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Category: robotics/AI – Page 111

What this AI epitope library means for vaccines, immunotherapy and biosensors

A new tool makes it possible to screen millions of tiny protein fragments and select those that can be recognized by the immune system. The CIC biomaGUNE Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials has developed epiGPTope, a system that uses machine learning to generate and classify epitopes, in collaboration with the company Multiverse Computing.

The immune system is triggered by the presence of viruses or bacteria. When the antibodies produced recognize the epitopes, a small part of these viruses or bacteria, they launch an attack strategy. These epitopes are small fragments of protein recognized by antibodies or by immune cell receptors. So discovering new epitope sequences that target specific antibodies is essential for the development of diagnostic tools, immunotherapies and vaccines.

CIC biomaGUNE’s Biomolecular Nanotechnology laboratory, led by the Ikerbasque Research Professor Aitziber L. Cortajarena, is creating a library or database of hundreds of thousands of synthetic epitopes using this AI-based technique. The work is published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology.

Metamaterial chains learn new shapes by sharing data hinge to hinge

In a new Nature Physics publication, University of Amsterdam researchers introduce human-made materials that spring to life. These ‘metamaterials’ don’t just learn to change shape, but can autonomously adapt their shape-changing strategy, perform reflex actions and move around like living systems do.

Normal materials have fixed, predetermined responses when a force is applied to them, whereas robots have pre-programmed behaviors. In stark contrast, living materials such as cells and brainless organisms can adapt extremely well to changing conditions. Inspired by nature, the research team created synthetic materials—metamaterials—that learn and adapt without a central “brain.”

The worm-like metamaterials progressively learn how to change shape by being trained on examples. They can forget old shapes and learn new ones, or learn and remember multiple shapes at once and toggle between these shapes. This allows them to perform advanced tasks such as grabbing an object or moving around (locomotion).

Tiny Robots Built From DNA Could Hunt Viruses and Deliver Drugs Inside the Human Body

For most of human history, medical treatment has relied on methods such as pills, injections, and surgery. Now, scientists are exploring a new idea: making tiny, programmable machines from DNA that can move through the bloodstream.

A recent review published in the journal SmartBot says these DNA nanorobots could one day be capable of delivering drugs to specific locations in the body, capturing viruses like SARS-CoV-2, and even helping build tiny computing devices. Even though these ideas are exciting, the technology is still in its early stages.

Early Stages of Development.

Watching Atoms Make Waves

A new microscope captures how atoms rearrange themselves when they are illuminated inside an optical cavity.

When light hits an atom, it exerts a force on the atom. As weak as these light-induced forces may be, understanding them allows scientists to levitate particles, create the coldest atomic gases in the Universe, operate solar sails, and observe gravitational waves. More exotic phenomena occur when light is confined between a pair of mirrors known as an optical cavity. When a gas of atoms is placed inside such a cavity, light emitted by one atom can be absorbed by another atom. Through the exchange of photons, each atom simultaneously tugs on all the other atoms, causing the ensemble to autonomously rearrange itself into a periodic pattern called a density wave. Now Jean-Philippe Brantut and his colleagues at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have built a microscope to, for the first time, image this light-induced density wave in an ultracold atomic gas [1].

Psychological traits of scientists predict their theories and research methods

The research team also wanted to see if survey responses translated to actual scientific output. They received permission from a portion of the participants to securely link their survey answers with their professional publication records.

The team utilized machine learning technology to analyze the text of the scientists’ published abstracts and article titles. The computer algorithms measured how closely the words and phrasing matched among different authors. They also built algorithms to map out who these scientists collaborated with and which older papers they cited as foundational literature.

The algorithms revealed that cognitive traits are associated with differences in real-world publishing activity. This remained true even when controlling for a researcher’s specific subfield and preferred tools. Two psychologists who study the exact same topic using identical methods are still more likely to cite the same reference materials if they happen to share similar internal thinking styles.

Microsoft removes Support and Recovery Assistant from Windows

Microsoft has deprecated and removed the Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) command-line utility from all in-support versions of Windows updates starting March 10.

SaRA is a free scriptable tool that helps troubleshoot and resolve common issues with Office, Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Windows by running a series of automated diagnostic tests on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11 systems.

According to Microsoft, the latest version of the utility should identify the root cause and then either automatically fix the issue, provide step-by-step instructions for a manual fix, or help users contact Microsoft support.

New Advances Bring the Era of Quantum Computers Closer Than Ever

From the article:

” home new advances bring the era of quantum computers closer than ever

Quantum computing New Advances Bring the Era of Quantum Computers Closer Than Ever By Charlie Wood April 3, 2026

Two research groups say they have significantly reduced the amount of qubits and time required to crack common online security technologies.

Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine Introduction Some 30 years ago, the mathematician Peter Shor(opens a new tab) took a niche physics project — the dream of building a computer based on the counterintuitive rules of quantum mechanics — and shook the world.

Shor worked out a way for quantum computers to swiftly solve a couple of math problems that classical computers could complete only after many billions of years. Those two math problems happened to be the ones that secured the then-emerging digital world. The trustworthiness of nearly every website, inbox, and bank account rests on the assumption that these two problems are impossible to solve. Shor’s algorithm proved that assumption wrong.

For 30 years, Shor’s algorithm has been a security threat in theory only. Physicists initially estimated that they would need a colossal quantum machine with billions of qubits — the elements used in quantum calculations — to run it. That estimate has come down drastically over the years, falling recently to a million qubits. But it has still always sat comfortably beyond the modest capabilities of existing quantum computers, which typically have just hundreds of qubits.

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