NIH funds new All of Us Research Program genome center to test advanced sequencing tools – National Institutes of Health

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News Release

Friday, October 18, 2019

HudsonAlpha awarded $7 million to expand national health dataset with uncharted genetic variants.

The All of Us Research Program has selected the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama, to evaluate the use of leading-edge DNA sequencing technologies that could someday improve diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, both common and rare. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is funding the project with $7 million over one year. All of Us and NCATS are parts of the National Institutes of Health.

All of Us will provide one of the worlds most robust platforms for precision medicine research, with a broad range of data to drive new discoveries, said Eric Dishman, All of Us director. Through this partnership with NCATS, well be able to offer approved researchers an even greater depth of genetic information than originally planned, making the resource even more valuable for them and the diverse communities we seek to help.

With this award, HudsonAlpha will use long-read whole genome sequencing technologies to generate genetic data on about 6,000 samples from participants of different backgrounds. Long-read sequencing analyzes DNA in larger segments than standard (short-read) sequencing technologies, exposing genetic variations that may otherwise go undetected. These variations include different types of alterations to the genetic structure, such as duplication, deletion or rearrangement of the building blocks that uniquely make up ones genome and set it apart from others. Everyone has thousands of these genetic variations, most with little known effect. However, researchers are learning more about how some genetic variants underlie certain health conditions or, conversely, increase disease resistance. Understanding the genetic underpinnings of health and disease will help researchers identify more targeted interventions in the future.

This project will allow researchers to better determine the value of long-read sequencing and its strengths and limitations in exploring more elusive parts of the genome. Combined with the 1 million whole genome sequences the program already plans to deliver over the next several years, this additional infusion of genetic information will provide the research community with the largest collection of genomic structural variation data and clinical data ever produced.

Because long-read sequencing can reveal genetic changes associated with rare diseases, this project is an opportunity to assess and potentially refine the technology for advancing research across the many diseases for which there is no treatment, said Christopher P. Austin, M.D., NCATS director. This project illustrates the power of data and technology to accelerate the translation of knowledge into improved health.

The HudsonAlpha team, led by Shawn Levy, Ph.D., brings significant experience in large-scale sequencing projects and in genetic studies on inherited disorders as well as complex conditions, including autism, diabetes, cancer, schizophrenia, degenerative neurological disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS).

We look forward to collaborating with the other All of Us genome centers and the rest of the consortium on this exciting effort, said Dr. Levy. Contributing long-read sequencing data to reveal additional structural variants will enable the scientific community to study human diversity on a tremendous scale.Appreciating the impacts of all types of genetic variation will further unravel the genetic, environmental and behavioral influences of health.

About theAll of UsResearch Program:Themissionof theAll of UsResearch Program is to accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs, enabling individualized prevention, treatment, and care for all of us. The programwill partner with one million or more people across the United States to build the most diverse biomedical data resource of its kind, to help researchers gain better insights into the biological, environmental, and behavioral factors that influence health. For more information, visitwww.JoinAllofUs.organdwww.allofus.nih.gov.

About the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS):NCATS conducts and supports research on the science and operation of translation the process by which interventions to improve health are developed and implemented to allow more treatments to get to more patients more quickly. For more information about how NCATS is improving health through smarter science, visithttps://ncats.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

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NIH funds new All of Us Research Program genome center to test advanced sequencing tools - National Institutes of Health

SIDS May Be Linked To A Genetic Inability To Digest Milk, Study Finds – Moms

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), sometimes known as crib death, occurs when an infant under the age of one dies inexplicably.The typically healthy child will often die while sleeping and is the leading cause of death of children between the ages of one month and one year, claiming approximately 3000 lives a year. There has been little known about the cause of SIDS but new research is now showing that some form of SIDS could be linked to a genetic inability to digest milk.

A study out of theUniversity of Washington School of Medicine focused on the "mitochondrial tri-functional protein deficiency, a potentially fatal cardiac metabolic disorder caused by a genetic mutation in the gene HADHA."

It found that newborns with had the genetic mutation are unable toproperly digest some of the fats found in breastmilk, resulting in cardiac arrest. It found that "the heart cells of affected infants do not convert fats into nutrients properly," and once these fats build up they can cause serious heart and heart health issues.

There are multiple causes for sudden infant death syndrome, said Hannele Ruohola-Baker, who is also associate director of the UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. There are some causes which are environmental. But what were studying here is really a genetic cause of SIDS. In this particular case, it involves a defect in the enzyme that breaks down fat.

Lead author on the study Dr. Jason Miklassaid that it was his experience researching heart disease that prompted him to look at the possible link with SIDS. There was one particular study that had noted a link between children who had problems processing fats and who also had cardiac disease that caused him to delve a little deeper.

Miklas andRuohola-Baker teamed up to begin their own research study.If a child has a mutation, depending on the mutation the first few months of life can be very scary as the child may die suddenly,Miklas noted. An autopsy wouldnt necessarily pick up why the child passed but we think it might be due to the infants heart-stopping to beat.

Were no longer just trying to treat the symptoms of the disease, Miklas added. Were trying to find ways to treat the root problem. Its very gratifying to see that we can make real progress in the lab toward interventions that could one day make their way to the clinic.

Ruohola-Baker says their findings are a big breakthrough in understanding SIDS. There is no cure for this, she said. But there is now hope because weve found a new aspect of this disease that will innovate generations of novel small molecules and designed proteins, which might help these patients in the future.

Read Next:Babies May Not Be 'Designed' For Sleeping, According To SIDS Expert

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SIDS May Be Linked To A Genetic Inability To Digest Milk, Study Finds - Moms

Are Pricey Fertility Treatments Helping Women Have Babies…Or Preying On Them? – Women’s Health

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Lauren Citro, 32, has been trying to conceive for nearly six years.

Shes received fertility treatments at four clinics in three states.

In her effort to exhaust all options, shes sampled almost every intervention recommended: immunology testing, assisted hatching, supplements, acupuncture, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, testicular sperm extraction and the list goes on.

She trusted her doctorsand didnt want to drive herself crazy Googling things when fertility treatment is already a high-stress processbut the info she received from providers tended to be minimal and conflicting. Case in point: She went through whats known as an endometrial scratch that was described as highly recommended at her third clinic, only to find out it was entirely dismissed at a fourth place, because of the trauma it causes.

So Citro finally started doing some sleuthing online. Now, she asks a lot more questions. And as time goes on, and the more she hunts for evidence, the less shes willing to try different options. Our rationale used to be cant hurt, might help, Citro, a nurse in San Diego, says of the additional treatments she and her husband had during six IVF retrievals and four transfers (total cost: more than $100,000). But thats not necessarily the case. (She points to another example: a $7,000 testicular extraction of sperm that the results said had no impact on our outcome.)

About 10 percent of women in the U.S. struggle to conceive or stay pregnant, and nearly 2 percent of all births in the country are via in vitro fertilization (IVF), which costs upwards of $15,000. But beyond that, more than two-thirds of fertility clinic patients spend up to $10,000 per cycle on so-called optional extras or add-onsemerging techniques a clinic might offer on top of mainstream fertility treatment (i.e., IVF), supposedly to improve the odds even further and typically (almost always) for an additional cost. Add-ons, like the ones Citro tried, are rarely covered by insurancethough, in general, getting any part of your fertility treatment covered is still not the norm.

On some level, fertility treatment is like going to a Chinese restaurant and picking items from a dim sum cart, and it shouldnt be that way.

Many health-care providers are becoming increasingly worried that fertility extras come with costs far beyond monetary ones. Out of a group of routinely offered add-ons, 26 of 27 lacked rigorous, conclusive research to back their effectiveness for improving pregnancy or birth rates, found a recent investigation conducted by Oxford University and published in the British Medical Journal. Plus, the research IDd at least one of the procedures (preimplantation genetic screening, which well get to later) as potentially harmful.

On some level, fertility treatment is like going to a Chinese restaurant and picking items from a dim sum cart, and it shouldnt be that way, says Rachel Ashby, MD, an ob-gyn at Brigham and Womens Hospital Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery and an instructor at Harvard Medical School.

Piling on to the controversy is the fact that some experts believe there are flaws in the way U.S. fertility clinics are overseen. The U.S. requires fertility centers to report the basic details of each treatment cycleoutcomes, infertility diagnosis, number of embryos transferred, use of fresh or frozen embryos, donor or non-donor eggsto the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year.

So in that sense, the industry is highly regulated. While that sounds like a positive fact, there is no penalty if a clinic doesnt report to the CDC; its simply listed as non-reporting.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) also offers practice guidelines and opinions on how clinics should operate, including whether certain add-ons should be used on all patients, but businesses are not required to follow these either.

Many experts in the field say that for a lot of interventions, the science isnt there yet. That doesnt mean it will never advance, or that add-ons unanimously deserve a shady rap. But until we know whether an add-on works for a certain patient groupand whether the potential benefit outweighs the risksome believe they should be offered sparingly, with the science (and its flaws) and the pros and cons laid out clearly and deliberately for every single patient. Unfortunately, that doesnt always happen.

Whew, thats a lot to unpack. The data is messy and unfinished. Clinic regulation is loose. Yet women remain hopeful. And how could they not when faced with the opportunity to do everything in their power to start a family? WH goes deep

The debate is a minefield, starting with the word add-on itself. These treatments are generally unproven, yes. Still, many healthcare providers and patients are so insistent about the value that they bristle at the mere suggestion that add-ons are frivolous.

Deborah Anderson-Bialis, a founder of FertilityIQ, a website that provides independent analysis of clinics and doctors, points out that proponents would much prefer the phrase options for treatment to add-ons, because the latter has a negative connotation and implies theyre unnecessary. Some medical publications use the term adjuvants instead of add-ons.

This year, the United Kingdoms fertility regulatory agency began rating nearly a dozen add-ons with a traffic light system, with green reserved for procedures shown to be effective and safe by at least one good-quality randomized clinical trial (the gold standard of research). Not one has received a green rating yet. And if youre wondering, the U.S. has far less regulation than the U.K., which may stem from Congresss 1996 ban on the use of federal funds for research related to the creation of embryos.

Heres a snapshot of the points of contention:

The most commonly advocated add-on in recent years is preimplantation genetic testing for an abnormality called aneuploidy, or PGT-A. Its also one of the most expensive ($3,000 to $8,000, depending on where you live). Some practices, particularly in competitive markets like New York, recommend it (and sometimes insist on it) for 100 percent of patients, according to Norbert Gleicher, MD, founder of New Yorks Center for Human Reproduction. But there is so far no evidence that it increases live birth rates, which is why insurance doesnt cover it. The U.K.s watchdog group has given the screening a red-light rating, as it risks damaging fragile embryos by removing cells to test for these abnormalities. Meanwhile, an ASRM committee analyzed the available studies and concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend the routine use.

But this is where things start to get complicatedlike, really complicated. Proponents of PGT-A will point out that theres a potential upside with PGT-A in women who have miscarried (aneuploidy is thought to be the biggest cause of miscarriages). And while PGT-A did not improve the live birth rate in all subjects, women over 38 who had PGT-A screening were found to have a better chance of achieving a live birth and were significantly less likely to have a miscarriage, possibly because they avoid being implanted with an embryo thats genetically abnormal from the get-go, found a study in Human Reproduction. This may be reason enough for some women to choose it. That all being said, the study authors note that it remains to be seen whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks of cost and invasiveness.

This is a tool we can use to lessen our patients suffering and also give them some peace of mind that the pregnancy thats created is genetically normal, argues Catha Fischer, MD, an ob-gyn at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey. Two sides to every coin, in a sense.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a common add-on.

This is when the single best-looking sperm (and it definitely is a beauty contest; its done by sight) is picked to be injected into the egg. (In conventional IVF, the egg is put in a petri dish with a bunch of sperm, and whichever one gets to it first is the winner.) For people who have no evidence of male-factor infertility, which is at least 50 percent of patients, the chances of getting pregnant are identical whether you pay the $1,000 to $2,500 for ICSI or not. Yet ICSI is being offered to people who arent, as doctors say, medically indicated for the issue. In fact, 66 percent of IVF cycles used ICSIand only 32 percent actually had male-factor infertility aloneper the latest CDC report.

Whats more, the British fertility regulatory authority warned that ICSI has slightly more risk than other fertility treatments; eggs may be damaged when theyre cleaned and injected with sperm. ICSI may also be associated with genetic and developmental disorders, though its not clear whether this is connected to the treatment itself or the infertility that prompted its use.

The add-on is so controversial that it has prompted experts to stand up and scream at each other at otherwise staid medical conferences, which Anderson-Bialis has witnessed. The method uses drugs to suppress the mothers immune system, based on the theory that her immune system goes out of control and mistakenly targets her pregnancy, possibly causing infertility, failed IVF, or miscarriage.

A little perspective here: Those are just a few examples of hot-button add-onsfrom a list of nearly 30. And not every supplemental fertility tool has such clear potential downsides. Most others just dont have verified positivesand cost a lot.

The yes mentality, explained

The fact that patients are embracing add-ons makes total sense: Youre determined to grow your family, and the fertility window is cracked open only so long, right? It can feel as if there simply isnt time to wait for conclusive research. And given the incredible expenses of fertility treatment, many women prefer to walk away knowing they gave it their absolute best shot.

We spent a lot of money because we wanted to feel like we did everything we could, says Citro, who notes that for months after her last cycle, it was difficult to talk about her long quest for parenthood without crying. Its an emotional roller coaster.

In these situations, many people are understandably searching for a sense of control, says psychologist Jessica Zucker, PhD, who specializes in womens reproductive and maternal mental health. When your body isnt doing what you wanted or expected it to do, all sorts of feelings can result from thisdisappointment most especially. But you have ownership over what youre willing to go through to try to conceive. So its a good idea to get familiar with your limits.

There is a mistaken notion that medical treatments are either futile or backed by large, well-controlled randomized studies."

These extras also glitter with a success halo. Its tempting to revel in positive stories in online communities and message boards and read into the content. But, says Dr. Ashby, anecdotes are two steps below voodoo in terms of value. There are more than 200you read that rightvariables that can impact an IVF cycle, according to Mandy Katz-Jaffe, PhD, scientific director of the fertility clinic network CCRM. So its not possible to pinpoint one single variable as responsible for the birth of a healthy baby.

However, when youre struggling with infertility, theres power and comfort in believing. Maybe Ill be the one person in 1,000 it works for, you imagine. Katie Coester, 37, of Washington, D.C., went to a clinic that didnt try to upsell, as she describes, and recommended only two add-ons: testing embryos for chromosome abnormality and endometrial scratching. (Her IVF was covered by insurance; the additions cost her some $2,000.) She also scoured message boards for possible ways to increase her odds, which is how she ended up doing acupuncture, watching funny movies (a small study done in Israel recommended laughter), and eating, er, pineapple core.

Coester had only one fallopian tube and was 31 when she started treatment. She had fairly quick successbut if she hadnt, she thinks she would have paid for anything and everything. You think, Ive come this far, says Coester, who is now a mother of two. Even with insurance coverage, we had to say, How far are we willing to push my body? What is the emotional toll were willing to take?

This brings us to the line the medical world is currently struggling to straddle: finding middle ground between forgoing ineffective and costly treatments and offering patients potentially helpful ones that just may not have a large randomized controlled trial behind them, says Zev Williams, MD, PhD, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Columbia University Fertility Center.

There is a mistaken notion that medical treatments are either futile or backed by large, well-controlled randomized studies, says Dr. Williams. The reality is much more nuanced than thatthere is a large area in the middle where there is either preliminary or limited data showing benefit.

Karina Shreffler, PhD, a professor of human development and family science at Oklahoma State University, says the super-solid research studies are extremely expensive and difficult to secure funding for and also complicated to run. You need a large enough sample of diverse women receiving a specific kind of treatment (and a control group of similar women who dont receive the treatment). Even then, she says, youd be working within the challenge that only some women seek fertility treatment, and that theyre different from the women who dont (due to lack of finances, ethical reasons, and geography). So that poses additional considerations when it comes to interpreting the results.

Until the science catches up (if it does, that is), the Big Question remains: Why do clinics offer these treatments in infantile stages? First, many interventions in medicinenew cancer treatments, for instanceare instituted before theres a ton of research if there is even a slight inkling that they may help. Or, sadly, the more cynical take: Offering add-ons gives clinics a financial edge, many experts suggest. Because so few insurance companies pay for PGT-A, for example, private clinics and labs get the full fee, as opposed to insurance companies lower reimbursement rates, making the procedure a moneymaker for the fertility industry. These things are highly profitable, says Arthur Caplan, PhD, founding director of NYU Langones Division of Medical Ethics. Its We have desperate people here, and we can sell them anything.

If youre in the market for treatment, the bottom-line advice is to hitch your wagon to a health-care professional who is willing to take the time to educate youand to know you. If you meet with a doctor, and all youre getting is this is what you should do, then you need to find a new one, says Dr. Ashby. A praiseworthy provider will help you analyze and interpret conflicting fertility datawhich is tough to do as a laypersonand will also draw from their experience treating patients with cases similar to yours. (Dr. Fischer likes to tell patients, If youre thinking about Googling a question, just email me instead. I can shield you from worrying over misinformation or a misunderstanding.)

Grappling with infertility can suck the life out of you. But in the end, the best you can do is try to make an informed decision.

With all the new fertility and egg-freezing pop-ups, its critical to consider quality and experience over flashy marketing and trinkets. A doctors goal, always, should be to give every patient the very best chance of success and to practice patient-focused and evidence-based care, while also being transparent about the data behind medical recommendations, says Dr. Williams. More safeguarding suggestions: Consider a facility that is attached to a university, and seek out multiple opinions before green-lighting a procedure for yourself.

Citro, for one, needs a break from it allthe doctors, the studies, the clinics, the add-ons, the Googling. She hit pause for now but has not lost hope. After nearly six years of letting infertility dominate her life, she and her husband took a break from IVFand a vacation to Europe. We know well go back to treatment eventually, she says. We really hope that we end up with kids. Whatever happens, I want to look back and know that I made the very best decisions for me.

How to Prep for the Unknown Grappling with infertility can suck the life out of you. But in the end, the best you can do is try to make an informed decision. Go in with an investment plan of sorts (in your mind or on paper) that details what youre comfortable putting into the process monetarily and emotionally. Brainstorm in advance what youre willing to devote to thisthe money, the energy, the time off from work if you need, perhapsand what youre not, says psychologist Jessica Zucker, PhD. Maintain flexibility. Its okay if your expectations and limitations evolve or change over time. Try not to judge yourself at any stage of the process, she stresses. In the end, you got this, no matter what that means for you.

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Women's Health.

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Are Pricey Fertility Treatments Helping Women Have Babies...Or Preying On Them? - Women's Health

My Daughter and I Were Diagnosed With Autism on the Same Day – NYT Parenting

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Creditvia Jen Malia

You convinced yourself that you and our daughter have autism, my husband yelled. You did all this research and told the doctor what he needed to hear to diagnose you!

No, it wasnt like that, I said. You know about all the testing we went through.

I cant believe you brought her into this, he said. Youre like those mothers who make up medical problems about their kids. Why cant you just let her be a kid?

Shes still the same girl she was before she got diagnosed, I said, tears dripping down my face. And Im still the same woman you married, too.

I knew then that if I couldnt persuade my husband of five years to accept my daughters autism and my own, it would ruin our marriage and tear our family apart. Autism wasnt just a medical diagnosis; it was part of our identities. To reject our autism was to reject us.

Doctors originally told me my daughter had just a language delay. But I knew this couldnt explain the intensity of her emotional meltdowns. It took me hundreds of hours of medical research to understand that her difficulty socializing, repetitive routines, sensory issues and obsessive interests pointed to autism. I eventually realized that not only was she autistic I was, too. A clinical psychologist diagnosed me and my daughter with autism spectrum disorder on the same day; she was 2 and I was 39.

Do you think theres something wrong with everyone in our family? my husband asked a year later, when our then 2-year-old son was also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. As an autistic mother, I wasnt surprised to learn that I had another child on the spectrum. A 2014 study found that parents of autistic children are more likely to have elevated levels of autistic traits, whether or not these traits are enough to qualify for a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

[Learn about sensory processing disorder and how it affects kids.]

In the study, when one parent scored high on a test that measures presence and severity of autistic traits (the SRS, or Social Responsiveness Scale), they were 52 percent more likely to have a diagnosed autistic child; when both parents scored high, they were 85 percent more likely to have one. Published earlier this year, the largest study ever conducted regarding genetic contributions to autism also found that inherited genes account for about 80 percent of autism risk.

But how was I supposed to parent our autistic children if my husband didnt even think they were autistic and doubted my diagnosis too? It is not unusual for family members and others who know autistic women to have trouble accepting their autism diagnosis.

Doctors, teachers and most people have a male stereotype of autism in mind; when they think of autism, they think of Rain Man, not of a woman or girl, said Dr. Francesca Happ, Ph.D., a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Kings College London. For women who are married with children, this goes against several stereotypes people may hold about autism: male, single, few close relationships, no children.

The diagnostic criteria and assessment tools were developed primarily based on how autism presents in males, which means women can often be overlooked for an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, depriving them of an understanding of themselves as different, not damaged, said Dr. Lauren Kenworthy, Ph.D., a professor of neurology, pediatrics and psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine and the director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Childrens National Hospital.

Sunyi Dean of Leeds, England, a mother of a 4-year-old nonverbal autistic son and a 7-year-old daughter who is on the waiting list for autism spectrum disorder diagnostic testing with the National Health Service, said that she worried about how her son will relate to other people if he doesnt learn verbal communication, but at the moment he is happy in himself and settled into his special school.

With her home-schooled daughter, Dean said she was mostly ignored by professionals and other parents when she first raised concerns about autism, and now that shes being taken more seriously, the process has been very difficult and slow.

As an autistic mother who was diagnosed after her son was, the biggest challenge for Dean has been finding time for self-care. I always thought I wouldnt mind the demands of parenthood because Im not hugely social and dont need to go out much, Dean said. But I still need a lot of personal space, a lot of downtime to recover on my own, and thats difficult to get with kids around.

By the time I was diagnosed with autism, I was so overwhelmed by the responsibilities of working full time as an English professor while parenting three young children (a 1-year-old son and 2- and 3-year-old daughters) that I could barely keep it together.

The year before my diagnosis, the stress of being an undiagnosed autistic mother nearly cost me my life. I spent two weeks in and out of the E.R. complaining of stroke-like symptoms while battling uncontrollable crying fits brought on by my desperate attempts to get medical treatment. You need to learn to manage your pain. The E.R. is only for patients who actually have emergencies, a nurse said while handing me my discharge papers.

Though I didnt know it at the time, my crying fits at home and in the hospital were autistic meltdowns. I would find out many months later that what I had experienced was a cycle of sporadic hemiplegic migraines, which can lead to a coma or, in rare cases, even death. I often wonder if I would have been treated differently by medical staff if I had had an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis then, or if I still would have been dismissed as an anxious woman who didnt know how to manage her pain.

Research also suggests that undiagnosed autism has been harmful for women. In a 2016 study of 14 women, many told us that the fact that their autism went unrecognized for so long had a very real and negative impact upon their mental health, said Dr. William Mandy, D.Clin.Psy., Ph.D., an associate professor in clinical psychology at University College London. A lack of a diagnosis means a lack of appropriately targeted support, which can place an autistic individual under huge stress.

The published research on the experiences of autistic mothers is very limited. Two small qualitative studies in 2016 and 2017 consider pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The interviews of autistic mothers in these studies reveal challenges they had with sensory issues during breastfeeding and childbirth, and adapting to motherhood and infant care. Many said they felt unfairly judged by midwives and other caregivers on parenting skills and decisions.

Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, Ph.D., a professor of developmental psychopathology and the director of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, and his colleagues have multiple studies underway to investigate the experience of autistic motherhood beyond the perinatal period. Presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research, their unpublished research involved an online survey of more than 300 autistic mothers. The study found the majority of them had extreme anxiety when talking to professionals about their children, encountered disbelief when they disclosed their diagnosis to professionals and struggled with daily parenting tasks.

It should now be a routine requirement for autism researchers to collaborate with autistic people in every project, Dr. Baron-Cohen said. Without the input of autistic mothers, we would have missed key issues such as the fact that autistic mothers have increased rates of postnatal depression and have been falsely accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy on the assumption that they were making up their childrens autism. He hopes this research will lead to more awareness of autistic motherhood experiences and the development of policy documents to improve the woefully inadequate services available for autistic mothers.

Many autistic women are highly attuned to their children, said Lana Grant, author of From Here to Maternity: Pregnancy and Motherhood on the Autism Spectrum, a book aimed at helping autistic mothers with the challenges of pregnancy and motherhood. They may see their child struggling with the same things that they struggled with as a child. They read up on everything they can about a behavior or condition and then they go to the professionals for help. Instead, they are seen as too knowledgeable and hysterical, Grant said, and dismissed as trying to tell professionals how to do their job.

She was already the mother of five of her six children (three of whom are on the autism spectrum) when she got her autism diagnosis at 38. Autistic mothers are their own worst critics, Grant said. She recommends that autistic mothers find a support network of other mothers on the spectrum, including those who are out and proud on social media, like her.

A few years after my diagnosis, my husband came to accept my own and our childrens autism. I stopped lecturing him, realizing that he would eventually understand our differences on his own terms. He started going to therapy appointments with our children. Then last year, at our kids Taekwondo class, I told the father of another child that we are autistic. I know, he said. Your husband told me last time he was here.

My husband now respects my parenting decisions, knowing that I can help our children by drawing on my own experiences living with autism. He is the supportive husband whom I married and a loving father who accepts our kids differences.

While the limitations of my autism sometimes make it difficult for me to handle the demands of parenting three young kids, I am now more willing to seek help from support groups and therapists. Learning to understand and accept my own and my kids autism was the best thing that ever happened to me because it empowered me to be a better mom.

[The right school can make all the difference for a child with disabilities, one mom writes.]

Jen Malia is associate professor of English at Norfolk State University and the author of the forthcoming childrens picture book Too Sticky! Sensory Issues With Autism.

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My Daughter and I Were Diagnosed With Autism on the Same Day - NYT Parenting

Embodied: The Elusive Science Of Sleep – WUNC

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A solid eight hours can be hard to come by in our non-stop, tech-saturated world. But the modern science of sleep shows that shut-eye is just as critical as diet and exercise in shaping both mental and physical health.

Host Rao is joined by Mary Ellen Wells, the director of the neurodiagnostics and sleep science program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine; Jade Wu, a licensed clinical psychologist at Duke University specializing in behavioral sleep medicine; Roger Ekirch, a university distinguished professor in the department of history at Virginia Tech; and Sheena Faherty, a science communicator who conducted doctoral research into hibernation in lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center to talk about sleep on this edition of 'Embodied.'

On this episode of The State of Things series Embodied: Sex, Relationships and Your Health, host Anita Rao speaks with experts in psychology, neurology, history and even lemur biology to better understand what is actually happening when we sleep and how we can learn to sleep better.

If I had no social obligations, no work and I lived in a cave, I would just want to go to bed later and later each day and wake up later and later each day. -Jade Wu

Rao is joined byMary Ellen Wells, the director of the neurodiagnostics and sleep science program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine;Jade Wu, a licensed clinical psychologist at Duke University specializing in behavioral sleep medicine and the host of the Savvy Psychologist podcast;Roger Ekirch, a university distinguished professor in the department of history at Virginia Tech and the researcher who brought to light an ancient pattern of segmented sleep; andSheena Faherty, a science communicator who conducted doctoral research into hibernation in lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center.

The sleep experts break down the latest research into the science of sleep, how our ancestors used to sleep in two shifts with a period of wakefulness in between, and why lemurs may hold the key to human hibernation and deep space travel.

Interview Highlights

Jade Wu on whats happening to our brains and bodies during deep sleep:

Human growth hormone peaks in how much it's being released in the body during deep sleep. So that's why kids need a lot of sleep, need a lot of deep sleep because they're growing. Sex hormones are also being released during this stage. That's why teenagers also need a lot of sleep, because they're going through puberty. And we're also consolidating memories The brain is also doing some janitorial work very important janitorial work. We're clearing out debris from the cerebrospinal fluid, just basically junk in the brain that we don't need. And with this clearing out, we're sort of resetting and we're maintaining brain health.

Wu on how we are programmed to have different circadian rhythms:

We are all biologically wired to be either a morning lark, a night owl or somewhere in the middle. And this is largely driven by genetics, so we can't help it. And there's actually differences in the length of our cycles depending on what we have. So for example, I'm a night owl. So I probably don't have a 24 hour cycle I probably have something more like a 24.3 hour cycle. Meaning if I had no social obligations, no work and I lived in a cave, I would just want to go to bed later and later each day and wake up later and later each day. Whereas people who are morning people tend to have closer to a 24 hour cycle. Though the average I believe, is about 24.1 hours.

Mary Ellen Wells on the science behind sleepwalking:

So sleepwalking, it can be surprisingly common about one to 15% of the population can suffer from sleepwalking at any point. And it's more common in children. And it's one of what we call a parasomnia, [those] are essentially acting out or movements, odd things that are happening during the night ... And there are certain parasomnia that happen during REM sleep and certain parasomnia that happen during non-REM sleep. Sleepwalking is one of those that happen during non-REM sleep. REM sleep is essentially your dreaming state. And sleepwalking it's not entirely understood exactly why this happens to people. But there are many things that can spark it to happen, such as sleep deprivation Sleepwalking is very, very dangerous. The person [is] not aware that this is happening. So there's a misperception out there that you should never wake a sleepwalker.

It was a prime time for petty crime. -Roger Ekirch

Roger Ekirch on what people did in the break between segmented sleep:

There were special prayers to be said after your first sleep. They meditated, many reflected upon dreams from whence they had just awakened. Others of course, used chamber pots. But then, still others left their beds, they performed chores. There's a wonderful passage in Virgil's Aeneid describing this. [They] performed chores that required very little light and virtually no skill in the dead of night. Some left their homes, visited neighbors or I think even more commonly pilfered apples from a neighbor's orchard. It was a prime time for petty crime. It was also, in the view of physicians writing in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, a prime opportunity in which to conceive children, after the first sleep when a couple would be more rested. In the words of Laurent Joubert, a French physician in the 16th century: It is after the first sleep when couples and I'm quoting him verbatim do it better and enjoy it more.

Sheena Faherty on the question of whether humans could possibly hibernate one day:

NASA is really interested in it because of things like space travel. And these types of things have applications to emergency medicine and organ transplantation....What we find is that the same metabolic pathways, and genes that are involved in these metabolic pathways that are regulating these changes in metabolism [during lemur hibernation], are the same genetic pathways and genes that humans have already. And so in theory, humans have the capability to enter a torpor-like state based on this finding.

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Embodied: The Elusive Science Of Sleep - WUNC

Construction robotics is changing the industry in these 5 ways – Robot Report

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The SAM100 bricklaying robot at the Brighton Health Center South site of the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. Source: Construction Robotics

Until recently, construction was one of the least digitized and automated industries in the world. Many projects could be completed more efficiently with the help of the right construction robotics, mainly because the related tasks are incredibly repetitive.

While manual labor will likely always be a huge component of modern construction, technology has been steadily improving since the first pulleys and power tools. Robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, and exoskeletons are beginning to help get the work done. With low U.S. unemployment and shortages of skilled labor, automation is key to meeting demand and continued economic growth.

Construction robots may be involved in specific tasks, such as bricklaying, painting, loading, and bulldozing. We expect hundreds of AMRs in the next two years, mainly doing haulage, said Rian Whitton, an analyst at ABI Research. These robots help to protect workers from a hazardous working environment, reduce workplace injuries, and address labor shortages.

Many potential solutions rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver unprecedented levels of data-driven support. For instance, a driverless crane could transport materials around a worksite, or an aerial drone could gather information on a worksite to be compared against the plan.

Here are just a few examples of how robotics is transforming construction.

An example of how construction robotics are revolutionizing the industry can be seen in the HadrianX bricklaying machine from Australia-based FBR Ltd. (also known as Fastbrick Robotics). It employs an intelligent control system aided by CAD to calculate the necessary materials and movements for bricklaying.

Hadrian also measures environmental changes, such as movement caused by wind or vibrations, in real time. This data is then used to improve precision during the building process.

While Hadrian does require the use of proprietary blocks and adhesive, FBR noted that the related materials are 12 times bigger than standard house bricks and are lighter, stronger, and more environmentally sustainable.

Robots like Hadrian and SAM100 from Victor, N.Y.-based Construction Robotics promise to reduce operating costs and waste, as well as provide safer work environments and improve productivity. Hadrian can build the walls of a house in a single day, which is much faster than conventional methods.

While the major automakers and technology companies are working on self-driving cars, autonomous vehicles are already part of construction robotics.

Such equipment can transport supplies and materials. For instance, Volvo has been working on its HX2, an autonomous and electric load carrier that can move heavy loads without additional input. It has no driver cab and instead uses a digital logistics-driven control technology backed by what Volvo calls a vision system to detect humans and obstacles while on the move.

Another company, Built Robotics, which last month raised $33 million, offers autonomous bulldozers and excavators. AI guidance systems direct the equipment to their destinations and ensure that the necessary work is completed safely and accurately.

Autonomous vehicles and construction robotics is not intended to replace manual labor entirely, but to augment and enhance efficiency. Safety is vastly improved as well, as we eliminate the potential for human error.

Construction robotics and drones using sensors such as lidar with Global Positioning System technologies can provide vital information about a worksite. Along with AI, it can help predict what tasks are required.

Doxel Inc. makes a small tread-based robot that does exactly that. It scans and assesses the progress of a construction project by traversing the site. The information it collects is used to detect potential errors and problems early.

Doxels data is stored in the cloud, where its filtered through a deep-learning algorithm to recognize and assess more minute details. For example, the system might point out that a ventilation duct is installed incorrectly, and the early detection can allow for the proper correction well before costly revisions are needed.

Humans are still in the loop for much of construction robotics, combining the strengths of human supervision with multiple technologies. The Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, and digitization are contributing to the industrys growth, noted Caterpillar.

Painting drones are an excellent example, since they can be controlled via tablet or smartphone via an app, and they can report on the data they gather thats analyzed in the cloud.

Remote-control technology can also be applied to semi-autonomous vehicles. Project managers can use it to deliver instructions and orders to their workforce instantly.

Barcelona-based Scaled Robotics offers construction robotics that can be remotely controlled by mobile devices. The companys Husky unmanned ground vehicle can roam a construction site and capture critical information via multiple sensors. The data is transferred to the cloud, where its used for building information modeling (BIM) of the project.

Before, during, and after a construction project, many assessments require the review of a worksite and surrounding area. Limited surveillance is also necessary for supervising workers and securing the site. In addition, project managers and supervisors must walk the site to conduct final inspections. Construction robotics and drones can help all of these processes.

Aerial drones and ground-based robots can survey a worksite and gather multiple types of data, depending on the sensors used. Augmented reality and virtual reality can enable operators to get a realistic and real-time feel for what the drones are seeing.

While donning a VR headset, for instance, viewers can see a live feed of captured video from the drone. More importantly, that immersive experience is provided remotely, so project managers dont even have to be on the job site to get an accurate assessment. The video feed is also recorded for playback at a later time, providing yet another resource.

Companies are already using drone technology to this end. In 2018, Chinese drone maker DJI announced a global partnership with Skycatch for a fleet of 1,000 high-precision custom drones to create 3D site maps and models of project sites.

The global market for construction robotics also represents a huge opportunity for developers and suppliers. It could grow from $22.7 million in 2018 to $226 million by 2025, predicts Tractica. Research and Markets estimates that the market will grow to $126.4 million by 2025.

According to the International Federation of Robotics and the Robotic Industries Association, the construction robotics market will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% between 2018 and 2022. Research firm IDC is more bullish, predicting a CAGR of 20.2%.

Automation and digitization are driving a revolution in the construction industry, which has historically been slow to adopt new technologies. From design through final inspection and maintenance, the full benefits of construction robotics have yet to be realized.

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Construction robotics is changing the industry in these 5 ways - Robot Report

Waxahachie FIRST Robotics Team takes 2nd place at tournament – Waxahachie Daily Light

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SaturdayOct19,2019at11:33AM

ROCKWALL Students from the Career & Technical Student Organization, Waxahachie FIRST Robotics Team, represented the Waxahachie Independent School District at the NTX Tournament of Robots on Oct. 12-13 in Rockwall, Tx.

FIRST Robotics (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) serves students enrolled in CTE courses aligned with the engineering and manufacturing STEM careers cluster. Participants enjoy the experience of applying classroom and laboratory lessons in hands-on activities and competitive events.

Waxahachie Robotics is a WISD district team, open to all high school students within the Waxahachie school district.

Students participating this season so far are all from Waxahachie Global High School: Camile Condron, Jacob Mendoza, Steven Cloud, Eddie Almaguer, Cole Shelby, Evan Ford, Brendon Blankenship, Talon Wilderman, Ashauntee Fairley, Conner Teague, Carl Bicada, Katherine Keys and Miles Charpentier.

The NTX Tournament of Robots consisted of 29 teams from three states, and Waxahachie Robotics took second place overall in this years contest.

Students will be traveling again in February and March to Dallas and Greenville to test their skills against competitors from across the nation and around the world. WISD proudly supports these students, teachers and organizations.

For more information about Waxahachie Robotics, contact Waxahachie Global High School at 972.923.4761 or email swarren@wisd.org or dmathiesen@wisd.org.

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Waxahachie FIRST Robotics Team takes 2nd place at tournament - Waxahachie Daily Light

[Hearing from an AI Expert 5] At the Intersection of Robotics and Innovation – Samsung Newsroom

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There is much anticipation these days around the field of robotics with its immense potential and promising future applications. However, a large gap exists between public expectations and what is actually deemed technically feasible by scientists and engineers today. Fortunately, Samsungs New York AI Center is buoyed by the presence of a team of highly skilled researchers, led by robotics and AI expert Dr. Daniel D. Lee, who are working to close this gap. Samsung Newsroom spoke with Dr. Lee about the work being done at the center, as well as the facilitys ability to foster collaboration in a range of areas and attract top talent.

Asked about his centers mandate, Lee explains that the New York AI Center focuses on fundamental research at the intersection of AI, robotics and neuroscience. The centers objective is to solve challenging problems at this intersection, and one good example is the problem of robotic manipulation1.

Put simply, robots need to become far more skillful before they are ready to help humans with physical tasks in their daily lives. The first step involves endowing robots with the intelligence to perceive and understand their surroundings. Next, they must be able to make swift decisions in unpredictable situations. Finally, robots should be dexterous and nimble enough to perform the appropriate actions. However, it is impossible for robot designers to anticipate every contingency robots will encounter in real world environments. Thus, robots need to be able to learn from experience just as humans do.

At this time, most common machine learning methods are not suitable for teaching robots since enormous amounts of training data are required. Lee explained that there are several challenges that need to be addressed regarding machine learning for robotics.

Dealing with the physical world is much more difficult for AI than playing video games or Go, he explains, We are currently developing AI learning methods that can deal with the uncertainty and diversity of the physical world so that robots become more prevalent in homes and workplaces. I would compare the state of robots today to computers in the 1980s during the transformation from mainframes to personal computers.

The New York AI Center is addressing such challenges to provide a richer AI and robotics experience. For instance, the center has recently developed novel AI methods that are able to efficiently teach robots using limited data. One recently-developed method trains a neural network to generate motion trajectories for a robot arm directly from camera images.

In order to allow robots to handle things for people, robots need to learn how to touch, grasp, and move a variety of everyday objects. Lee explains how the problem of dexterous robotic manipulation is an area of focus for the New York AI Center.

Lee comments that the ability of humans and some animals to manipulate household objects is currently unmatched by machines. Thats why we are investigating how AI-based solutions can be applied to make breakthroughs in this area. Extrapolating further, Lee explains that dexterous robotic manipulation requires the ability to precisely and robustly handle objects exhibiting uncertain material properties.

Manipulation is relatively easy if the objects and environments are carefully controlled, such as on a factory floor, Lee reports, But it becomes much more difficult in unknown, cluttered environments when faced with a diverse array of objects.

By way of an example, Lee lays out the capabilities that would be required for a robot to serve a chilled glass of wine in a restaurant. How heavy is the glass, and how slippery is it due to condensation? He adds, Its impossible to completely model all the possible physical characteristics of the glass of wine, so machine learning is critical in training robots to handle the difficult situations.

As the AI sector has grown more sophisticated, it has become increasingly clear that collaborative solutions are critical for researchers to overcome the challenges they face. In an area as complex and multi-faceted as robotic manipulation, contributions from and collaborations with the worlds best and brightest will be instrumental, comments Lee. He highlights the value of working with both other Samsung AI Centers and academic institutions, saying that, solving fundamental problems in AI to positively impact society requires drawing upon the ability and skills of numerous experts globally.

He added, The Samsung AI Centers invite collaborations with researchers who can help address these difficult challenges. We currently have a number of faculty from leading academic institutions who are collaborating with us in New York.

Lee highlights just how beneficial being located in New York has been for his team, saying that certainly, New York City is one of the greatest and most diverse cities in the world. It is a magnet for world-class research and engineering talent.

Attracting the very best in talent is extremely important to remain on the bleeding edge of future AI advancements, and Lee reports that the center has been fortunate in this area, saying, We have benefited from being able to attract and recruit some outstanding researchers since we started the Center.

Our team is composed of expert scientists and engineers who are creating innovative theories and algorithms and state-of-the-art technological developments, Lee adds, Its been great working with them to publish in leading academic conferences and journals as well.

Speaking about how he envisions robots will fit into society in the future, Lee points out that, in their infancy, some robots drew attention because they were cute and fun, but that people tended to use them less as the novelty wore off. In order for people to see robots as valuable and relevant, new systems need to have enough intelligence that they become indispensable in our daily lives.

Intelligent robotic systems have the potential to completely revolutionize how people go about their activities in the future, Lee extrapolates, In the near term, we will see modest improvements on simple tasks in constrained environments. But more complete systems that can handle a variety of chores and complex tasks will require further research breakthroughs. The Samsung AI Centers are helping to generate those new advances.

Asked to outline what he sees as the ultimate vision for AI and robotic intelligence, Lee says, I grew up reading and watching science fiction stories that envisaged amazing robots helping humans. It would be incredible to see some of those positive visions actually come to life.

1 The ability for robots to interact with and move physical objects in a range of environments.

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[Hearing from an AI Expert 5] At the Intersection of Robotics and Innovation - Samsung Newsroom

News Desk Wrapup: Quick Hits on Robot News for the Week – Robotics Business Review

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Kamuthi Solar Project

Its amazing how quickly the week goes by when youre monitoring the world of robotics news. Its almost like we need a robot or AI around here to start producing more news copy (no, dont think about that just yet).

With most people thinking about their mid-October weekend plans, take one quick moment to see what else has been going on that I found interesting this week:

SenseHawk, which develops AI-powered software for the solar industry, said this week it benchmarked the condition of 2.5 million solar modules in record time at one of the worlds largest solar sites, the Kamuthi Solar Power Project in India. Using drones with thermography imaging technology, as well as its cloud-based SenseHawk Therm software, the company was able to assess the solar site in less than three weeks, which would have taken several months if tackled monthly. The site spans an area of 2,500 acres, the equivalent of 950 football fields, or about four square miles.

The software is able to detect hot spots, evaluate energy loss, schedule maintenance and track defects over time. The company said it could detect more than 99.9% of all hotspots on solar modules.

If youre in the New England area and want to hear some smart people talk about robots next week, head to the Robotics Engineering Research Symposium at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Titled Launching to a Robotic Future, the event will include robotics researchers from around the world, along with a reception highlighting the history of WPIs robotics program.

Speakers include Dr. Robert Howe (Harvard), Dr. Wolfram Burgard (Toyota Research Institute), Dr. Shiekegi Sugano (Waseda University) and Dr. Al Rizzi (Boston Dynamics). Head here for more details.

Amazon announced this week it would return to Las Vegas in 2020 for the second edition of its re:MARS conference, which covers machine learning, automation, robotics and space topics. The event will be held June 16-19, 2020, with more details on the agenda and speakers announced in early 2020. Click here to read about my experiences at this years re:MARS event, and why the robotics industry needs Amazon.

Yaskawa Motoman Americas employees at the Dayton, Ohio, headquarters.

The Motoman Robotics Division of Yaskawa America recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Previously known as Motoman, the company began as a 50/50 joint venture between Hobart Brothers Company and Yaskawa Electric America, and then officially began operations on Aug. 1, 1989. In 1994, Motoman Inc. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yaskawa Electric Corp.

The company started with just 59 employees, and now has nearly 700 employees in 11 facilities throughout the U.S. (Dayton, Ohio; Detroit; Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.), Canada (Mississauga, Ontario; and Pointe-Claire, Quebec), Mexio (Aguascalientes, Apodaca N.L C.P. and Queretaro); and Brazil (Diadema, Sao Paulo).

Vectis Automation has teamed up with Universal Robots to create the Vectis Cobot Welding Tool, aimed to help manufacturers boost productivity by reducing the learning curve, deployment time, risk, and cost of robotic welding. The tool is powered by a UR10e cobot, and is also available as a low-risk, rent-to-own option. The two companies will show off the tool at the upcoming FABTECH show in Chicago, Nov. 11-14.

SkyOp, which develops drone training courseware for educational institutions, announced recently it was awarded a cooperative purchasing contract to make its SkyOp Drone Training Curriculum available to local school districts in New York through the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) program. Under the agreement, SkyOp will deliver its workforce-development STEM curriculum directly to local districts while the BOCES will provide support and training for teachers and district staff.

The curriculum, which includes more than 300 hours of instruction and coursework, covers topics such as the introduction to drones, Part 107 test preparation, hands-on trone flight training, drone photo and video production, and intro to Pix4D, among others.

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News Desk Wrapup: Quick Hits on Robot News for the Week - Robotics Business Review

An Army of Tiny Robots Could Assemble Huge Structures in Space – Universe Today

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We live in a world where multiple technological revolutions are taking place at the same time. While the leaps that are taking place in the fields of computing, robotics, and biotechnology are gaining a great deal of attention, less attention is being given to a field that is just as promising. This would be the field of manufacturing, where technologies like 3D printing and autonomous robots are proving to be a huge game-changer.

For example, there is the work being pursued by MITs Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA). It is here that graduate student Benjamin Jenett and Professor Neil Gershenfeld (as part of Jenetts doctoral thesis work) are working on tiny robots that are capable of assembling entire structures. This work could have implications for everything from aircraft and buildings to settlements in space.

Their work is described in a study that recently appeared in the October issue of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. The study was authored by Jenett and Gershenfeld, who were joined by fellow graduate student Amira Abdel-Rahman and Kenneth Cheung a graduate of MIT and the CBA, who now works at NASAs Ames Research Center.

As Gerensheld explained in a recent MIT News release, there have historically been two broad categories of robotics. On the one hand, youve got expensive robotics made out custom components that are optimized for particular applications. On the other hand, there are those that are made from inexpensive mass-produced modules with lower performance.

The robots that the CBA team is working on which Jenett has dubbed the Bipedal Isotropic Lattice Locomoting Explorer (BILL-E, like WALL-E) represent an entirely new branch of robotics. On the one hand, they are much simpler than the expensive, custom and optimized variety of robots. On the other, they are far more capable than mass-produced robots and can build a wider variety of structures.

At the heart of the concept is the idea that larger structures can be assembled by integrating smaller 3D pieces which the CBA team calls voxels. These components are made up of simple struts and nodes and can be easily fastened together using simple latching systems. Since they are mostly empty space, they are lightweight but can still be arranged to distribute loads efficiently.

The robots, meanwhile, resemble a small arm with two long segments that are hinged in the middle with a clamping device at each end that they use to grip onto the voxel structures. These appendages allow the robots to move around like inchworms, opening and closing their bodies in order to move from one spot to the next.

However, the main difference between these assemblers and traditional robots is the relationship between the robotic worker and the materials it is working with. According to Gershefeld, it is impossible to distinguish this new type of robot from the structures they build since they work together as a system. This is especially apparent when it comes to the robots navigation system.

Today, most mobile robots require a highly precise navigational system to keep track of their position, such as GPS. The new assembler robots, however, need only know where they are in relation to the voxels (small subunits they are currently working on). When an assembler moves onto the next one, it readjusts its sense of position, using whatever it is working on to orient itself.

Each of the BILL-E robots is capable of counting its steps, which in addition to navigation allows it to correct any errors it makes along the way. Along with control software developed by Abdel-Rahman, this simplified process will enable swarms of BILL-Es to coordinate their efforts and work together, which will speed up the assembly process. As Jenett said:

Were not putting the precision in the robot; the precision comes from the structure [as it gradually takes shape]. Thats different from all other robots. It just needs to know where its next step is.

Jenett and his associates have built several proof-of-concept versions of the assemblers, along with corresponding voxel designs. Their work has now progressed to the point where prototype versions are able to demonstrate the assembly of the voxel blocks into linear, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional structures.

This kind of assembly process has already attracted the interest of NASA (which is collaborating with MIT on this research), and Netherlands-based aerospace company Airbus SE which also sponsored the study. In NASAs case, this technology would be a boon for their Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS), which co-author Cheung leads.

The aim of this project is to develop the necessary automation and robotic assembly technologies to develop deep-space infrastructure which includes a lunar base and space habitats. In these environments, robotic assemblers offer the advantage of being able to assemble structures quickly and more cost-effectively. Similarly, they will be able to conduct repairs, maintenance, and modification with ease.

For a space station or a lunar habitat, these robots would live on the structure, continuously maintaining and repairing it, says Jenett. Having these robots around will eliminate the need to launch large preassembled structures from Earth. When paired with additive manufacturing (3D printing), they would also be able to use local resources as building materials (a process known as In-Situ Resource Utilization or ISRU).

Sandor Fekete is the director of the Institute of Operating Systems and Computer Networks at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. In the future, he hopes to join the team in order to further develop the control systems. While developing these robots to the point that they will be able to build structures in space is a significant challenge, the applications they could have are enormous. As Fekete said:

Robots dont get tired or bored, and using many miniature robots seems like the only way to get this critical job done. This extremely original and clever work by Ben Jenett and collaborators makes a giant leap towards the construction of dynamically adjustable airplane wings, enormous solar sails or even reconfigurable space habitats.

There is little doubt that if humanity wants to live sustainably on Earth or venture out into space, it is going to need to rely on some pretty advanced technology. Right now, the most promising of these are the ones that offer cost-effective ways of seeing to our needs and extending our presence across the Solar System.

In this respect, robot assemblers like BILL-E would not only be useful in orbit, on the Moon, or beyond, but also here on Earth. When similarly paired with 3D printing technology, large groups of robotic assemblers programmed to work together could provide cheap, modular housing that could help bring an end to the housing crisis.

As always, technological innovations that help advance space exploration can be tapped to make life on Earth easier as well!

Further Reading: MIT, IEEE

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An Army of Tiny Robots Could Assemble Huge Structures in Space - Universe Today

If a Robotic Hand Solves a Rubiks Cube, Does It Prove Something? – The New York Times

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This article is part of our continuing Fast Forward series, which examines technological, economic, social and cultural shifts that happen as businesses evolve.

SAN FRANCISCO Last week, on the third floor of a small building in San Franciscos Mission District, a woman scrambled the tiles of a Rubiks Cube and placed it in the palm of a robotic hand.

The hand began to move, gingerly spinning the tiles with its thumb and four long fingers. Each movement was small, slow and unsteady. But soon, the colors started to align. Four minutes later, with one more twist, it unscrambled the last few tiles, and a cheer went up from a long line of researchers watching nearby.

The researchers worked for a prominent artificial intelligence lab, OpenAI, and they had spent several months training their robotic hand for this task.

Though it could be dismissed as an attention-grabbing stunt, the feat was another step forward for robotics research. Many researchers believe it was an indication that they could train machines to perform far more complex tasks. That could lead to robots that can reliably sort through packages in a warehouse or to cars that can make decisions on their own.

Solving a Rubiks Cube is not very useful, but it shows how far we can push these techniques, said Peter Welinder, one of the researchers who worked on the project. We see this as a path to robots that can handle a wide variety of tasks.

The project was also a way for OpenAI to promote itself as it seeks to attract the money and the talent needed to push this sort of research forward. The techniques under development at labs like OpenAI are enormously expensive both in equipment and personnel and for that reason, eye-catching demonstrations have become a staple of serious A.I. research.

The trick is separating the flash of the demo from the technological progress and understanding the limitations of that technology. Though OpenAIs hand can solve the puzzle in as little as four minutes, it drops the cube eight times out of 10, the researchers said.

This is an interesting and positive step forward, but it is really important not to exaggerate it, said Ken Goldberg, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who explores similar techniques.

A robot that can solve a Rubiks Cube is not new. Researchers previously designed machines specifically for the task devices that look nothing like a hand and they can solve the puzzle in less than a second. But building devices that work like a human hand is a painstaking process in which engineers spend months laying down rules that define each tiny movement.

The OpenAI project was an achievement of sorts because its researchers did not program each movement into their robotic hand. That might take decades, if not centuries, considering the complexity of a mechanical device with a thumb and four fingers. The labs researchers built a computer system that learned to solve the Rubiks Cube largely on its own.

What is exciting about this work is that the system learns, said Jeff Clune, a robotics professor at the University of Wyoming. It doesnt memorize one way to solve the problem. It learns.

Development began with a simulation of both the hand and the cube a digital recreation of the hardware on the third floor of OpenAIs San Francisco headquarters. Inside the simulation, the hand learned to solve the puzzle through extreme trial and error. It spent the equivalent of 10,000 years spinning the tiles up, down, left and right, completing the task over and over again.

The researchers randomly changed the simulation in small but distinct ways. They changed the size of the hand and the color of the tiles and the amount of friction between the tiles. After the training, the hand learned to deal with the unexpected.

When the researchers transferred this computer learning to the physical hand, it could solve the puzzle on its own. Thanks to the randomness introduced in simulation, it could even solve the puzzle when wearing a rubber glove or with two fingers tied together.

At OpenAI and similar labs at Google, the University of Washington and Berkeley, many researchers believe this kind of machine learning will help robots master tasks they cannot master today and deal with the randomness of the physical world. Right now, robots cannot reliably sort through a bin of random items moving through a warehouse.

The hope is that will soon be possible. But getting there is expensive.

That is why OpenAI, led by the Silicon Valley start-up guru Sam Altman, recently signed a billion-dollar deal with Microsoft. And its why the lab wanted the world to see a demo of its robotic hand solving a Rubiks Cube. On Tuesday, the lab released a 50-page research paper describing the science of the project. It also distributed a news release to news outlets across the globe.

In order to keep their operation going, this is what they have to do, said Zachary Lipton, a professor in the machine learning group at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. It is their life blood.

When The New York Times was shown an early version of the news release, we asked to see the hand in action. On the first attempt, the hand dropped the cube after a few minutes of twisting and turning. A researcher placed the cube back into its palm. On the next attempt, it completed the puzzle without a hitch.

Many academics, including Dr. Lipton, bemoaned the way that artificial intelligence is hyped through news releases and showy demonstrations. But that is not something that will change anytime soon.

These are serious technologies that people need to think about, Dr. Lipton said. But it is difficult for the public to understand what is happening and what they should be concerned about and what will actually affect them.

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If a Robotic Hand Solves a Rubiks Cube, Does It Prove Something? - The New York Times

CMR Surgical installs its first surgical robotics system – DOTmed HealthCare Business News

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The first of CMR Surgicals Versius platforms has found its home at a center specializing in laparoscopy.

The surgical robotics system will now be used at Galaxy Care Hospital in Pune, India, in a wide range of surgical procedures that include transthoracic operations, hysterectomies and myomectomies.

"One of the key features that makes Versius a good fit for Galaxy Care Hospital is its modularity," Martin Frost, chief executive officer and co-founder of CMR Surgical, told HCB News. "Because the system is modular, the Versius system can be moved between operating theatres quickly and easily, increasing the opportunity for use and the cost-effectiveness of Versius. With our partnership with Galaxy Care, we're pleased to be able to make minimal access surgery available to more people globally."

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The installation also marks the release of the first clinical registry for a surgical robotic system, according to CMR Surgical, which manages it in partnership with providers to record and monitor patient outcomes of all procedures involving Versius to ensure patient safety. Outcomes measured include operative time, length of stay, 30-day readmissions, and returns to the operating room within 24 hours. The creation of the registry stems from CMR Surgicals aim to provide post-market surveillance as part of the IDEAL (Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study) framework, which calls for manufacturers to describe the stages of innovation in surgery and other interventional procedures.

"Our mission is to address the higher unmet need for flexible, surgical care," said Frost. "Versius is indicated for upper GI, general, gynaecological and colorectal procedures, and since its introduction into Galaxy Care Hospital, Versius has been used to complete transthoracic, hysterectomies and myomectomies, under the leadership of Dr. Shailesh Puntambekar."

CMR Surgical expects the system to gain traction in European and Asia-Pacific markets, and for it to become a competitor of the leading robotics system, the da Vinci system by Intuitive Surgical, in the near future.

It plans to have additional Versius Surgical Robotic Systems in use at hospitals across India and Europe by the end of 2019, including in ones that are a part of the National Health Service in the U.K.

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Open-Source Arm Puts Robotics Within Reach – Hackaday

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In November 2017, we showed you [Chris Annin]s open-source 6-DOF robot arm. Since then hes been improving the arm and making it more accessible for anyone who doesnt get to play with industrial robots all day at work. The biggest improvement is that AR2 had a closed-loop control system, and AR3 is open-loop. If something bumps the arm or it crashes, the bot will recover its previous position automatically. It also auto-calibrates itself using limit switches.

AR3 is designed to be milled from aluminium or entirely 3D printed. The motors and encoders are controlled with a Teensy 3.5, while an Arduino Mega handles I/O, the grippers, and the servos. In the demo video after the break, [Chris] shows off AR3s impressive control after a brief robotic ballet in which two AR3s move in hypnotizing unison.

[Chris] set up a site with the code, his control software, and all the STL files. He also has tutorial videos for programming and calibrating, and wrote an extremely detailed assembly manual. Between the site and the community already in place from AR2, anyone with enough time, money and determination could probably build one. Check out [Chris] playlist of AR2 builds people are using them for photography, welding, and serving ice cream. Did you build an AR2? The good news is that AR3 is completely backward-compatible.

The AR3s grippers work well, as youll see in the video. If you need a softer touch, try emulating an octopus tentacle.

Thanks for the tip, [Andrew]!

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Rethink Robotics launches Sawyer Black Edition – Robotics and Automation News

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Rethink Robotics, which is now part of the Hahn Group, has launched a new version of its collaborative robot, Sawyer.

The Sawyer Black Edition is now available for pre-order and will be presented for the first time at K 2019 in Dsseldorf.

The new hardware update comes one year after the takeover of Rethink Robotics assets by Hahn Group.

The Sawyer Black Edition is the result of the combination of German engineering and longstanding application experience.

Rethink says Sawyer is now quieter and has more reliable components with higher quality.

The Sawyer Black Edition can be pre-ordered now; first deliveries will take place in 2019.

Rethink says the Sawyer Black Edition contributes to a quieter working environment and is therefore even more popular among employees.

The company adds that the improved component quality of the Sawyer Black Edition significantly raises the collaborative robots reliability.

At K 2019, the Sawyer Black Edition will be demonstrated at the Hahn Group at booth E61 in hall 10 as part of a palletizing application for the packaging of boxes and plastics parts.

With the Black Edition Rethink Robotics continues to stand for easy application, flexibility in use and high acceptance among employees.

Tasks that are dangerous for humans are, among others, possible applications. Some of these include CNC machine assembly, circuit board assembly, metal processing, injection molding, packaging, loading and unloading, as well as tests and inspections.

Rethink says the Sawyer collaborative robot solution is ready for use immediately after delivery and equipped with Intera software and two camera systems.

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Robotics company offers $190,000 for the rights to your face – NEWS.com.au

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Heres your chance to be the literal face of a robotics company.

A tech firm is looking for the right person to lend their likeness to a new line of robot assistants for the elderly. And while it might sound like the plot to a bad sci-fi flick, the company will pay the chosen candidate 100,000 (about $A190,000) for the privilege.

The privately funded firm has opted to remain anonymous due to the projects secretive nature, but it has hired robotics recruiter Geomiq to find the right face for the job, reports the Mirror.

RELATED: Sex robots are here, are they therapeutic or gross?

Ideal applicants will possess a kind and friendly face for the prototype, per the head, er, face hunters recruitment ad. Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the right person; lets hope we can find them, said a Geomiq spokesperson.

The lucky winner of the face-off will have their likeness reproduced on thousands of virtual friends a la Will Smiths disturbing 2004 movie I, Robot as well as rake in the aforementioned big bucks. The project has been five years in the making.

RELATED: Robots already taking jobs

Designers havent disclosed much beyond that, only that the robotic doppelgangers will hit the assembly line next year and will be readily available to the public upon completion.

On the application page, Geomiq acknowledges that licensing ones visage to an unnamed robotics company for eternity is potentially an extremely big decision.

The face-cloning campaign has drawn flack from social media sceptics, with many of them analogising it to bad dystopian movie tropes. Janelle Mone warned us about this, cautioned one.

Others wondered why a supposedly tech-savvy robotics company needed a human face at all and couldnt just save money by using an online random-face generator. Have these people ever heard of GANs? asked one Twitter techie. There are datasets with 100k realistic (but not real) faces available already.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Is $190,000 enough for you to sell the rights to your appearance forever? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Geek+ launches smart factory with ‘robots making robots’ – Robotics and Automation News

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Geek+, a supplier of robotics and AI technologies for warehouses, has launched what it claims is the worlds first smart factory to use robot arms to make mobile robots.

Based in Nanjing, the factory uses Geek+ robots, AI algorithms and other automated solutions to manufacture new Geek+ robots. All of the companys robots are produced at this factory.

With an increasing demand for customization and limited release products, product cycles are getting shorter and shorter, making flexible production an essential aspect of the manufacturing industry.

Autonomous mobile robots in factories are the best way to achieve flexible production and can also help companies realize a smart and agile supply chain.

With this objective, the company has launched its Geek+ Smart Factory Solution, using its Nanjing facility as a blueprint for flexible production and intelligent manufacturing.

Geek+ says it can adapt and implement the smart factory template to manufacturing facilities worldwide, and customize the solution to meet various production and industrial scenarios.

With over 200 projects across the world, Geek+ has gained considerable experience and data knowledge developing smart logistics solutions for warehousing and manufacturing environments.

It has developed new AI algorithms for scenarios spanning numerous industries, from retail and apparel, to manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies.

Through this, the company has built an ecosystem with international technology partners to develop a total solution for smart warehouses and smart factories including AI vision, robot arms, and internet of things, production management system, logistics management system, big data analysis and advanced robotics.

With its Smart Factory Solution, Geek+ says it is helping customers upgrade their operations to an intelligent and agile supply chain.

Robots making robots

The Nanjing factory output has almost doubled traditional manual production capacity, and single-shift annual production is designed to exceed 10,000 robots. Under a production logistics management system, the robots operate together.

They include:

The robots are powered by AI technologies including:

Once assembled, the new robots direct themselves to the calibration area to receive basic parameter settings.

They automatically complete final testing and finished product inspection after which they directly proceed to the finished product area to be packaged and ready to ship.

Geek+ smart factory management system, powered by AI

To operate smart factories, Geek+ has developed a new integrated system, the Geek+ Production Logistics Management System. It powers all aspects of the facility, from inventory to the production line, integrating logistics and production into a flexible and efficient system. It connects the stock area with the production area and unifies the management of all the different robotic solutions.

This system replaces the traditional conveyor belt system with a new island production mode of autonomous mobile robots.

These production islands can be easily duplicated and the solution is a completely flexible and scalable:

This new intelligent and flexible production model offers a real alternative to costly and rigid conveyor belts.

A game changer for intelligent manufacturing

Production capacity has almost doubled, compared to traditional manual production, with annual output expected to exceed 10,000 robots.

The new solution also guarantees more precise process control and higher accuracy with a straight-through rate for the final assembly are exceeding 98 percent, and higher traceability of the whole process, which reduces overall management cost.

Yong Zheng, founder and CEO of Geek+, says: Smart factories will be a turning point for the entire industry as they provide a truly proven alternative to traditional, fixed production and achieve flexible production.

What better way to show to the world the value of our solutions than to apply it to our own production? Our Nanjing factory is a window into the future of intelligent logistics and manufacturing.

The Geek+ smart factory solution is applicable to a wide range of industries, including automobile manufacturers, auto part factories and 3C electronics factories.

It is particularly well suited for industries that require more flexible manufacturing processes, to keep up with the demand for new product lines and allow for capacity expansion.

With smart factories, trial production of new products and product line transformation can be easily implemented, says Geek+.

Zheng says: In the past four years, we have already developed and implemented game changing technologies for warehousing operations. With smart factories, we continue to pave the way for a truly intelligent supply chain.

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Geek+ launches smart factory with 'robots making robots' - Robotics and Automation News

Robotics startup wants to pay 100k to use a real human face on its robots – DIGIT.FYI

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A robotics startup is offering 100,000 to use a real persons face on its robots. The unnamed company has contacted manufacturer Geomiq for help finding the ideal kind and friendly human face for its robots, described as virtual friends for elderly people.

The robotics startup said the need for anonymity is due to the secretive nature of the project. But production of the robots is expected to begin in 2020 and will be readily available to the public, it added.

Geomiq said that the company is privately-funded and that the project has been in development for five years. It has since, apparently, taken on investment from a number of independent VCs, as well as a top fund based in Shanghai.

A spokesperson for Geomiq said: At this point, were not allowed to share any more details about the project, but were hoping that someone with the right face will get in touch as a result of this public appeal.

We know that this is an extremely unique request, and signing over the licenses to your face is potentially an extremely big decision. But its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the right person; lets hope we can find them.

Dr Kate Devlin, an author on the topics of AI and robotics, said: Im cool with the whole friendly robot thing. But I cant work out why a) it needs a realistically human face and, b) why that face needs to be of a real individual.

If you are interested in selling your face, you can apply here. Candidates who make it through the next phase will be given full details on the project, while unsuccessful candidates will not be contacted.

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Conference on Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision and Artificial Intelligence Comes to San Jose November 12-13 – Business Wire

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ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Automation expertsand those who want to explore how to grow their business with the latest trends and innovationswill descend on San Jose November 12-13 for the Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision & AI (CRAV.ai) Conference. Sponsored by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), this conference is ideal for engineers and manufacturers seeking effective ways to reduce cost, improve quality and advance productivity, while increasing flexibility. CRAV.ai also holds appeal for experienced users seeking new applications or prospective users trying to determine if robotics, vision and artificial intelligence make sense for their companies. Registration for the conference is open at https://crav.ai.

The automation industry continues to change and disrupt, with new innovations and new examples of automation solutions helping businesses around the world, said Jeff Burnstein, president, A3. This conference in particular brings in some of the most influential minds in the space to share the technologies, trends and actionable insights that will help companies become more competitive. Come learn how to not get left behind in this increasingly automated world.

In addition to three in-depth tracks featuring dozens of sessions highlighting practical solutions and emerging technologies, the conference will feature the following keynotes:

Last year, CRAV.ai drew more than 500 attendees, including engineers and decision makers from companies like Google, Apple, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Toyota and many more.

The full agenda can be found here: https://crav.ai/agenda. Register at https://crav.ai.

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA) and A3 Mexico. RIA, AIA, MCMA and A3 Mexico combined represent over 1,250 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward. For more information, visit: A3, RIA, AIA, MCMA, A3 Mexico.

Upcoming A3 Events:Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision & AI Conference (CRAV.ai) Nov. 12-13, 2019, San Jose, California.A3 Business Forum Jan. 13-15, 2020, Orlando, Florida.Robotic Grinding & Finishing Conference April 27-28, 2020, St. Paul, Minnesota.The Vision Show June 9-11, 2020, Boston, Massachusetts.Automate May 17-20, 2021, Detroit, Michigan.

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Conference on Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision and Artificial Intelligence Comes to San Jose November 12-13 - Business Wire

Hiring of Accused Atheist Leader Is Reminder That #MeToo Is Still Needed in Organized Atheism – Rewire.News

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Its no revelation that the wages of whiteness are real, and that being a straight, white, well-connected male is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to job mobility and privilege. Its also no revelation that white men can lie, cheat, steal, commit serial sexual harassment, and abuse with impunity and still land on their feet. This American-as-apple-pie regime didnt begin or end with Donald Trump, nor with all the predator corporate executives, middle managers, and rank-and-file employees who werent brought down by #MeToo.

The global resonance of the #MeToo movement has obscured the degree to which it remains business as usual for scores of sexual harassment and abuse victims who rarely get second, third or fourth chances to rebound after the devastation of being victimized in the workplace. This pattern of victim silencing and ofrehabbing alleged perps has been on insidious display recently as some prominent male leaders and execs have been able to creep back to respectability with new positions and roles in their respective industries, including, to take just a few examples, John Lasseter (formerly of Pixar), James Rosen (formerly of Fox), and Marcelo Gomes (formerly of the American Ballet Theater).

The recent decision by Atheist Alliance International (AAI) to hirethe former leader of American Atheists, David Silverman, to its executive director position is yet another indication that this business-as-usual rehab strategy also applies to movement atheism, which can be just as corrupt, cronyistic, and swaggeringly hostile to women as corporate America. Last year, Silverman was fired from American Atheists after allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety were made against him. The claims leveled against Silverman by two female accusers were extensively detailed byBuzzFeeds Peter Aldhous, whose 2018 article notes that one of the women was reluctant to use her full name because of concerns about hostility experienced by other women who have made allegations of sexual misconduct against prominent atheists.

As I wrote in a September 2018 piece for RD, Silverman was one of several male atheist leaders whod been accused of sexual misconduct. According to The Friendly Atheist blog, AAI reached out to Silverman via a friendship with a board member, then created a paid executive director position expressly for him. Must be nice. While women of color in all sectors are routinely shut out of entry level, middle, and executive management positions, white males get carte blanche, have positions of authority created for and handed to them; then receive multiple breaks and opportunities for redemption when they screw up.

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These disparities have driven women of color out of organized atheism, spurring the creation of secular humanist feminist of color initiatives like this months Women of Color Beyond Belief conference. The event was a collaboration between the Black Non-Believers organization, headed by Black atheist activist Mandisa Thomas, and the Black Skeptics Los Angeles organization, which I founded. Focusing on racial and gender justice, the conference was the first national gathering by, for, and about secular women of color. It was intended as a safe space and platform for progressive sociopolitical issuessuch as the intersection of sexual violence, domestic abuse, reproductive rights, and the criminalization of Black and brown bodiesthat are frequently marginalized in mainstream atheism and humanism.

At the conference, many women of color presenters spoke of being in the crosshairs of misogynistic, heteronormative religious traditions and racist, sexist atheist and humanist institutions. Far from being a refuge from religious tyranny, mainstream atheism is just another microcosm of American gender and racial hierarchies.

Defining ourselves, for ourselves, as Black lesbian poet Audre Lorde once said, were not content to sit back and let atheism be hijacked by gatekeeping patriarchs. But AAIs appointment of Silverman foregrounds how the cult of charismatic white male atheist leadership makes mainstream atheism an untenable space for women of color, queer folks, and progressive white women pushing back against the ritual silencing of sexual abuse survivors and business-as-usual cosigning.

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Hiring of Accused Atheist Leader Is Reminder That #MeToo Is Still Needed in Organized Atheism - Rewire.News

A lot of people were Googling ‘Ron Reagan’ after his atheism ad aired – WTHR

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President Ronald Reagan's son had a lot of people talking during Tuesday night's Democratic debate.

He wasn't among the 12 candidates on the stage in Ohio, but his appearance in a commercial promoting atheism clearly caught folks off guard.

In the commercial, Reagan promotes the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a non-profit organization advocating for atheists and the separation of church and state.

"Hi, I'm Ron Reagan, an unabashed atheist, and I'm alarmed by the intrusion of religion into our secular government," Reagan says to begin in the ad.

The ad itself isn't new, as the foundation's press release notes its been around since at least 2014, but how Reagan ends the ad is certainly attention grabbing.

"Please support the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell."

With the spot airing in a national slot, Ron Reagan quickly became the top trending search on Google, according to Google Trends.

According to the FFRF, ABC refused to air the ad during the Sept. 12 Democratic debate and other networks have turned them down, including CBS and NBC, since 2014.

CNN plans to air the ad twice during the Oct. 15 CNN/New York Times debate and it was scheduled to air again several times on Wednesday evening.

The ad received lots of reactions on social media with some people feeling blindsided, including Omarosa, who appeared on "The Apprentice" with President Donald Trump then joined his administration.

Some conservatives shared the ad to criticize Democrats.

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A lot of people were Googling 'Ron Reagan' after his atheism ad aired - WTHR