Singularity Hub
Using synthetics to design cells with new abilities ‘such as pumping out life-saving drugs’
A German team headed by Dr. Edward Lemke at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory described an entirely synthetic organelle inside living cells ...
Why Microsoft wants to design a system that stores data in DNA
DNA is emerging as an ultra-compact way of storing it all, and now researchers supported by Microsoft have created the first ...
Are we on the verge of extending human life with ‘regenerative superpowers’?
The excessive demand for donated organs will only intensify as technologies like self-driving cars make the world safer, given that ...
Can traumatic memories be ‘erased’ with anesthesia medications?
Erasing memories has always been the stuff of science fiction and wishful thinking. After all, what happened, happened—your experiences are solidified in your ...
Alzheimer’s disease targeted with gene therapy trial
There’s a test for Alzheimer’s risk that genetic counselors don’t like to talk about. It’s not that they’re hiding the ...
Purposeful evolution: Can humanity create its own ‘prosperous’ future?
[H]ow, exactly, do we create a “good” future? What does such a future look like to begin with? In Future Consciousness: ...
3 ways artificial intelligence could enhance medical care and help us live longer
When it comes to the future of healthcare, perhaps the only technology more powerful than CRISPR is artificial intelligence. ...
Gene drives reach their next frontier: Mammals
Tiny snippets of engineered DNA, gene drives are nuclear-grade powerhouses that utterly destroy the rules of inheritance. Rather than the classic ...
How AI ‘learned’ to predict a person’s age by analyzing gut bacteria
The plethora of bacteria and other tiny organisms that live in your gut, often referred to as the gut microbiome, don’t ...
‘Not just eye candy’: New mapping technique could help unlock brain’s mysteries
[In mid January], 18 institutions teamed up and devised a method to image entire brains 1,000 times faster than anything ...
New DNA sequencing technique offers ‘unprecedented’ look at molecular changes in GMO plants
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are one of the most contentious topics in science today. But a study from the Salk Institute, ...
Improving CRISPR gene editing of human cells with an ‘off switch’
For all its gene-editing prowess, mechanistically CRISPR is a bit like a power tool with a broken “off” switch. Hear ...
After dodging a ban, what’s in store for gene drives in 2019?
With gene drive techniques, we could—perhaps rapidly and inexpensively—wipe out malaria’s hosts for good, and consign it to the list ...
How new technologies are ‘disrupting’ human reproduction
[On December 4], news of CRISPR-engineered babies launched a firestorm of debate on the future of human reproduction. … But even as ...
Augmented memory: This researcher wants to record every minute of his life
If we are nothing more than the sum of our memories and our experiences, how much of ourselves do we ...
Should law enforcement have a universal genetic forensic database?
The idea of the government having access to every citizen’s DNA might sound like an Orwellian nightmare, but recent events suggest we’re ...
Can we restore ‘sight’ with brain implants, electrical currents?
In a sense, our eyes are sophisticated cameras; the brain’s visual cortex runs the software that tells us what we’re seeing. … What about ...
‘Wild and frightening possibilities’: How AI and genomics could affect reproduction
[Jamie] Metzl is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of the upcoming book Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and ...
Can we use plants to grow human tissue and body parts?
[Dr. Andrew Pelling] wanted to see whether grocery-store-bought plants can supply the necessary structure for engineering replacement human tissues. … Under ...
Personalized medicine, big data could lead to better control of our own health
At Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine conference in San Diego ... Dr. Ran Balicer, director of the Clalit Research Institute in Israel, painted a ...
MRI in a ski hat? Seeking better ways to hack our brains
[A]t Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine conference in San Diego, technologists presented new non-invasive devices that seek to simplify and democratize brain modulation ...
Growing our own bones: Another step in regenerative medicine?
[Nina] Tandon is co-founder and CEO of EpiBone, a company working on custom-growing bones using patients’ own stem cells. In a ...
Self-driving cars and life or death decisions: Who gets to define morality for these machines?
You’re driving along the highway when, suddenly, a person darts out across the busy road. There’s speeding traffic all around ...
Novel therapies to combat deadly superbugs caused by antibiotic overuse
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics are key factors behind the evolution of so-called superbugs, multiresistant bacteria that are growing ...
‘De-extinction’ engineers dream of reviving the lost passenger pigeon
Once the dominant species in eastern North America, passenger pigeons roamed the forests in giant flocks up to several billions ...
Cross-country road trip gave AI a chance to write a novel—the result was a bit ‘surreal’
Last year, a novelist went on a road trip across the USA. The trip was an attempt to emulate Jack ...
Viewpoint: Stop using human intelligence to explain machine learning
It’s common to hear phrases like ‘machine learning’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ and believe that somehow, someone has managed to replicate ...
First Mars, then Jupiter’s moons: How artificial intelligence is ramping up space exploration
Artificial intelligence in space exploration is gathering momentum. Over the coming years, new missions look likely to be turbo-charged by AI as ...
