Lifeboat Foundation

A nanoparticle formulation, using oligonucleotide chemistry, able to release a gene editing system with single cell resolution after near infrared laser activation. The full potential of the formulation was demonstrated in the brain after intracerebral and intranasal administrations. The spot of the laser defined the region of gene editing.

Understanding cellular architectures and their connectivity is essential for interrogating system function and dysfunction. However, we lack technologies for mapping the multiscale details of individual cells and their connectivity in the human organ–scale system. We developed a platform that simultaneously extracts spatial, molecular, morphological, and connectivity information of individual cells from the same human brain. The platform includes three core elements: a vibrating microtome for ultraprecision slicing of large-scale tissues without losing cellular connectivity (MEGAtome), a polymer hydrogel–based tissue processing technology for multiplexed multiscale imaging of human organ–scale tissues (mELAST), and a computational pipeline for reconstructing three-dimensional connectivity across multiple brain slabs (UNSLICE).

WEHI researchers have found a specific immunotherapy could hold promise for treating gliomas, an aggressive form of brain cancer with limited treatment options.

The new study shows that CAR T cell therapy not…

Researchers at WEHI have identified a promising new two-in-one treatment that not only targets and destroys an aggressive form of brain cancer, but also helps the immune system develop a lasting defence against it.

Continue reading “Two-in-one breakthrough: Cutting-edge immunotherapy could hold promise for incurable brain cancer” »

WASHINGTON (AP) — Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.

Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.

So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn’t need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.

The fact that we don’t see anything out there means that if they did exist, they vanished long ago and their signatures have decayed away.

Investors are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the AI industry right now, and much of that is going toward the development of a still theoretical technology: artificial general intelligence.

OpenAI, the maker of the buzzy chatbot ChatGPT, has made creating AGI a top priority. Its Big Tech competitors, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, are also devoting their top researchers to the same goal.

AI experts have said it would likely be 2050 before AGI hits the market. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says 2025, but it’s a very difficult problem to solve.

Let’s also emphasise ethical considerations. The Dartmouth participants didn’t spend much time discussing the ethical implications of AI. Today, we know better, and must do better.

We must also refocus research directions. Let’s emphasise research into AI interpretability and robustness, interdisciplinary AI research and explore new paradigms of intelligence that aren’t modelled on human cognition.

Finally, we must manage our expectations about AI. Sure, we can be excited about its potential. But we must also have realistic expectations, so that we can avoid the disappointment cycles of the past.

Robotic forearm designed with human-like proportions and efficient heat dissipation:

To replicate this in robots, researchers developed a compact forearm with a radioulnar joint using miniature bone–muscle modules. The design mimics human proportions, with two modules in the radius and ulna, totaling eight muscles. These muscles control six degrees of freedom (DOFs), including the radioulnar joint, radiocarpal joint, and finger movements.

Continue reading “Scientists create mini robotic forearm muscle comparable to human” »