🫁 New lung cancer drug shows 'unprecedented' results, Tibetan lakes to swell 50% by 2100, worms could be behind biodiversity boom that happened 480 mya

Plus: Single-shot therapy promises long-term relief for asthma                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 June 04, 2024 | [Read Online]( A recent clinical trial of a drug used for treating lung cancer has heralded “a remarkable advancement.” Lung cancer is one of the most dire causes of death relating to cancer across the globe. A recent trial of the new anti-cancer drug has revealed that 60% of patients are still alive, and the cancer also didn’t spread to any other part of the body. The protein anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) plays a crucial role in regulating cell growth. It is produced by the ALK gene. In certain cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), this gene can be rearranged. For more on this development, check out today’s [Must-Read.]( 🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on [jobs.interestingengineering.com](: >[Â]([Compute Windows Engineer]( > [Senior Software Engineer]( Reading Time: 4 mins Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? [Subscribe here.]( MUST READ 🫁 Trials show ‘unprecedented’ pill slowing lung cancer in 60% of patients [Lorlatinib]( is a third-generation ALK inhibitor. It is the latest in a class of drugs used as the standard first-line treatment for patients with ALK-positive NSCLC. A recent [international clinical trial](, led by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center (Peter Mac) in Melbourne, Australia, evaluated the drug’s impact on long-term disease progression in patients with [advanced ALK-positive NSCLC](. The results were remarkable. In an interview with The Guardian, Peter Mac’s Professor Ben Solomon, the study’s lead and corresponding author, said, “To our knowledge, these [results are unprecedented](.” 🐟 Tibet lakes to swell by 600 billion tons, cost China almost $7 billion A recent study has found that by the end of the century, the surface area of some lakes on the [Qinghai-Tibet Plateau]( could expand by over [50%](, while other lakes around the world are expected to shrink. Researchers estimate that the water volume of lakes in this region of southwest China will increase by more than [600 billion tons](. This surge is attributed primarily to [increased rainfall]( caused by climate change, as well as the [melting of glaciers](. Without mitigation efforts, this expansion could submerge over [1,000 km of roads](, around 500 settlements, and approximately 10,000 sq km of ecological areas, including grasslands, wetlands, and croplands. 🪱 Worms could be behind biodiversity burst that happened 480 million years ago Inspired by the early life forms of prehistoric worms and other invertebrates that triggered the [Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event]( nearly 480 million years ago, scientists from Johns Hopkins University studied how these organisms influenced [geochemical cycles](. Their research revealed how these early life forms contributed to the transition from the [Proterozoic]( to the [Phanerozoic]( eon. “It’s really incredible to think how such small animals, ones that don’t even exist today, could alter the course of [evolutionary history]( in such a profound way,” stated senior author Maya Gomes, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Love what you're reading, but too many emails? Sign up to IE+ to get Blueprint Weekly, our exclusive weekly premium newsletter that gives all the insights you love in a more digestible weekly format– plus, enjoy an Ad-Free experience on our website. Try IE+ today for just $1 in the first month. [Subscribe here]( HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY SCIENCE > A team of researchers has gathered evidence to show that coevolution has links with speciation by studying cuckoos and their host birds, demonstrating how these interactions can lead to the emergence of new species when a cuckoo species exploits multiple hosts. ([More]() > Chinese scientists have unveiled a pioneering cell therapy that promises long-term relief for asthma sufferers with a single shot. ([More]() > In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, a hidden underground world is under threat by the Maya Train. ([More]() ENERGY > The Spanish city of Valencia has an innovative plan to generate clean energy—turning cemeteries into hubs of green energy by installing solar panels on top of graves. ([More]() > A wind fence consisting of vertical wind turbines developed by New York-based designer Joe Doucet is set to bring clean energy production into urban landscapes. ([More]() > International Energy Agency’s analysis of policies, plans and estimates from nearly 150 countries found that they could reach 8,000 gigawatts of renewable power capacity in six years. ([More]() INNOVATION > A Canada-based sustainable startup has created recycled plastic bricks. Named “Plaex-crete,” these blocks are lightweight, durable, and eco-friendly. Despite being lightweight, they can withstand loads without deforming or collapsing. ([More]() > MIT researchers have utilized AI models to combine data from multiple sources to help robots learn better. The training strategy allowed a robot to execute various tool-use activities and adapt to new tasks it was not exposed to during training, both in simulations and real-world tests. ([More]() > Aeronautics Ltd. has announced the launch of a new multi-rotor UAS: the Hybrid Octoper, a tactical multi-rotor UAS with a hybrid propulsion system. ([More]() VIDEO > There's a lot of hype around magnesium and its ability to alleviate anxiety and depression. Can this mineral help reduce anxiety? ([More]() > A recent study at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics delves into the causes of left-handedness, a trait possessed by only 10 percent of the population. ([More]() > The polio survivor Paul Alexander lived inside an iron lung for 70 years. But what is an iron lung, and how does it work? ([More]() IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS In yesterday’s quiz, we asked, Can solve the question above? The answer is: We know that it takes 5 minutes for a machine to make one widget, thus it would take 5 minutes for 100 machines to make 100 widgets. Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on [Instagram]( and [Facebook!]( FROM THE WEB > The sharks we know today as the open ocean’s top predators evolved from stubby bottom dwellers during a dramatic episode of global warming millions of years [ago]( > Neo Px is a bioengineered plant capable of purifying indoor air at an unprecedented [scale]( > The African turquoise killifish has developed a handy biological hack to survive months-long droughts—their embroys enter [diapause]( > A 50-year-old woman has been diagnosed with a rare condition that makes her appear [drunk]( > A 4,000-year-old timber circle on a Norfolk beach dubbed the “Seahenge” was built after a period of extreme climate degradation at the close of the third millennium BC, a new study has [found]( > California’s largest freshwater lake has turned bright green due to algae blooms so intense they are visible from space, NASA has [announced]( Additional Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [⚙️ Mechanical:](Explore the wonders of mechanical engineering. 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