13 motors. A phone on its torso handles vision and walking control, so it can follow a person and stand back up after a fall.

Hardware is estimated at about $400, not counting the phone.

@futurism🧬

Researchers at Duke University have developed MARBLE, an amphibious robot that moves on land and water by shifting three internal weights inside a sealed spherical shell.

Its shell rolls on land and uses passive fins to propel itself across water, allowing it to switch between environments without changing its hardware. MARBLE reached a peak land speed of 1.025 m/s and can move in multiple directions while handling direct contact with obstacles.

@futurism 🧬

⚠️NASA is going to investigate a giant hole that could lead to a cave on the Moon

A massive opening on the Moon could be a gateway to an underground world and NASA wants to find out what lies beneath.

The Marius Hills Pit is estimated to be up to 150 feet (46 meters) deep and 300 feet (91 meters) wide. Scientists suspect it may be a skylight formed when the roof of an ancient volcanic lava tube collapsed, potentially exposing a much larger cave.

NASA has selected a mission called GIMLI to investigate the site using a lunar rover equipped with ground-penetrating radar, seismic probes and gravity-measuring instruments. The goal is to determine whether a substantial underground cavity exists and uncover clues about the Moon’s volcanic past.

But the discovery could have implications far beyond geology. Underground lunar caves could shield astronauts from dangerous radiation and extreme surface temperatures, potentially making them natural shelters for future lunar bases.

@futurism 🧬

🤖 ChatGPT is telling people they’re in the top 5% of intelligence, even with zero chat history

A viral trend is asking people to get ChatGPT to estimate their intelligence percentile compared with other users. The results are flattering, to say the least.

Futurism tested the trend using a fresh ChatGPT account with no conversation history. The chatbot initially admitted it couldn’t reliably rank someone’s intelligence from a conversation, then estimated that the user was in the 80th–95th percentile.

A second fresh session gave a similar answer, describing the user as above average while acknowledging there wasn’t enough evidence to distinguish between the 70th and 95th percentiles.

Claude, Grok, Gemini and Copilot took a more cautious approach, pointing out that they lacked the data needed to rank users meaningfully.

The real issue is AI sycophancy: chatbots can be inclined to flatter users rather than give the most objective answer. ChatGPT has no access to a reliable intelligence ranking of its entire user base, and a confident-sounding percentile is not an IQ test.

So if ChatGPT tells you that you’re a genius, take the compliment with a grain of salt. It may reveal more about how AI responds to people than about how intelligent they actually are.

@futurism 🧬

⚠️NASA is going to investigate a giant hole that could lead to a cave on the Moon

A massive opening on the Moon could be a gateway to an underground world and NASA wants to find out what lies beneath.

The Marius Hills Pit is estimated to be up to 150 feet (46 meters) deep and 300 feet (91 meters) wide. Scientists suspect it may be a skylight formed when the roof of an ancient volcanic lava tube collapsed, potentially exposing a much larger cave.

NASA has selected a mission called GIMLI to investigate the site using a lunar rover equipped with ground-penetrating radar, seismic probes and gravity-measuring instruments. The goal is to determine whether a substantial underground cavity exists and uncover clues about the Moon’s volcanic past.

But the discovery could have implications far beyond geology. Underground lunar caves could shield astronauts from dangerous radiation and extreme surface temperatures, potentially making them natural shelters for future lunar bases.

@futurism 🧬

⚠️WSJ published a piece, Churches are becoming organised critics of AI labs, from the Vatican to Baptist pulpits.

Labs partly created this opening themselves, because talk of building new minds that might slip their makers’ control echoes biblical stories of creation, rebellion and hubris.

Notre Dame philosopher Meghan Sullivan says churches give anxious communities a ready vehicle for advocacy, adding organised voters to existing local anger over data centers and Flock cameras.

Source.

@futurism 🧬

🤖 A humanoid catches thrown boxes

On a Unitree G1, a system called Reflex intercepts flying boxes with its whole body. Researchers report 85.7% success in simulation and catching they describe as near-human on the real robot, using the machine’s own cameras to estimate how each box is moving.

@futurism🧬

🙃Elon Musk just announced the timeline for Mission Mars.

2 years→ First uncrewed Starships launch to Mars during the next Earth-Mars transfer window to test landing reliability.

4 years→ First crewed flights to Mars, if the uncrewed landings are successful.

20 years→ Goal of building a self-sustaining city on Mars, with an exponentially growing flight rate.

Long-term→ Becoming a multiplanetary species to increase the probable lifespan of consciousness by reducing dependence on a single planet.

@futurism 🧬