Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists have long thought of the fluid-filled sac around our lungs merely as a cushion from external damage. Turns out, it also houses potent virus-eating cells that rush into the lungs during flu infections.

Not to be confused with phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria, these cells are macrophages, immune cells produced in the body.

“The name macrophage means ‘big eater.’ They gobble up bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and dying cells. Really, anything that looks foreign, they take it up and destroy it,” said UC Riverside virologist Juliet Morrison, who led the discovery team. “We were surprised to find them in the lungs because nobody has seen this before, that these cells go into the lung when there’s an infection.”

A research paper published in Nature Cancer details new insights into the role of efferocytosis—the burying of dead cells—in pancreatic cancer that spreads to the liver.

Liver metastasis occurs in 40–50% of people with pancreatic ductal adenosarcoma (PDAC), and there are currently no effective therapies to cure pancreatic cancer patients that have liver metastasis.

Led by University of Liverpool’s Professor Michael Schmid and colleagues, this study found PDAC metastases to show high levels of immunosuppressive macrophages, a type of white blood cell that promotes tumor growth.

Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly in talks to invest $100 million into robotics startup Figure — suggesting that they might hope to combine their tech with its humanoid robot.

The background: A lot of humanoid robots can look impressive in demos but turn out to be highly limited in reality.

Continue reading “OpenAI is reportedly investing in humanoid robots” »

As the opioid crisis worsens, one Boston-based pharmaceutical company has used some impressive biology to create what it says amounts to a non-addictive, non-opioid painkiller.

As the New York Times reports, Vertex Pharmaceuticals seems to have shown some promising results in Phase 3 clinical trials, announced earlier this week in a statement, for patients who experienced “moderate-to-severe acute pain” after getting surgery.

Whereas opioids generally target both the brain and the body, which ultimately leads to their addictiveness, non-opioid drugs like Vertex’s VX-548 focus on peripheral nerves, or those outside of the brain and spine, the NYT explains. By blocking pain at the source, the logic goes, it can be averted before reaching the brain and developing the kind of feedback loop that lends itself to dependency.

Miniature high-torque servo actuators combined with sensitive multi-dimensional pressure sensors enabled the team to create an exceptionally dexterous hand–MagicBot.

MagicLab debuts its humanoid design–MagicBot in January, showcasing exceptional balance and dexterity, positioning it as a rival to Boston Dynamics’ Atlas.

Continue reading “MagicLab’s humanoid can toast marshmallows, fold clothes and dance” »

From the groundbreaking RTX 2000 Ada GPU to the exciting Chat with RTX AI app, explore how Nvidia is redefining the digital experience.

If you’re equipped with an RTX 30 or 40 series GPU, embark on an immersive AI journey. Learn how these innovations are poised to set new benchmarks.

Apple’s Vision Pro may have dazzled the world with its stunning display and sleek design, but not everyone is convinced it’s the best headset on the market. One of its biggest rivals, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has some pinching words for the device and its maker.

So why is Quest 3 a better overall product according to Zuck?

Zuckerberg took to Instagram on Tuesday to share his thoughts on the Vision Pro, which he tried out for himself. He compared it to Meta’s Quest 3, the latest version of the popular standalone VR headset. He filmed the video using the Quest 3’s video passthrough feature, which lets users see the real world in color through the headset’s cameras.

The ability to extract trace bits of DNA from soil, water, and even air is revolutionizing science. But it’s not foolproof.

Big Tech is also throwing its weight behind a promising technical standard that could add a “nutrition label” to images, video, and audio. Called C2PA, it’s an open-source internet protocol that relies on cryptography to encode details about the origins of a piece of content, or what technologists refer to as “provenance” information. The developers of C2PA often compare the protocol to a nutrition label, but one that says where content came from and who—or what—created it. Read more about it here.

On February 8, Google announced it is joining other tech giants such as Microsoft and Adobe in the steering committee of C2PA and will include its watermark SynthID in all AI-generated images in its new Gemini tools. Meta says it is also participating in C2PA. Having an industry-wide standard makes it easier for companies to detect AI-generated content, no matter which system it was created with.

OpenAI too announced new content provenance measures last week. It says it will add watermarks to the metadata of images generated with ChatGPT and DALL-E 3, its image-making AI. OpenAI says it will now include a visible label in images to signal they have been created with AI.