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Drug discovery has accelerated ever since directed evolution and CRISPR their arrivals. The discovery of the Higgs has also contributed to science in recent years, stimulating research across the European union. The pursuit of novel approaches is essential to transform our understanding and treatment of diverse medical conditions.

Our focus for three upcoming titles, involves captivating science: circadian rhythm and neurobiology in precision medicine, cutting-edge photonic principles, and constructive play-based interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The circadian clock system is a complex network of molecular interactions and regulates a variety of physiological processes in living organisms. This biological clock system has been shown to play a critical role in maintaining overall health and well-being, and science today has uncovered disruptions in circadian rhythms, these disruptions are associated with numerous medical conditions, including sleep disorders, mood disorders a variety of illness especially neurodegenerative diseases, and even cancer. In the context of ASD, accumulating evidence is present, this evidence suggest that circadian rhythm dysfunction may contribute to the core symptoms of ASD, such as social communication deficits and repetitive behaviours, and restricted interests.

Time cells are Neurons that fire in a rhythmic manner, and while firing they creating temporal patterns underlying the human perception of time. They are specialized neurons in the brain that fire rhythmically, creating temporal patterns that underlie our perception of time. Dysfunction in time cells has been implicated in various neurological disorders, including autism and Alzheimer. They are generally located in the hippocampus, are integral to our understanding of temporal sequences and intervals. These cells' rhythmic firing patterns are thought to interact with the master circadian clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), to influence first and second synchronize circadian rhythms across different brain regions. This synchronization is crucial for maintaining the regularity of physiological processes that follow a daily cycle. The genetic pathways that influence time cell functionality, are of interest, with a focus on mutations or dysregulations that may occur in genes associated with circadian regulation. Early results have indicated that mutations in the PER2 gene, a core component of the circadian clock, could disrupt time cell operations, hence affecting the overall circadian rhythm and leading to behavioural symptoms observed in ASD. By understanding the genetic and molecular basis of time cell dysfunction in ASD, we aim to develop personalized treatment strategies that target the underlying circadian rhythm abnormalities, our goal is improving the lives of innumerable individuals affected by this disorder. We will rather focus on a personalized strategy that entails a complete assessment of the patient's circadian rhythm profile, genetic background, and environmental factors, followed by targeted interventions designed to restore normal circadian function and alleviate ASD symptoms.

Our laboratory is engaged developing play-based Interventions in order to achieve positive developmental outcomes for the autistic patient. Since we are developing a novel, evidence-based therapeutic protocol in order to achieve improved developmental outcomes, our approach combines the latest findings from neuroscience, developmental psychology, and positive psychology, in order to set a high enough standard. There is a particular emphasis with play-based interventions. Serving as a critical mechanism for learning, socialization, and emotional regulation play is a crucial and integral part of modern ASD therapy.

Autistic patients need structure.

Play-based interventions bring structured, supportive context for children with ASD to practice and refine social, emotional, and cognitive skills.

Developing protocol around implementing positive psychology within the modern-day therapy session can be challenging. Our working title “Play-Based Interventions for Promoting Positive Developmental Outcomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A complete Therapeutic Protocol Informed by Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, & Positive Psychology“ covers This Brand new and unique, evidence-based therapeutic protocol for promoting positive developmental outcomes in ASD. For young children with ASD, play can be a powerful tool , one they need to achieve growth, addressing the core symptoms of the disorder, our protocol can help the therapist diagnose the condition of the child, such as newly gained progress or social communication deficits, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviours. Most if not all children with ASD unfortunately face significant challenges while engaging in spontaneous, reciprocal play, and hence, often these children requiring specialized interventions in order to support their development.

Developing interventions that include structured play scenarios takes time. These interventions are designed to enhance peer interaction and emotional recognition. Some of these interventions use role-play games to encourage children with ASD to express their emotions and interpret those of others, thus improving their social communication skills. Neuroscience has produced rich insights into the neural underpinnings of play and its role in supporting various aspects of cognitive and socioemotional development. For instance, studies have shown that play activates the brain's sophisticated reward system, releasing neurotransmitters such as dopamine and endorphins that promote learning, motivation, and overall well-being. The development of executive functions, such as cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, and self-regulation, which are often impaired in children with ASD also relate to play therapy. Preliminary findings from our interventions have shown promising improvements in the social engagement and emotional regulation of participating children. Challenges can be overcome , individual variability in response to interventions are needed, and the need for tailored approaches remain. Current studies aim to refine these interventions to maximize benefits for these children with ASD.

Developmental psychology studies the growth of the child and underlines in general the importance of play in fostering social-emotional development. Especially in the context of peer relationships, positive psychology can come in handy. Positive psychology is indeed an emerging field and while the field emphasizes the importance of fostering positive emotions, and relationships, the continuation of this young field is essential in order to advance the client-therapist relationship, and boost experiences for the client as patient, in order to promote overall well-being of the patient and resilience. By incorporating principles from positive psychology into our therapeutic protocol, we aim to create an environment that not only supports the development of essential skills but also nurtures a sense of happiness, curiosity, engagement and foremost personal development.

Refreshing angles on physics too, are being developed within our laboratory and on campus; our work covers emerging photonic principles while investigating Negative Effective Mass. We are exploring novel photonic principles and the concept of negative effective mass, which could revolutionize our understanding of light-matter interactions and lead to constructive technologies with applications in various fields. Photonic principles draw from physics, engineering, and materials science to study and manipulate the properties of light, while Negative effective mass (not to be confused with negative mass) is an entirely new concept being studied and covers the peculiar behaviour of certain electromagnetic waves that exhibit an opposite phase velocity compared to their group velocity.

A. Grothendieck had major impact especially with the algebraic sciences , his work leaves us with room to explore not only theoretical physics, but also novel photonic principles and the concept of negative effective mass.

These strong concepts have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of light-matter interactions and could lead to the development of constructive technologies with applications in various fields, including medicine and telecommunications, sensing applications, and clinical diagnostics. Most photonics combine certain principles from physics and mathematics, drawn from engineering, and materials science to study and manipulate the properties of light. In recent decades, photonics has experienced rapid advancements, giving rise to a plethora of novel devices and applications. Optical fibers, lasers, and integrated photonic circuits to name a few. We are currently investigating emerging photonic principles that build upon these initial advancements, with of course, the potential to unlock a new frontier in the field. Our research into negative effective mass and novel photonic principles could transform several industries. For instance, in telecommunications, these principles can be applied to develop more efficient fiber optic cables that minimize signal loss and enhance data transmission speeds. In medical diagnostics, photonic sensors with negative effective mass could lead to highly sensitive devices capable of detecting diseases sooner. Disproving negative effective mass can be as interesting, since modern physics needs a variety of modern concepts which challenges our conventional understanding of particle behaviour. In classical physics, particles with positive mass accelerate in the direction of the applied force, while those with negative mass accelerate in the opposite direction. However, in the context of photonics, negative effective mass refers to the peculiar behaviour of certain electromagnetic waves that exhibit an opposite phase velocity compared to their group velocity. This counterintuitive phenomenon, which has been observed in metamaterials and photonic crystals, has the potential to enable the development of novel devices with typical properties, such as super lenses, perfect absorbers, and non-reciprocal components. We think disproving negative effective mass could give way for new theorem too.

By building upon the mathematical groundwork laid by A. Grothendieck, we aim to push boundaries , broaden our horizon and uncover new physical phenomena that could have far-reaching implications for future scientific and hi-tech advancements. Grothendieck's groundbreaking work around sheaves (and category theory) has provided a powerful framework for understanding and describing complex systems. His approach can no doubt be applied to the study of photonic systems to reveal hidden patterns and structures. While the potential of negative effective mass in photonics is immense, challenges such as material stability, fabrication costs, and integration into existing systems remain. Future research will focus on overcoming these hurdles by developing new materials and scalable production techniques that could facilitate the practical application of these advanced photonic concepts.

Explore our work: Sig Labs Publications by P. De Ceuster