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  • FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Quemliclustat in Pancreatic Cancer

    FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Quemliclustat in Pancreatic Cancer

    Quemliclustat plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy outperformed median OS benchmarks in patients with metastatic PDAC.

    The investigational small molecule CD73 inhibitor quemliclustat was granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer by the FDA, according to a press release from the developer, Arcus Biosciences.1

    “The orphan drug designation indicates the importance of developing new treatment options for rare diseases like pancreatic cancer, which has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers, and which has seen few treatment advancements over the past 30 years,” stated Richard Markus, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Arcus Biosciences, in the press release.1 “We expect the phase 3 PRISM-1 study [NCT06608927] to be fully enrolled this year and, if positive, intend to quickly bring this new first-line treatment option to patients, with the goal of prolonging survival for those with metastatic pancreatic cancer.”

    The ARC-8 Trial

    Results from the phase 1 ARC-8 trial (NCT04104672), which evaluated quemliclustat plus chemotherapy in those with advanced pancreatic cancer, were shared in January 2024.2

    In all patients (n = 122), the median overall survival (OS) was 15.7 months (95% CI, 12.4-20.9), the 12-month OS rate was 62.7%, and the 18-month OS rate was 42.8%. In those who received quemliclustat plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (n = 29), the median OS was 19.4 months (95% CI, 12.1-23.0), the 12-month OS rate was 72.3%, and the 18-month OS rate was 54.2%. In those who received quemliclustat and zimberelimab plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (n = 61), the median OS was 14.6 months (95% CI, 10.6-21.5), the 12-month OS rate was 60.9%, and the 18-month OS rate was 43.5%. In the pooled analysis of all who received 100 mg of quemliclustat and zimberelimab plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (n = 93), the median OS was 13.9 months (95% CI, 11.1-18.7), the 12-month OS rate was 59.6%, and the 18-month OS rate was 39.3%.

    The investigators noted improvements over gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in benchmark trials such as the phase 3 MPACT trial (NCT00844649), which had a median OS of 8.5 months (95% CI, 7.9-9.5), the phase 3 NAPOLI-3 trial (NCT04083235), which had a median OS of 9.2 months (95% CI, 8.3-10.6), and the phase 3 CanStem111P trial (NCT02993731), which had a median OS of 11.7 months (95% CI, 10.7-12.7).

    In ARC-8, the overall median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.3 months (95% CI, 5.4-7.7).

    In all patients, the overall response rate (ORR) was 38.5% (95% CI, 29.9%-47.8%) compared with 36.2% (95% CI, 31.4%-41.2%) in NAPOLI-3; the disease control rate (DCR) was 77.8% vs 62.3%, respectively; and stable disease was noted in 39.3% and 26.1%.

    The trial enrolled patients with first-line metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). A dose-escalation phase consisted of 25 to 125 mg of quemliclustat with zimberelimab, gemcitabine, and nab-paclitaxel. The recommended dose for expansion was 100 mg of quemliclustat. In the dose-expansion phase, patients were split into 2 cohorts: cohort A (n = 26), where patients with first-line PDAC received 100 mg of quemliclustat and zimberelimab plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, and cohort B (n = 21), where patients with second-line PDAC received the same regimen. Patients in cohort A were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive either 100 mg of quemliclustat plus zimberelimab, gemcitabine, and nab-paclitaxel (n = 61), or 100 mg of quemliclustat plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel (n = 29).

    The median age of patients was 65.5 years; the majority were female (58%), White (93%), and had an ECOG performance status of 1 (80%). Additionally, 79% of patients had liver metastasis at baseline, 21% had prior pancreatic cancer surgery, and 15% received any prior systemic anti-cancer therapy.

    Regarding safety, any-grade treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 99.2% of patients; grade 3 or higher TRAEs occurred in 73.0%. Serious TRAEs and grade 5 TRAEs occurred in 27.9% and 4.1%. AEs led to dose reduction, dose delay, and study discontinuation in 53.3%, 75.4%, and 23.0%.

    The PRISM-1 Trial

    The global, randomized, double-blind phase 3 PRISM-1 trial will evaluate quemliclustat plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy compared with placebo plus gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel.3 The trial is intended to be fully enrolled by the end of 2025, with an expected enrollment of 610 patients who will be randomly assigned to one of the trial arms in a 2:1 ratio.

    Eligible patients will have histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic PDAC, no previous treatment for metastatic PDAC, an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1, and at least 1 target lesion measurable by CT or MRI.3 Patients will be permitted to receive prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy if completed at least 12 months before radiation, prior palliative radiotherapy if completed at least 2 weeks prior to randomization with AEs resolving to grade 1 or less, and prior placement of a biliary stent if TRAEs have improved to grade 1 or less.

    Those with a history of brain metastases or leptomeningeal metastases, prior treatment with a CD73 antagonist or inhibitor, previous treatment for locally advanced and unresectable PDAC, and underlying medical conditions will be excluded from trial participation.

    The trial’s primary end point will be OS. The secondary end points will be PFS, ORR, duration of response, DCR, and safety.

    References

    1. Arcus Biosciences’ quemliclustat receives orphan drug designation for pancreatic cancer. News release. Arcus Biosciences. July 10, 2025. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/2wa7kyu8
    2. Wainberg ZA, Mani GA, Bahary N, et al. ARC-8: Phase 1/1b randomized study of quemliclustat + gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel ± zimberelimab in patients with treatment-naive metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. J Clin Oncol. 2024;42(suppl 3):665. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.3_suppl.665
    3. Study of quemliclustat and chemotherapy versus placebo and chemotherapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PRISM-1). ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated June 26, 2025. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/3tykrvpv

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  • Study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

    Study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

    England [UK], July 12 (ANI): Women with type 2 diabetes are nearly twice as likely as men to have undetected heart damage, according to a new study by Leicester researchers.

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    The research is one of the most detailed investigations into coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) to uncover sex-specific risk patterns in people with no signs of heart disease.

    CMD is a form of early, silent heart damage caused by impaired blood flow in the heart’s smallest vessels. Using advanced MRI scans and data taken from four studies conducted at the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), researchers found that 46% of the women with type 2 diabetes had signs of CMD, compared to just 26% of the men.

    “We’re seeing early warning signs of heart disease that aren’t picked up through routine checks, and it’s women who seem to be most affected,” said NIHR Research Professor at the University of Leicester, Gerry McCann, lead investigator of the study.

    “What makes this study remarkable is that all participants were asymptomatic, which means they had no diagnosed heart problems, no chest pain, and no shortness of breath. Yet the scans told a different story.”

    Dr Gaurav Gulsin, co-author and NIHR Clinical Lecturer, added: “The study also found that the drivers of CMD differ by sex. In women, CMD was most strongly linked to higher body weight (BMI). However, in men, higher blood pressure was the more significant factor.

    “This suggests we may need to rethink how we assess cardiovascular risk and that women and men could warrant sex-specific treatments.”

    This paper also marks a milestone for the NIHR Leicester BRC, showcasing the power of cross-theme collaboration of the Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, and Diabetes research teams to uncover complex insights that would not be possible in isolation.

    “This is a fantastic example of what happens when teams across specialisms come together with a shared goal to spot disease earlier and improve outcomes for patients. It’s exactly what the BRC was set up to do,” said Professor of Diabetes Medicine, Melanie Davies CBE, Director of the NIHR Leicester BRC and a co-author of the publication.

    “The findings have significant implications for future prevention strategies. Interventions like weight loss for women and blood pressure control for men could help reduce early heart damage long before it progresses into heart failure, which is a condition especially common in people with type 2 diabetes.” (ANI)

    (This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)


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  • Why the near-record high market has taken Trump’s renewed tariff blitz in stride

    Why the near-record high market has taken Trump’s renewed tariff blitz in stride

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  • West Indies-Australia live: Third day-night Test in Jamaica

    West Indies-Australia live: Third day-night Test in Jamaica

    Live: West Indies vs Australia day-night Test in Kingston

    21st over – Justin Greaves to Khawaja

    There are just 20 minutes to lunch. Khawaja and Green have to knuckle down and get to the break, but this ball is still talking.

    FOUR! Khawaja hooks away and it’s just out of reach of a diving Mikyle Louis at square leg. Would’ve been an all-timer if he’d taken it.

    20th over – Seales to Green

    Great fielding by Shamar Joseph running and dive at wide mid-off to keep Cameron Green on strike.

    There’s a shout for LBW against Green, and Roston Chase really seems to be considering a review, but Shamar Joseph wisely talks him out of it. It was going miles down leg.

    Huge in-swing and seam beats Green’s inside edge, hitting him on the back thigh.

    19th over – Greaves again

    There’s angle and seam in to Khawaja, who’s caught on the thigh pad.

    Seamer Alzarri Joseph is walking off the field alongside one of the trainers. One to watch.

    Two more for Khawaja as Greaves pitches full and wide and it’s driven through cover.

    This outfield is looking very slow as Khawaja nails a cover drive and it looks destined for the boundary but holds up in the deep. Just two.

    18th over – Seales continues

    And Khawaja clips a single off his pads to start.

    Four! Gorgeous timing by Cameron Green just clipping a ball that was going down leg and sending it through the air over square leg.

    17th over – Green to face Greaves

    The wicket-taker continues with big Cameron Green at the crease, coming off that impressive second-innings 52 at St George’s.

    Two fantastic deliveries beat the outside edge to end the over.

    A wicket-maiden to start from Justin Greaves.

    IMMEDIATE BREAKTHROUGH! Greaves gets Konstas first ball

    Justin Greaves angles in at Sam Konstas’s pad and collects him above the knee roll.

    The umpire raises the finger and Konstas consults with Khawaja before reviewing, but DRS shows three reds and he has to go for 17.

    (AP)

    I assume he was suggesting it may have gone over or slid down leg, but Konstas was on the crease and standing right in front of all three stumps.

    Australia is down to two reviews.

    17th over – Justin Greaves gets his first go

    Sam Konstas is in his sights.

    16th over – Seales resumes

    Another one past the outside edge. It’s been a frustrating morning for all the West Indian bowlers, but Seales in particular.

    Khawaja isn’t playing at much outside off.

    He goes for the big pull shot, which is so often a release for him, but the ball isn’t quite short enough and Khawaja cops it on the thigh pad.

    15th over – Alzarri Joseph around the wicket to Usman Khawaja

    This right-armed bowling attack loves their chances of getting the left-handed Khawaja from around the wicket.

    One clip through leg is stopped by Jomel Warrican, but Khawaja gets the next in front of square leg and takes the single to move to 6 from 41.

    A gorgeous seed from Alzarri Joseph, angled in and swinging away. Drawing Konstas into the shot and beating the outside edge. Credit to Konstas for playing with a straight and still bat so as not to nick it.

    FOUR! A lovely back-foot drive through point from Konstas. Confident shot from a man who chopped on last Test.

    14th over – Jayden Seales returns to the attack

    And his first ball is down the leg side. Konstas admonishes himself for not clipping it away.

    Edged away with soft hands through the slips but Brandon King does well on the rope to flick it back to Justin Greaves and keep Konstas to just two runs.

    They’re the only runs from the over. Konstas isn’t in a rush, but looks more comfortable than he did in the first Test for sure.

    England and India dead even

    It doesn’t get much more even than the third Test between England and India at Lord’s.

    Both teams scored exactly 387 in their first innings.

    Both digs featured one century-maker who then immediately got out, supported by two 50s and a duck.

    All eyes have rightly been on Shubman Gill, Jamie Smith, Rishabh Pant etc, but KL Rahul with this first-innings ton has 336 runs for the series at 67.20.

    It’s been one for the batters, with nine players tonning up and eight players averaging over 50.

    13th over: Alzarri gets another

    Good running from the Australian pair, who get three after Konstas works one into the on-side.

    Big shout! Khawaja is struck on the pads in such a quintessentially Khawaja way. His footwork is nowhere as he’s trying to flick Alzarri through the on-side. The West Indies are up in a big way, but it’s probably sliding down. No review.

    Khawaja squeezes one out leg-side and the batters run a couple.

    Wayward and down the leg-side from Alzarri. Khawaja watches it through to Hope.

    It’s a dot to end a five run over for Australia.

    Not quite free flowing, expansive stuff from the opening pair but they’ve done extremely well to survive the first hour in Jamaica.

    We’ll have a drink.

    12th over: Shamar to continue

    Runs! Khawaja squirts one out forward of square and the batters run a single.

    Another single! Poor from Shamar, too straight and Konstas is able to work his own leg-side run this time.

    Peach! Khawaja’s footwork is nowhere as he dangles his bat at one that pitches and moves away and is collected by Shai Hope.

    First sign of aggression from Khawaja, who’s trying to pull Shamar but isn’t timing it.

    11th over: Alzarri to begin his second

    That’s a very optimistic shout from A. Joseph. Konstas is hit on the pads by one angling down leg and going over the top. No review.

    That is a peach! Konstas is cut in half by one that pitches and moves away from him.

    More assured this time from Konstas, who’s back and defending a similar ball.

    It’s seriously stodgy stuff out there – 13 runs from nearly 11 overs.

    Konstas prepares for the final ball of Alzarri’s second over.

    He’s defending and that’s yet another maiden.

    Actually, it’s not. That last ball is called a no-ball.

    The final, final ball is wide down the leg side and through to Hope.

    10th over: Shamar switches ends

    After a pretty disappointing start, Shamar Joseph is trying his luck from the other end.

    And it’s a better look on him. Coming around the wicket, Khawaja is playing and missing at a couple on a fourth stump line.

    Ouch! Khawaja cops a short one on the shoulder after shaping to come down the wicket to Shamar.

    (AP)

    Khawaja is defending to end undoubtedly Shamar’s best over of the day so far.

    9th over: A. Joseph into the attack

    Shot! First boundary of the match and it’s a good one from Sam Konstas. Alzarri’s first ball is loose and short and Konstas stands tall, swivels and pulls him in-front of square.

    The Australians will be delighted that they’ve managed to see off the first of the two Josephs.

    Not exactly thrill a minute stuff from the two batters – but they’re both still out there.

    Konstas tries his luck selling Khawaja another tight single, but the 38-year-old is having none of it.

    And Konstas is back and defending to end the over.

    8th over: Seales to Konstas again

    Edge! This one comes back into Konstas, who is back and defending unconvincingly. The ball kisses his outside edge, but it falls well short of the cordon.

    That’s better from Konstas – his first shot of authority in some time. He doesn’t get a run, but is looking good as he drives one off the back foot into the off-side infield.

    He swings at another wide one, making contact but not good contact. It dies in the square and that’s another dot.

    Too straight from Seales and Konstas is able to work one off the hip for a single to end the over.

    7th over: Seales continues to Konstas

    He’s once again looking a bit nervous out there, is Samm K.

    Seales has him defending to begin the over.

    Konstas is 1 from 18 and Khwaja 2 from 22 – not quite a swashbuckling start from the Australian openers.

    Konstas is trying to push one back past Seales but it can’t get past mid-on.

    Brutal! This one moves a mile off the seam, back in towards Konstas. He wears one on the torso.

    Konstas misses out on a wayward one down the leg-side.

    Run! Not overly convincing, but Konstas finally has his second run, courtesy of a squeezed single in front of point.

    6th over: Shamar gets another

    Well, Seales found some serious rhythm in that previous over – can Shamar do the same from the other end?

    Not to begin.

    Khawaja, once again, is more than happy to leave a couple wide ones.

    Khawaja is playing! For the first time in a couple overs, Usman is forced to use his bat. He’s defending a good one from Joseph.

    And again.

    Play in a miss! Pitching on a fourth stump line and moving away, Khawaja is defending but getting none of it.

    Much better from Joseph in the second half of that over.

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  • Better Go Mad in the Wild, Bidad, Sand City

    Better Go Mad in the Wild, Bidad, Sand City

    Miro Remo’s Better Go Mad in the Wild won the Grand Prix – Crystal Globe, the top award, at the closing ceremony of the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) on Saturday, where Stellan Skarsgård was also honored with the KVIFF Crystal Globe Award for his “outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.” The Special Jury Prize went to Iranian filmmaker Soheil Beiraghi‘s fourth feature, Bidad (Outcry), whose announcement the fest had held back to ensure the safety of its creators.

    This year’s jury, consisting of Nicolas Celis, Babak Jalali, Jessica Kiang, Jiří Mádl, and Tuva Novotny, lauded the “delightfully inventive documentary” Better Go Mad as “a funny valentine to the fading art of being true to yourself” and “a portrait of bickering twin brothers who may live a weird, off-grid life on their dilapidated farm, but who, in a world as mad as ours, actually might be the sanest people on Earth.”

    Concluded the jury: “In the lifestyle it portrays, but also in the filmmaking risks it takes and the raucously loving brotherhood it admires, Better Go Mad in the Wild feels like a gulp of fresh, woody air, or a quick dip in an outdoor pond, or a moment of contemplation as a cow chews on your beard. In short, it feels like being free.”

    Meanwhile, the jury called Bidad, about a Gen Z girl who sings in the streets despite rules that forbid that in Iran, “as courageous in its constantly unexpected narrative turns, as it careens through different genre terrains as energetically as it rolls through the different suburbs of Tehran. It concluded: “Morphing from social-injustice thriller into family melodrama into a triumph-over-adversity arc, it is most striking as a gonzo lovers-on-the-run romance, shot through with punk energy and spiky personality that ends on an ambivalent yet optimistic note — because where there’s this much life, there’s hope.”

    ‘Bidad’

    Courtesy of KVIFF

    This year’s best director award went to two films: Lithuanian cinematographer Vytautas Katkus’ feature directorial debut The Visitor, a meditation on solitutde, as well as Nathan Ambrosioni’s Out of Love, a reflection on family and co-existence.

    Lauding the “deeply impressive directorial statements,” the jury said that Katkus “truly exploits the creative freedom that a director perhaps only ever properly enjoys with their first film, displaying an uncompromised, idiosyncratic vision that is both dazzlingly precise in its detail and dreamily peculiar as whole.” It also noted that Ambrosioni “demonstrates a maturity, compassion and polish far beyond his years in the moving and beautifully crafted Out of Love in which a rich yet understated presentation that allows the terrific all-ages acting ensemble to deliver intensely felt, empathetic performances.”

    In the acting categories, Pia Tjelta was honored with the best actress award for her role in the political relationship drama Don’t Call Me Mama, Àlex Brendemühl won the best actor honor for his role in the rape drama When a River Becomes the Sea, and Kateřina Falbrová received a special jury mention for her role in the sexual abuse drama Broken Voices.

    And the Právo Audience Award winner ended up being the fest opening film, We’ve Got to Frame It! (A Conversation With Jiří Bartoška in July 2021), featuring insights and laughs courtesy of the long-term fest president who died recently.

    The fourth edition of Karlovy Vary’s Proxima competition, which focuses on bold works by young filmmakers and renowned auteurs alike, revealed Bangladeshi director Mahde Hasan’s Sand City, a movie about harsh life in a metropolis, as its winner, decided by the jury of Yulia Evina Bhara, Noaz Deshe, Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias, and Marissa Frobes. “A realm unknown, where architecture breathes and silence screams,” it wrote. “Time drips sideways in this fractured hourglass, and color spills like memory. In Sand City, cinema becomes a trembling map of the strange, abandoned, and intimate at the edge of sense.”

    ‘Sand City’

    Courtesy of KVIFF

    Meanwhile, the Proxima Special Jury Prize was bestowed upon Federico Atehortúa Arteaga’s Forensics, an experimental essay on missing persons. “This award goes to a film that carries forward the tradition of swimming against the current of globalized violence — with truth, with ethics, and above all, with poetry,” the jury said.

    And Manoël Dupont’s Before/After, which explores baldness and queer identity, received a special mention in the Proxima lineup.

    The non-statutory awards at KVIFF, namely the Europa Cinemas Label honor for the best European film at KVIFF 2025, the Fipresci Award, as well as the Grand Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, put a spotlight on three different movies.

    Rebuilding, directed by Max Walker-Silverman and starring Josh O’Connor, won the Ecumenical Jury’s Grand Prize, while the jury gave a commendation to Cinema Jazireh, directed by Gözde Kural. The Europa Cinemas Label honor went to Broken Voices, and the Fipresci honor was awarded to Before/After.

    The 2025 edition of the Karlovy Vary fest, which has a reputation as Central Europe’s largest cinema party, had opened with the presentation of KVIFF President’s Awards to Peter Sarsgaard and Vicky Krieps, a film about late long-time KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška, and a concert by U.K. act La Roux.

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  • Triple Threat of Australians In Top Five at The Amundi Evian Championship – LPGA

    Triple Threat of Australians In Top Five at The Amundi Evian Championship – LPGA

    1. Triple Threat of Australians In Top Five at The Amundi Evian Championship  LPGA
    2. Evian Championship: England’s Cara Gainer has share of the lead  BBC
    3. ‘Kept it simple’: Aussie golf ace fires up in France  Kyabram Free Press
    4. Pair of former tennis prodigies lead Minjee Lee, Jeeno Thitikul at Amundi Evian  NBC Sports
    5. Ruffels Races to Top of Leaderboard at Amundi Evian Champ Following Visit to Wimbledon  Epson Tour

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  • The Best Copilot+ Laptops of 2025 – PCMag

    1. The Best Copilot+ Laptops of 2025  PCMag
    2. Best Buy, Microsoft team up to showcase ways to ‘AI That’  Best Buy
    3. Should you buy a Copilot+ PC? What you need to know about AI computers  PCWorld
    4. Best Buy Launches “AI That” Campaign To Showcase Everyday Power Of Copilot+ PCs  Nasdaq
    5. Sorry Apple and Google, Copilot Vision Proves Microsoft’s AI Game Is on a Whole Other Level  PCMag

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  • Every iPhone model getting iOS 26 (and which ones don’t support it)

    Every iPhone model getting iOS 26 (and which ones don’t support it)

    Apple will launch iOS 26 in three phases: the developer beta, public beta, and finally, the official “general” release.

    Developer beta

    The first developer beta of iOS 26 was released on June 9 during WWDC 2025. Following this, subsequent developer betas, including beta 3, were released.

    Public beta

    The public beta is expected to start in mid-July.

    Apple typically opens its public beta program a few weeks after WWDC. For instance, last year’s iOS 18 public beta went live in mid-July. This program lets anyone — not just registered developers — test early software, helping Apple identify and fix bugs or performance issues before the final release.

    General release

    Apple officially released iOS 18 out of beta on Sept. 16, just one week after its “Glowtime” event. 

    Likewise, once iOS 26 completes its developer and public beta testing this summer, Apple is expected to roll out the final version to everyone this fall.


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  • Mapping how major organs communicate during physiological stress in humans

    Mapping how major organs communicate during physiological stress in humans

    How major organs work together to manage extreme physiological stresses such as lack of oxygen and sleep has been mapped for the first time by researchers from UCL and the University of Portsmouth.

    The study, published in the Journal of Physiology, aimed to find out what happens inside the body when people are tired, out of breath, or oxygen-deprived, by mapping how different parts of the body communicate during stress, potentially paving the way for earlier illness diagnosis.

    When a person faces physiological stress, different parts of the body work together to adapt and keep us functioning. Instead of checking whether the heart rate or breathing rate went up or down, which is what doctors typically do in clinical settings, this experiment was conducted on healthy volunteers using a new approach, called network physiology, that studies how different organs and body systems communicate with each other simultaneously.

    By analyzing continuous signals from the body, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation, and the concentration of exhaled oxygen and carbon dioxide, the team tracked the transfer of information between these systems under conditions of low oxygen (hypoxia), sleep deprivation, and moderate intensity physical exercise in the form of cycling.

    The team attached wearable sensors to monitor key physiological signals to 22 healthy volunteers during different stress scenarios at the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments Labs. A face mask measured breathing gases, while a pulse oximeter tracked blood oxygen levels.

    The unique method of monitoring these body signals is called ‘transfer entropy’. The result was a complex network of maps that show which body parts act as ‘information hubs’ under different stress conditions.

    The study is a continuation of earlier research that showed just 20 minutes of moderate exercise can improve brain performance after a bad night’s sleep.

    Dr. Joe Costello, an author of the study from the University of Portsmouth’s School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences, said: “This time, we wanted to understand how physiological stressors affect the body together, not just on their own.

    “This approach lets us see how the body’s internal systems communicate with each other when they’re pushed to respond and adapt. And that kind of insight could be a game-changer for spotting when something starts to go wrong.

    “What makes our approach so unique is that it doesn’t pigeonhole our data into one system or variable, it looks at how everything is connected in real time. Rather than just measuring a heart rate or a breathing rate on its own, it helps us understand the dynamic relationships between them. It’s a whole-body approach to human physiology, and that’s crucial if we want to see the bigger picture.”

    The team discovered that different stresses cause different parts of the body to take the lead in managing the situation:

    • During exercise, your heart becomes the main responder. It receives the most input from other systems because it’s working hard to pump blood to your muscles.

    • During low oxygen, it’s your blood oxygen levels that become the central player, working closely with breathing to adjust to the lack of air.

    When sleep deprivation is added, the changes are more subtle. But if low oxygen is also involved, your breathing rate suddenly steps up and takes the lead.

    These information maps show early, hidden signs of stress that wouldn’t be obvious just by looking at heart rate or oxygen levels alone. That means this could one day help spot health problems before symptoms appear.

    These maps show that our body isn’t just reacting to one thing at a time. It’s responding in an integrated, intelligent way. And by mapping this, we’re learning what normal patterns look like, so we can start spotting when things go wrong.


    This matters in healthcare because early signs of deterioration, especially in intensive care units or during the onset of complex conditions like sepsis or COVID-19, often show up not in the average numbers, but in the way those numbers relate to each other.”


    Dr. Alireza Mani, study author from UCL Division of Medicine

    With further investigation, the researchers hope the method could one day help doctors identify early warning signs of illness or poor recovery, especially in settings like intensive care, where vital signs are already being monitored. It could also be useful for athletes, military personnel, and people working in extreme environments.

    Source:

    University College London

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  • Huawei’s Pura 80 Ultra Has A Pioneering Zoom System

    Huawei’s Pura 80 Ultra Has A Pioneering Zoom System

    Huawei’s P series of smartphones are known among phone enthusiasts for setting several smartphone camera trends, including pixel-binning (debuted in the P20 series); night mode (also P20 series); and Periscope zoom lens (P30 Pro).

    Well, the Chinese tech giant’s latest, Pura 80 Ultra, has another breakthrough, one that I think other Chinese brands will follow suit in coming years: a dual-lens Periscope camera.

    This is a single Periscope camera module and single image sensor, but with two physical lenses, and a shifting prism inside the module moves back and forth between the two lenses as needed to reproduce two optical zoom length.

    The two optical lengths consist of a roughly 80mm, 3.7X zoom that is ideal for portraits and quick closeups, and a 220mm, or about 10X magnification zoom that is ideal for capturing subjects from far away.

    A real 10X zoom doesn’t just produce sharper details, but it also exhibits true background compression — meaning the background appears closer to the subject — which is a trait of telephoto lenses. As a test, I took two shots of my friend, at 3.7X and 10X, while keeping the framing relatively the same, we can see the 10X shot has stronger background compression.

    In the below collage, I snapped both shots while standing in the exact same spot, with the ultrawide lens, and then the 10X zoom.

    The Periscope camera’s sensor size is also the largest in the industry, at 1/1.3-inches. Huawei has not disclosed the brand of the sensor, but reports from China indicate it is a China-made sensor, not a Samsung or Sony sensor (which most smartphones use).

    Such a large sensor, along with an equally capable 1-inch main camera, results in a gigantic camera bump, and Huawei does not shy away from the bump, making it an integral part of the phone’s design. I must say, the design has grown on me a bit. I found it quite unsightly at first, but now, it has its charms.

    The phone also has a beautiful 6.8-inch OLED screen and a solid chip self-developed by Huawei. Software zips along fluidly with no lag. But ultimately, this phone is all about the camera system. In the video below I have done a more in-depth testing with more photo and video samples.

    I need to do more testing, but right now, I’d say the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra is easily one of the top two smartphone cameras in the industry right now along with the Vivo X200 Ultra. Whether the Pura Ultra is number one or number two requires more testing which I will do next week. The Pura 80 Ultra is on sale now in China and will soon go on sale throughout Southeast Asia and Europe.

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