Readers went all-in on biotech this year. Gene editing brought the broad treatment of genetic disease into view; cancer-fighting T cells took on tumors; and scientists found a way to 3D print tissues inside the body. Beyond biotech, AI chips and progress in quantum computing made waves; humanoid robots began to look almost affordable; and Kawasaki dreamed up a robot you ride like a horse. Here’s to another year of breakthroughs\u2014thanks for reading!<\/p>\n
Parkinson\u2019s Patients Say Their Symptoms Eased After Receiving Millions of New Brain Cells<\/strong><\/a>Shelly Fan<\/p>\n “Medications can keep some [Parkinson’s] symptoms at bay, but eventually, their effects wear off. For nearly half a century, scientists have been exploring an alternative solution: replacing dying dopamine neurons with new ones. [This year], two studies of nearly two dozen people with Parkinson’s showed the strategy is safe. A single transplant boosted dopamine levels for 18 months without notable side effects. Patients had few motor symptoms, even when they stopped taking regular medications.”<\/p>\n New Gene Therapy Reverses Three Diseases With Shots to the Bloodstream<\/strong><\/a>Shelly Fan<\/p>\n “A team from the IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy\u00a0treated infant mice<\/a>\u00a0for three blood-related genetic diseases with a custom gene-editing shot that directly edited cells in the mice\u2019s blood. …The edits were long-lasting and survived when transplanted into mice who had not been given the therapy. A dose of ‘mobilizing agents’\u2014chemicals that stimulate cells in the blood and immune system\u2014further boosted the effect in young adult mice.”<\/p>\n A Humanoid Robot Is Now on Sale for Under $6,000\u2014What Can You Do With It?<\/strong><\/a>Kartikeya Walia<\/p>\n “[Unitree’s R1 is] a humanoid robot priced at under $6,000. That\u2019s not pocket change, but it\u2019s orders of magnitude cheaper than most\u00a0robots\u00a0in its class, which can run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. The R1 packs serious mobility, sensors, and\u00a0AI\u00a0potential into a package that could fit in a university lab, a workspace\u2014or even, if you\u2019re adventurous, your living room.”<\/p>\n Scientists Can Now 3D Print Tissues Directly Inside the Body\u2014No Surgery Needed<\/strong><\/a>Shelly Fan<\/p>\n “Dubbed deep tissue in vivo sound printing (DISP), the system uses an injectable bioink that\u2019s liquid at body temperature but solidifies into structures when blasted with ultrasound. A monitoring molecule, also sensitive to ultrasound, tracks tissue printing in real time. Excess bioink is safely broken down by the body.”<\/p>\n Forget Nvidia: DeepSeek AI Runs Near Instantaneously on These Weird Chips<\/strong><\/a>Jason Dorrier<\/p>\n “Whereas answers can take minutes to complete on other hardware,\u00a0Cerebras said\u00a0that its version of DeepSeek knocked out some coding tasks in as little as 1.5 seconds. According to Artificial Analysis, the company’s wafer-scale chips were 57 times faster than competitors running the AI on GPUs and hands down the fastest. That was last week. Yesterday, Groq overtook Cerebras at the top with a new offering.”<\/p>\n Meta\u2019s New AI Translates Speech in Real Time Across More Than 100 Languages<\/strong><\/a>Shelly Fan<\/p>\n “Using a voice synthesizer, the system translates words spoken in 101 languages into 36 others\u2014not just into English, which tends to dominate current AI interpreters. In a head-to-head evaluation, the algorithm is 23 percent more accurate than today\u2019s top models\u2014and nearly as fast as expert human interpreters. It can also translate text into text, text into speech, and vice versa.”<\/p>\n Kawasaki Is Building a Robot You Ride Like a Horse<\/strong><\/a>Mat\u00edas Mattamala<\/p>\n “A video shows\u00a0the automated equine galloping through valleys, crossing rivers, climbing mountains, and jumping over crevasses. …Kawasaki\u2019s current motorbikes are constrained to roads, paths, and trails, but a machine with legs has no boundaries\u2014it can reach places no other vehicles can go.”<\/p>\n Scientists Target Incurable Mitochondrial Diseases With New Gene Editing Tools<\/strong><\/a>Shelly Fan<\/p>\n “Many [mitochondrial] diseases are inherited. But none are treatable. …The\u00a0new study,\u00a0published in\u00a0Science Translational Medicine, took a new approach [to treatment]\u2014gene therapy. Using a genetic tool called base editing to target mitochondrial DNA, the team successfully rewrote damaged sections to overcome deadly mutations in mice.”<\/p>\n Miniaturized CRISPR Packs a Mighty Gene Editing Punch<\/strong><\/a>Shelly Fan<\/p>\n “CRISPR has a hefty problem: The system is too large, making it difficult to deliver the gene editor to cells in muscle, brain, heart, and other tissues. Now, a team at\u00a0Mammoth Biosciences\u00a0has a potential solution. …Their new iteration, dubbed NanoCas, slashed the size of one key component, Cas9, to roughly one-third of the original. …The compact NanoCas ‘opens the door’ for editing tissues inside the body.”<\/p>\n