What is driving the urgency?Experts point to two broad drivers: A more threatening security environment, as well as uncertainty over US support.Japan’s ties with China, North Korea and Russia have worsened in recent years, with frequent military activity near its territory. Japanese jets scrambled 595 times in the year to Mar 31, including 366 responses to Chinese aircraft and 214 to Russian planes.”Japan lives in a neighbourhood where three states with nuclear weapons publicly criticise Japan and threaten its security and national sovereignty,” Dr Hornung…
Spotlight
Scientists are using a new form of generative artificial intelligence to design specialised viruses that can hunt and kill harmful bacteria. This breakthrough could lead to a new generation of antibiotics designed to defeat drug-resistant “superbugs”. Using the AI model Evo 2, which can create new DNA, scientists at Stanford University created a series of viruses known as bacteriophages – microorganisms able to kill bacteria. In lab tests, a mixture of 16 “exceptionally good” viruses designed by Evo 2 was able to rapidly kill E. coli bacteria that were already immune to natural phages. E.coli is a group of bacteria…