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Enterprise Spotlight: Manufacturing Reimagined

Emerging technologies from AI and extended reality to edge computing, digital twins, and more are driving big changes in the manufacturing world.

Download the February 2026 issue of the Enterprise Spotlight from the editors of CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World and learn about the new tech at the forefront of innovation and how it is poised to reshape how companies operate, compete, and deliver value in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Epistasis study uncovers genetic interactions linked to heart disease

Euan Ashley’s lab explores the intricate interactions of gene variants. Tiny “typos,” or genetic mutations, can sneak into segments of DNA. Many of these are harmless, but some can cause health problems. Two or more genes can team up and change the outcome of a physical or molecular trait. This phenomenon, known as epistasis, occurs through complex interactions between genes that are functionally related—such as those that support protein creation.

Identifying these group dynamics provides crucial clues to how genetic diseases manifest and should be treated. But they’re not easily detected and often fly under the radar.

To help root out these connections, Ashley, MB ChB, DPhil, professor of genetics and of biomedical data science, and a team of scientists, including co-corresponding author Bin Yu, Ph.D., a professor of statistics and of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed computational techniques to identify and understand the hidden ways epistasis influences inherited diseases.

How can we better invest in people’s prosperity, health, skills and jobs? Davos 2026

‘People’, whether it’s for the benefit they bring to growth or the challenge they pose to the balance sheet, always feature on the Annual Meeting’s agenda.

This year, geopolitics dominated the headlines, but a quieter conversation about the investment in people persisted, reflecting a shared recognition that human well-being and human capital is the key to economic resilience.

Maternal microbiome compound may hold key to preventing liver disease

Children born to mothers who consume a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding face a higher risk of developing fatty liver disease later in life.

New research from the University of Oklahoma suggests that risk may be reduced. A recent study has found that supplementing pregnant and lactating mice with a naturally occurring compound produced by healthy gut bacteria significantly lowered rates of fatty liver disease in their offspring as they aged.

The research is published in the journal eBioMedicine.

Securing the Neural Frontier: Cybersecurity and Privacy Risks in Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neurotechnology

Please see my LinkedIn article: “Securing the Neural Frontier.”

We are poised to witness one of the most significant technological advancements in human history: the direct interaction between human brains and machines. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), neurotechnology, and brain-inspired computing have already arrived and need to be secure.

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