This week in toast, contact lenses now give you superhuman vision, AI has cracked the emotional intelligence code and scientists discovered your brain's support staff have secretly been running the show all along. Also, your fingernails can now diagnose blood disorders, well done them.

Move over snakes. Chinese scientists have developed contact lenses that convert invisible infrared light into visible colours, essentially giving humans thermal vision. The lenses use nanoparticles that absorb infrared light and convert it into wavelengths humans can see, creating sharp visuals that work alongside normal eyesight.

More amazingly, they work better when you close your eyes, since infrared light penetrates eyelids more effectively than visible light. Testing confirmed humans could detect flashing infrared signals and pinpoint their direction. 

🧐 What's in it for me? Beyond obvious security applications, these lenses could transform medical imaging and rescue operations. Surgeons could see blood flow during operations, search teams could detect body heat through debris. The tech might also help colour blind people see new wavelengths.

💵 Out of the Lab:

Despite earlier findings that AI couldn’t tell the difference between a first date and a divorce court, researchers have now discovered AI far surpasses humans at formal emotional intelligence tests. The trove of “things we’re still better at” seems to be shrinking fast… 

In controlled testing, AI systems scored 82% accuracy compared to humans' rather embarrassing 56% when handling workplace emotional scenarios. When faced with "your colleague stole your idea and is getting credit," AI consistently chose diplomatic responses while humans presumably favoured passive-aggressive printer sabotage.

🧐 What's in it for me? This opens the door further for AI in education, coaching, and conflict resolution. Per the theory that the most ironic outcome is usually the most likely, we soon may be relying on AI to train humans to be more emotionally intelligent.

💵 Out of the Lab:

Imagine finding out your toaster can perform an appendectomy. Well, only slightly less remarkably, a new AI app can screen for anaemia using photos of your fingernails. The app analyses nail bed colours to estimate haemoglobin levels with accuracy matching traditional blood tests. 

The app has conducted over 1.4 million tests across the US with 89% sensitivity and 93% specificity. For chronic patients, personalised calibration improved accuracy by 50%. Your smartphone has essentially become a blood lab. 

🧐 What's in it for me? This could massively open up anaemia screening, particularly valuable for people with chronic conditions requiring frequent monitoring. No more needle pricks, lab visits, or waiting for results.

💵 Out of the Lab:

In the ongoing saga of neuroscientists realising just how little we’ve understood the brain, researchers have now discovered that astrocytes (the brain's supposed "support cells") are secretly running attention and alertness functions while neurons take all the credit. Eighty years of textbooks just became very expensive kindling.

When norepinephrine (a chemical messenger) floods your brain during focus mode, astrocytes detect it and release their own chemicals to reorganise neural connections. Even when neurons were completely oblivious to norepinephrine, brain rewiring continued perfectly well through astrocyte management.

🧐 What's in it for me? This fundamentally changes how we can approach ADHD, depression, and attention disorders. Future therapies may target astrocytes instead of neurons, which means decades of research might have been barking up the wrong tree.

💵 Out of the Lab:

Researchers found vitamin D helps preserve telomeres, the protective caps on chromosomes that shorten as you age. In a large trial, vitamin D supplementation prevented the equivalent of three years of biological ageing over four years. 

The study measured telomere length in over 1,000 participants for five years. They also showed that Vitamin D consistently outperformed omega-3 supplements, quite upsetting for the fish oil lobby, a huge relief for fish. 

🧐 What's in it for me? Targeted vitamin D supplementation could be a legitimate anti-ageing strategy, and a hell of a lot cheaper than Kris Jenner’s surgeon. 

💵 Out of the Lab:

Researchers discovered how to stretch ketamine's antidepressant effects from one week to potentially two months, meaning horses will have to learn to share. The breakthrough involves keeping specific brain pathways active longer.

Ketamine works by blocking NMDA receptors, which triggers a cascade of molecular events that ultimately strengthen neural connections. The problem is these beneficial changes typically fade within days. The research team used a compound called BCI to inhibit the brain's measure to these chemicals, essentially jamming the cellular "off switch" that normally shuts down the process.

While the experimental drug they used isn't ready for humans (testing untested chemicals on depressed people is a bit of a minefield), it proves the concept works. 

🧐 What's in it for me? This is a big step for depression treatment as it can reduce ketamine sessions from weekly to monthly, cutting side effects and reducing the need for clinic visits. For millions with treatment-resistant depression, it offers hope for sustained relief without turning medical appointments into a part-time job.

💵 Out of the Lab:

So long Silicon Valley, enter Gallium Nitride Valley… branding TBD. Bristol researchers found a "latch effect" in gallium nitride semiconductors (an alternative to silicon) that dramatically boosts wireless performance for future 6G networks. After studying over 1,000 microscopic transistor fins, they pinpointed exactly where this semiconductor superpower activates.

The enhanced transistors achieved record performance, essential for 6G's promise of instant global connectivity. Extensive testing confirmed the effect doesn't break anything important, which is reassuring for technology that will presumably handle every aspect of our digital lives while we argue about whether the internet is too fast.

🧐 What's in it for me? 6G promises unparalleled global connectivity, remote surgery, and seamless virtual experiences.

💵 Out of the Lab:

The snooze button is officially terrible for you 😴

Mass General Brigham researchers analysed 3 million nights of sleep data and confirmed what we’ve always dreaded hearing: hitting snooze is rubbish for your health. 56% of people hit snooze, with heavy users averaging 20 minutes of fragmented sleep each morning.

The problem? Snoozing interrupts REM sleep, the restorative stage that happens just before waking. "Hitting snooze interrupts critical sleep stages and only offers light sleep between alarms," explains researcher Rebecca Robbins, delivering news that will shock absolutely no one.

The solution is simple: set your alarm for the latest possible time and actually get up when it goes off. Revolutionary advice that will be ignored by absolutely everyone.

Until next time, stay curious.

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