DNA, Science & Technology News

Scientists Have Created the First Genetically Engineered Marsupial

By RIKEN

Genome editing targeting a gene responsible for making body pigments resulted in albino offspring, suggesting that the genetic engineering was successful in marsupials. Credit: RIKEN

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) have succeeded in creating the first genetically engineered marsupial. This study, published in the scientific journal Current Biology, will contribute to deciphering the genetic background of unique characteristics observed only in marsupials.

Genetically modified animals, particularly mice and rats, are extremely important tools for researching biological processes. For example, researchers often silence genes to find out what their normal functions are. Since marsupials have unique characteristics, studying them requires developing a representative animal model. To date, the best option is the opossum, which is thought to be the ancestor of all marsupials. The first marsupial to have its entire genome sequenced, the opossum makes a good model animal because its size and breeding characteristics are similar to those of mice and rats.

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Robots, Science & Technology News

Could you beat this bipedal robot’s 5K run time?

It completed the distance in 53 minutes

By James Vincent

Researchers from Oregon State University have coaxed a bipedal robot off the couch to successfully complete the first ever robotic 5 kilometer outdoors run. The bot, Cassie, completed the route in 53 minutes, untethered and on a single battery charge. So next time you’re out for a jog, remember: that’s the time to beat if you want to out-pace the killer robots.

(For now.) 

Cassie is the creation of OSU spin-off Agility Robotics, which has been pushing the commercial case for bipedal robots for a while. Cassie itself was the company’s first product, manufactured between 2017 and 2019, and now embraced by research labs. Agility now makes an updated bipedal bot, Digit, which has arms to handle packages and has been used by Ford as part of a research project into autonomous delivery robots. 

Bipedal machines are a tricky sell, though. Their big advantage is they can easily navigate spaces made for humans, like stairs and tight corridors. But their bipedalism means they’re inherently less stable, especially compared to quadrupedal robots like those made by Boston Dynamics. It’s just harder to knock something over when it’s standing on four legs.

Continue reading… “Could you beat this bipedal robot’s 5K run time?”
NASA, Science & Technology News

What comes next after the International Space Station ends

By Miriam Kramer

NASA is at risk of losing a foothold in orbit after the end of the International Space Station.

Why it matters: Without an operating base in space, the agency’s plan to shift from being a sole provider of services in orbit to becoming a customer of companies operating there is in jeopardy.

  • NASA is hoping that instead of running its own space station, it will have the option to send its astronauts to privately run space stations in orbit by the time the ISS ends.

Driving the news: NASA this month put out a final call asking for companies to submit their ideas for space stations they could build and operate where astronauts could visit and perform experiments.

  • Those space stations would need to be up and running by the time the ISS comes to an end by 2030 or earlier.
  • NASA will award money to the companies chosen for certain milestones, but the agency isn’t going to fully fund the development of these space stations, according to the request for proposals.
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Blockchain, Science & Technology News

India launches world’s largest blockchain diploma verification system

By Sam Cooling

Amid widespread diploma forgery, and driven by the intense competition in India’s job market, the Maharashtra state government has announced the launch of a new blockchain verification system to ensure transparency for genuine qualifications.

The new system will be the world’s largest educational blockchain system, and the Maharashtra State Board of Skill Development (MSBSD) has taken the active decision to overrule the nationwide ban on crypto technologies in order to deliver the progressive project.

“In the last 10 years, there has been a rampant increase in forgery of government-issued documents which have caused huge financial and reputational losses to the stakeholders involved,” said the Chair of the MSBSD as he announced the new system.

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AI, Science & Technology News

How AI can take optimised healthcare resource utilisation to the next level

Healthcare facilities are looking to artificial intelligence to optimise operational performance at a time when rising demand for their services is stretching resources and limiting the patient experience.

Improving operational efficiency has emerged as a priority for healthcare facilities as they seek predictive ways to manage and allocate resources at a time of ever-increasing demand for their services.

Many of them are now turning to AI as a key enabler of a more progressive approach, helping them to plan their logistical responses based on the latest data – and maintain their focus on delivering end-to-end patient care of the highest quality.

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Electric Vehicles, Science & Technology News

BMW reveals E-scooter and electrified cargo bicycle concepts

By Shane McGlaun 

BMW reveals E-scooter and electrified cargo bicycle concepts

Companies around the world are conducting lots of research into the future of mobility in cities. Research is being conducted by traditional automakers and by new startups looking at alternate methods of transportation. BMW Group Research has revealed two mobility concepts for the city with an e-scooter concept called Clever Commute and an electrified bicycle called Dynamic Cargo.

The electrified bicycle is a three-wheel design and has a compartment between the two small rear wheels for storing cargo. Dynamic Cargo is a compact cargo bike concept promising high agility, flexible usage options, and increased year-round suitability. It has a loading platform with attachments for transporting loads and/or children for leisure activities.

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Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Regeneron’s latest genetics discovery hooks AstraZeneca — now all-in on developing small molecules for obesity

By John Carroll
Editor & Founder
Just weeks after its widely lauded genetics research arm tagged a promising new target for obesity, Regeneron has signed up an industry heavyweight to collaborate with on developing new drugs that can potentially act as a game-changer in what has proven to be a tough field for developers.


The Regeneron Genetics Center published a paper in Science at the beginning of this month highlighting how their work sequencing the genomes of 650,000 people highlighted how people with at least 1 inactive copy of the GPR75 gene weighed on average 12 pounds less than the rest of the population with a 54% reduction in risk of obesity.

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3D Printer, Science & Technology News

Nanotech-built armor could replace Kevlar, steel for soldier protection

Recent laboratory experiments using novel 3D printing approaches with nanotechnology yielded a lattice structure that stopped projectiles better than Kevlar or steel at a much lighter weight. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 

A recent breakthrough by Army-funded researchers may lead to a new material that could yield lightweight body armor, blast shields and more for future soldiers.

Testing at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, is an Army-sponsored research center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, showed a polymer patterned in a “lattice-like” structure using nanotechnologies could withstand more force than Kevlar or steel.

The paper, recently published in the scientific journal, Nature Materials, showed that the nanotechnology-built material prevented objects from tearing through and was “more efficient” at stopping penetration than traditional materials.

The “fiber computer” cloth has already accurately tracked user activity solely on body temperature readings.

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Healthcare, Science & Technology News

The Robot Will See You Now: Health-Care Chatbots Boom but Still Can’t Replace Doctors


Scout’s job is just to ask questions. A lot of them.

How long have you had a fever? Are you feeling short of breath? When you bend your neck forward, is there pain that is so severe it makes you want to cry?

If so, Scout might recommend a trip to the emergency room. Scout is usually overly cautious about these things. It kind of has to be, as a robot.

Scout is a conversational chatbot made by health tech company Gyant and used by Intermountain Healthcare in Utah to tell patients what they should do when they feel sick. It may suggest getting some good rest, or setting up a doctor’s appointment or, oftentimes, making a trip to the ER or an urgent-care facility.

Continue reading… “The Robot Will See You Now: Health-Care Chatbots Boom but Still Can’t Replace Doctors”
Driverless cars, Science & Technology News

Lyft travels to the future with new self-driving cars coming to Austin

Experimentation and innovation are driving this technology. 

By John Egan

The Lyft ride-hailing service is traveling into a new era in Austin.

Starting next year, Lyft customers in certain parts of Austin will be able to hire a self-driving car as part of a new partnership with automaker Ford and Argo AI, a provider of technology for self-driving vehicles.

“This collaboration marks the first time all the pieces of the autonomous vehicle puzzle have come together this way,“ Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green says in a July 21 news release. “Each company brings the scale, knowledge, and capability in their area of expertise that is necessary to make autonomous ride-hailing a business reality.”

The initiative will roll out later this year in Miami, with self-driving Lyft cars coming to Austin sometime next year. Washington, D.C., is also on the road map. A so-called “safety driver” will ride in each of the cars along with the Lyft passengers.

The three companies behind the effort hope to add at least 1,000 self-driving cars to the Lyft network over the next five years in various U.S. markets, including Austin.

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