DTN 032: Human embryo models grown from stem cells

The Big Picture

Human embryo models grown from stem cells

“A research team headed by Prof. Jacob Hanna at the Weizmann Institute of Science has created complete models of human embryos from stem cells cultured in the lab—and managed to grow them outside the womb up to day 14. As reported today in Nature, these synthetic embryo models had all the structures and compartments characteristic of this stage, including the placenta, yolk sac, chorionic sac and other external tissues that ensure the models' dynamic and adequate growth. Cellular aggregates derived from human stem cells in previous studies could not be considered genuinely accurate human embryo models, because they lacked nearly all the defining hallmarks of a post-implantation embryo. In particular, they failed to contain several cell types that are essential to the embryo's development, such as those that form the placenta and the chorionic sac. In addition, they did not have the structural organization characteristic of the embryo and revealed no dynamic ability to progress to the next developmental stage.” (Nature)

Are self-driving cars already safer than human drivers?

“For this story, I read through every crash report Waymo and Cruise filed in California this year, as well as reports each company filed about the performance of their driverless vehicles (with no safety drivers) prior to 2023. In total, the two companies reported 102 crashes involving driverless vehicles. That may sound like a lot, but they happened over roughly 6 million miles of driving. That works out to one crash for every 60,000 miles, which is about five years of driving for a typical human motorist. These were overwhelmingly low-speed collisions that did not pose a serious safety risk. A large majority appeared to be the fault of the other driver. Human beings drive close to 100 million miles between fatal crashes, so it will take hundreds of millions of driverless miles for 100 percent certainty on this question. But the evidence for better-than-human performance is starting to pile up.” (Ars Technica)

Is the AI Boom Already Over?

“When generative AI products started rolling out to the general public last year, it kicked off a frenzy of excitement and fear. Several months later, the bloom is coming off the AI-generated rose. Recent reports suggest that consumers are starting to lose interest: The new AI-powered Bing search hasn’t made a dent in Google’s market share, ChatGPT is losing users for the first time, and the bots are still prone to basic errors that make them impossible to trust. In some cases, they may be even less accurate now than they were before. A recent Pew survey found that only 18 percent of US adults had ever used ChatGPT, and another said they’re becoming increasingly concerned about the use of AI. Is the party over for this party trick?” (Vox)

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Deep Tech News

• SpaceX sending iPhone Emergency SOS satellites to space
• Da Vinci robot surgeon removes inoperable tumor, saving patient’s life
• The USAF Pairs Piloted Jets With AI Drones
• Batteries from crashed Teslas could power UK homes
• This USC Professor is Developing an Artificial Brain
• India’s Aditya-L1 solar probe successfully lifts off toward the sun
• Should the US implement a ‘robot tax?’
• The world’s longest subsea power cable is now complete
• NRC lacks authority to license private, away-from-reactor nuclear waste facility: 5th Circuit

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Peer Review

• Researchers develop a protocol to extend the life of quantum coherence
• Researcher mimics spider webs and beetles to harvest fresh water from thin air
• Chemists develop new way to split water
• Researchers discover quantum switch for regulating photosynthesis
• Machine learning hunts for the right mix of hydrogen isotopes for future nuclear fusion power plants
• AI 'nose' predicts smells from molecular structures
• Researchers develop novel tumor-targeting nanospheres to improve light-based cancer diagnosis and treatment
• Scientists make the first observation of a nucleus decaying into four particles after beta decay
• The first microrobots capable of navigating within groups of cells and stimulating individual cells
• US appears to have the largest lithium deposit in the world in Nevada

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Funding x M&A

• Imbue raises $200M to build AI models that can ‘robustly reason’
• Robot software firm Mujin raises $85M
• DOE announces $15.5B to support electric vehicle transition, grow domestic battery manufacturing
• Redwood Materials raises $1B to expand circular battery supply chain in US
• Eldercare robot ElliQ nabs another $25 million in funding
• H2 Green Steel, a startup building a large-scale green steel plant, raised ~$1.6B in funding
• Marian Oncology, a biotech company developing radiopharmaceuticals, raised a $175M Series B
• Mission Control, a startup developing software for Earth, Moon, and Mars, raised a $3.3M seed round
• In-car holographic tech startup Envisics raised a $100M Series C
• Epigenic Therapeutics, a biotech startup focused on developing gene modulation therapy, raised a $32M Series A
• Fusion energy startup Novatron Fusion Group raised a $5M seed round

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Miscellanea

Humanity will out-communicate all life on Earth within 90 years / An artificial star for testing the optical performance of startrackers / Sword swallowing and its side effects / Can We Talk to Whales? / Geo Guesser identifies the location and seat number from an aerial shot / Scientists finally know why Germany’s wild boar are surprisingly radioactive / I built a Plane Spotter in 120 secs with ChatGPT / Computing Power Used to Be Measured in 'Kilo-Girls' / Pentagon and CIA Shaped 1000s of Hollywood Films into Super Effective Propaganda / The Aftermath of a 'Miracle Cure' for a Rare Cancer / How Much Wave Energy Is In Our Oceans? / Could the Universe be a Giant Quantum Computer? / Lockheed Martin is having a streetwear moment in South Korea

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