Daily Archives: January 10, 2020

Last year left us with this piece of bombshell news: He Jiankui, the mastermind behind the CRISPR babies scandal, has been sentenced to three years in prison for violating Chinese laws on scientific research and medical management. Two of his colleagues also face prison for genetically engineering human embryos that eventually became the worlds first CRISPRd babies.

The story isnt over: at least one other scientist is eagerly following Hes footsteps in creating gene-edited humans, although he stresses that he wont implant any engineered embryos until receiving regulatory approval.

Biotech stories are rarely this dramatic. But as gene editing tools and assisted reproductive technologies increase in safety and precision, were bound to see ever more mind-bending headlines. Add in a dose of deep learning for drug discovery and synthetic biology, and its fair to say were getting closer to reshaping biology from the ground upboth ourselves and other living creatures around us.

Here are two stories in biotech were keeping our eyes on. Although successes likely wont come to fruition this year (sorry), these futuristic projects may be closer to reality than you think.

The idea of human-animal chimeras immediately triggers ethical aversion, but the dream of engineering replacement human organs in other animals is gaining momentum.

There are two main ways to do this. The slightly less ethically-fraught idea is to grow a fleet of pigs with heavily CRISPRd organs to make them more human-like. It sounds crazy, but scientists have already successfully transplanted pig hearts into baboonsa stand-in for people with heart failurewith some recipients living up to 180 days before they were euthanized. Despite having foreign hearts, the baboons were healthy and acted like their normal buoyant selves post-op.

But for cross-species transplantation, or xenotransplants to work in humans, we need to deal with PERVsa group of nasty pig genes scattered across the porcine genome, remnants of ancient viral infections that can tag along and potentially infect unsuspecting human recipients.

Theres plenty of progress here too: back in 2017 scientists at eGenesis, a startup spun off from Dr. George Churchs lab, used CRISPR to make PERV-free pig cells that eventually became PERV-free piglets after cloning. Then last month, eGenesis reported the birth of Pig3.0, the worlds most CRISPRd animal to further increase organ compatibility. These PERV-free genetic wonders had three pig genes that stimulate immunorejection removed, and nine brand new human genes to make themin theorymore compatible with human physiology. When raised to adulthood, pig3.0 could reproduce and pass on their genetic edits.

Although only a first clinical propotype that needs further validation and refinement, eGenesis is hopeful. According to one (perhaps overzealous) estimate, the first pig-to-human xenotranplant clinical trial could come in just two years.

The more ethically-challenged idea is to grow human organs directly inside other animalsin other words, engineer human-animal hybrid embryos and bring them to term. This approach marries two ethically uncomfortable technologies, germline editing and hybrids, into one solution that has many wondering if these engineered animals may somehow receive a dose of humanness by accident during development. What if, for example, human donor cells end up migrating to the hybrid animals brain?

Nevertheless, this year scientists at the University of Tokyo are planning to grow human tissue in rodent and pig embryos and transplant those hybrids into surrogates for further development. For now, bringing the embryos to term is completely out of the question. But the line between humans and other animals will only be further blurred in 2020, and scientists have begun debating a new label, substantially human, for living organisms that are mainly human in characteristicsbut not completely so.

With over 800 gene therapy trials in the running and several in mature stages, well likely see a leap in new gene medicine approvals and growth in CAR-T spheres. For now, although transformative, the three approved gene therapies have had lackluster market results, spurring some to ponder whether companies may cut down on investment.

The research community, however, is going strong, with a curious bifurcating trend emerging. Let me explain.

Genetic medicine, a grab-bag term for treatments that directly change genes or their expression, is usually an off-the-shelf solution. Cell therapies, such as the blood cancer breakthrough CAR-T, are extremely personalized in that a patients own immune cells are genetically enhanced. But the true power of genetic medicine lies in its potential for hyper-personalization, especially when it comes to rare genetic disorders. In contrast, CAR-Ts broader success may eventually rely on its ability to become one-size-fits-all.

One example of hyper-tailored gene medicine success is the harrowing story of Mila, a six-year-old with Batten disease, a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that is always fatal and was previously untreatable. Thanks to remarkable efforts from multiple teams, however, in just over a year scientists developed a new experimental therapy tailored to her unique genetic mutation. Since receiving the drug, Milas condition improved significantly.

Milas case is a proof-of-concept of the power of N=1 genetic medicine. Its unclear whether other children also carry her particular mutationBatten has more than a dozen different variants, each stemming from different genetic miscodingor if anyone else would ever benefit from the treatment.

For now, monumental costs and other necessary resources make it impossible to pull off similar feats for a broader population. This is a shame, because inherited diseases rarely have a single genetic cause. But costs for genome mapping and DNA synthesis are rapidly declining. Were starting to better understand how mutations lead to varied disorders. And with multiple gene medicines, such as antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) finally making a comeback after 40 years, its not hard to envision a new era of hyper-personalized genetic treatments, especially for rare diseases.

In contrast, the path forward for CAR-T is to strip its personalization. Both FDA-approved CAR-T therapies require doctors to collect a patients own immune T cells, preserved and shipped to a manufacturer, genetically engineered to boost their cancer-hunting abilities, and infused back into patients. Each cycle is a race against the cancer clock, requiring about three to four weeks to manufacture. Shipping and labor costs further drive up the treatments price tag to hundreds of thousands of dollars per treatment.

These considerable problems have pushed scientists to actively research off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies, which can be made from healthy donor cells in giant batches and cryopreserved. The main stumbling block is immunorejection: engineered cells from donors can cause life-threatening immune problems, or be completely eliminated by the cancer patients immune system and lose efficacy.

The good news? Promising results are coming soon. One idea is to use T cells from umbilical cord blood, which are less likely to generate an immune response. Another is to engineer T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)mature cells returned back to a young, stem-like state. A patients skin cells, for example, could be made into iPSCs that constantly renew themselves, and only pushed to develop into cancer-fighting T cells when needed.

Yet another idea is to use gene editing to delete proteins on T cells that can trigger an immune responsethe first clinical trials with this approach are already underway. With at least nine different off-the-shelf CAR-T in early human trials, well likely see movement in industrialized CAR-T this year.

Theres lots of other stories in biotech we here at Singularity Hub are watching. For example, the use of AI in drug discovery, after years of hype, may finally meet its reckoning. That is, can the technology actually speed up the arduous process of finding new drug targets or the design of new drugs?

Another potentially game-changing story is that of Biogens Alzheimers drug candidate, which reported contradicting results last year but was still submitted to the FDA. If approved, itll be the first drug to slow cognitive decline in a decade. And of course, theres always the potential for another mind-breaking technological leap (or stumble?) thats hard to predict.

In other words: we cant wait to bring you new stories from biotechs cutting edge in 2020.

Image Credit: Image by Konstantin Kolosov from Pixabay

More here:

The Top Biotech Trends We'll Be Watching in 2020 - Singularity Hub

Team Singularity turns heads yet again with their recent release of a new EuropeanLeague of Legendsteam to represent their organization.

But what makes this announcement unique is that it's an all-female team, which changes things up a bit. Team Singularity introduces six talented professional gamers into their organization to be the full frontal face of their organization for the competitive scene of League of Legends.

Players:

*Adelina Cathrine Nlsn

*Ida Emprez Pedersen

*Joanna Ravea Kinga Janeczek

*Anette Pjush Holm

*Popescu Ali Alexandra Cristina

*Katarzyna Ayrine Gadowska

RELATED:G2 Esports Forms League Of Legends Academy Team Called G2 Arctic

Team Singularity CEO,Atle S. Stehouwer, gave the newly-introduced andformer players a warm welcome, assured that success was right around the corner for the organization and the all-female roster:

Im pleased to announce that we have decided to once again open our Female League of Legends team and have teamed up with three of our former players to make a competitive roster we believe have what it takes to get on top of the European female scene. This is the first step of a bigger plan trying to aid the consistency of the female League of Legends scene and community, but more on that matter in the end of January.

Old-time players Adelina Nlsn and Anette Holm of Team Singularity expressed great excitement for the new roster and journey with the organization:

After taking a few months break from playing I am very excited to be doing this again, and of course it feels even better that it is with girls and an organization I know and trust. I am quite hopeful for the team ,and lastly, I am happy to be back in Singularity where I know I will always have a place," stated Adelina.

Anette echoed that enthusiasm. With two new players, we have worked through a lot to get here and Im hoping that it will all pay off and that we do well. It is good to be back in a place I am familiar with and trust!

An all-female esports team is a rarity in this day and age, with only quite a few groups being present now. By and large, men still dominate the scene.But with 2020 being a new decade, it's only right that with it comes more new changes. For Team Singularity, this isn't the first time they've decided to add a female team to their organization.

Team Singularity had an all-female team in the past named Singularity Female, which included the newly-introduced players now, Cathrine, Ida, and Ravea. But in the roster's activity last year, the team participated in the Women's Esport League Division 1: Division 1 and placed fourth out of eight teams. With the evident success the team had in theirLeague of Legends competitive run, it took half a year for the ceased team to come back and for natural standards to break, yet again.

This is a major step for equality in the esports scene. We're getting closerto a more widespread adoption of gender inclusive practices across games.

NEXT:Riot Games Teases League Of Legends Season '2020' Details

Source: Team Singularity

Watch and Learn: An Interview With Victor Folmann, CEO and Founder of GamerzClass

Jay is an eighteen-year-old happy-go-lucky guy that loves writing about gaming and esports. Although Jay is new to the professional scene, he has covered esport and gaming news for the likes of VPGame, Esportz Network, Madskil, FortnitEsports.GG, and currently The Gamer. Additionally, Jay is obsessed with gaming, having played almost every popular MOBA, FPS, and MMORPG game out there. If you want to invite Jay to a game of CS: GO, Dota 2, or even League of Legends, you can find him on his Twitter @LunariaThe7th.

See the rest here:

All-Female League Of Legends Team Announced By Team Singularity - TheGamer

In early 2015, Biznews was barely out of its proverbial nappies when then Barclays Africa executives Stephen van Coller and Eugene Booysen commissioned us to cover Singularity Universitys first ever conference in South Africa. It was a vote of confidence Ill never forget. Even more valuable was how the content transformed my worldview.

Singularitys co-founders Peter Diamandis and Salim Ismail brought along the cream of their Silicon Valley institutions faculty. Between them these gifted minds exposed us to embryonic concepts of abundance and exponentiality, accurately predicting how these disruptive waves would turn old paradigms on their heads.

Not surprisingly, Ive followed Singularitys work ever since. And am now eagerly anticipating Diamandiss new book The Future is Faster Than You Think, which will be released in a fortnight. Its sure to be on the must-read list for everyone interested in decoding our increasingly complex world.

Diamandis provided a taster in his latest newsletter, explaining how Africas revolutionary M-Pesa payment system came from an idea shared by Vodafones Nick Hughes at a 2002 conference where a curious official from the UKs Department of International Development was in the audience. A powerful reminder that when inspiration strikes, never be too shy to share. Because you never knows who is listening.

Visit link:

M-Pesas reminder: Share inspirational ideas, change the world - BizNews

As software becomes more important than ever, how can engaging the security industry make the road ahead less winding?

Here at CES, the car manufacturers race to launch the latest gadgets in their new models before the competition. And thats hard to do without breaking down the software silos. That would mean using widely developed, open-source toolsets with rich histories, not developing similar functionality thats already available, but in your own black box. Auto manufacturers have resisted this for years.

For example, why arent car makers standardizing around Automotive Grade Linux (AGL)? While some are warming to the idea, its taken years to make even modest progress. An open-source initiative aimed squarely at providing the underpinnings for a new generation of automotive innovation its been a long time coming.

Why? Historically, the car manufacturers have been busy perfecting their technology silos, complete with specialized developers, piles of legacy code (that will last forever) with technology they (mostly) understand. Still, its not a smooth way forward.

No? Ask operating system manufacturers who built the whole stack themselves. Later, they understood the differentiator in the market was in the magic they built on the foundation perfected by others. It worked. Using a foundation of open source yields a product with better features, sooner, which consumers are happy to buy. Not so much in the car market. Yet.

Still, with the advocacy of The Linux Foundation and seemingly glacial pace of buy-in first from the tier one providers in a sort of begrudging forward motion of the automotive manufacturers themselves were finally seeing progress.

I spoke with one proponent of AGL who said hed come from a tier one provider where hed been advocating for using a standardized development environment for graphics for its automotive systems they said no. Viewed with suspicion, standardized build environments were verboten. Years later, theyre starting to see the light.

RELATED ARTICLE: CES Singularity and securing the car

Now AGL seems to be moving down the stack from the infotainment systems to the instrument cluster. It makes sense. Linux has been doing network duties almost since there was a Linux. Now, with the increasing support from their employers, developers in the automotive industry can rapidly accelerate the development process itself, standardize testing, engage a host of experts and, basically, make cars a lot better, very quickly.

It wont be any too soon, as security pundits have been warning for years. But progress is progress, and at CES its as refreshing as a cool desert breeze to see them all huddled in an area facing the same direction forward.

For example, there were several companies at CES offering what seem like standard security techniques for cars, things like network monitors, intrusion detection, whitelisting and the like. But theyre sort of bolt-on patches, because car communication protocols themselves lag far behind current network technology. Most cars on the road today have little, if any, authentication on the systems that control the car itself.

Its most welcome that for the past couple of years there has been significant energy toward upgrading the control communication to be robust enough to have more meaningful authentication, which is a start.

In the future, hopefully, we can get to the business of bringing robust toolsets to bear, and the companies that already have the experience using them, and on to the business of baking in security.

And since your next car will have more networks and electronics than your last one probably much more this can result in lower prices, fuller feature sets and more confidence that the industry is moving in the direction the experts have already paved. If you engage the security industry in this manner, the road ahead just might be a bit smoother.

Read more here:

Connected cars: How to improve connection to cybersecurity - We Live Security

Will artificial intelligence one day surpass human thinking? The rapid progress of AI, coupled with our standard fear of machines, has raised concerns that its abilities will one day start to grow uncontrollably, eventually leading it to take over the world and wipe out humanity if it decides we are an obstacle to its goals. This moment is usually referred to as the AI singularity.

One argument against the possibility of such a supreme, unstoppable and indefinitely growing intelligence is that it would need, by definition, to be able to accurately predict the future. And quantum theory, one of modern sciences key ways of explaining the universe, says that predicting the future may not be possible because the universe is random. But what if we only think predicting the future is impossible because we arent intelligent enough to know otherwise?

Intelligence is a very complex and abstract concept without an agreed definition. However, there is common agreement about some of the components that make up every sort of known intelligence. One of those is the ability to solve problems, which requires the ability to plan by anticipating the future. To solve a problem, it is pivotal to understand the current conditions, predict how the environment will evolve, and to anticipate the outcome of the actions that will be applied.

Recent theories in physics suggest the universe is extremely chaotic and random. Take the example of unstable chemical elements that eventually undergo radioactive decay into another substance. You can estimate how long it will take a certain amount of this element to decay but you cant say for sure when any single atom of it will. Similarly, you can measure the position or momentum of a particle but, for certain reasons related to quantum theory, you cannot know both at the same time with complete accuracy. (This is known as Heisenbergs uncertainty principle.)

Assuming these theories are correct, they suggest that, beyond a certain level of detail, the universe is ultimately unpredictable, chaotic and unstable. This would mean that any sort of growing intelligence would eventually reach a point where it can no longer improve its predictions of the future and so cannot further increase in intelligence. In other words, there is no risk of a runaway AI, because physical laws of the universe pose some very constraining hard limits. For instance, given the known limits on weather predictability, an AI system will not be able to outsmart humans by exploiting extremely accurate long-term weather forecasts for planning future actions.

It is very comforting to believe that the nature of the universe is, in some sense, preventing an AI escalation. But there is an alternative perspective. What if humans perceive the universe as random and chaotic only because our cognitive and reasoning capabilities are too limited? We are aware of some of the limits of human understanding but, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, we dont know what we dont know.

Taking this perspective, it may be the case that the universe is instead deterministic, and therefore fully predictable, but in an extremely complex way that we as humans cannot grasp. Albert Einstein argued that quantum theory was an incomplete description of the universe and that there must be hidden variables that we dont yet understand but that hold the key to determining future events.

That would turn the table on the possibility of an AI singularity. A super-advanced intelligence could be in the position to reveal these hidden variables and so understand the predictable nature of the universe, unleashing the machines full potential. Its worth noting that AI approaches are already used for automatically making discoveries in physics.

On a practical level, the singularity doesnt seem that plausible given how limited AI actually still is. Recent breakthroughs in AI have been achieved via whats known as narrow AI, designed to perform a well defined task such as playing chess or driving a car. While narrow AI can outperform humans in some tasks, theres little to suggest that more general AI that can emulate humans ability to respond to many different tasks will be delivered and put humans at risk in the near future.

But we cant rule it out completely. As we still have limited knowledge of the nature of the universe, and of the power of AI, perhaps it is better to play safe. Even without a singularity, AI will have a dramatic impact on human society. We need to work as hard as possible to ensure that AI is beneficial for humanity, not a threat to it.

View original post here:

Will AI take over? Quantum theory suggests otherwise - The Conversation UK

At this years Consumer Electronics Show, one of the worlds largest helicopter manufacturers will showcase what a city might look like with high-volume aerial transit options. Bell is showing off a connected city concept with miniature versions of its Nexus air taxi and APT cargo drone flying from building to building, as three layers of software and detect-and-avoid systems ensure their safe arrival.

Onlookers can watch the system of aircraft automatically react to inclement weather and emergency situations as well as request flights via iPads stationed around the stage.

In a few short years, the moonshot concept of flying taxis as an integral part of future cityscapes has become a sober, earnest pursuit attracting billions of dollars in investment from companies across the mobility and transportation space. A futuristic industry once thought to be gated behind decades of steady technological advancementor written off entirelyis now concerned regulators, city planners, and the public wont be able to keep up.

Leonardo da Vinci drew designs for an aerial screw in the 1480s, but practical vertical flight didnt emerge until the middle of the 20th century. The ability to take off and land anywhere felt future-defining. In reality, the high operating costs, annoying rotor noise, and single point of failure innate to helicopters prevented them from becoming affordable and widely-accepted transit options. Helicopter airlines rose and fell during the decades that followed, their fate sealed by rising fuel costs and a few high-profile accidents.

Todays electric and hybrid-electric air taxi designs, made possible by continuous improvements in power storage density, electric propulsion, promise to solve the fundamental problems presented by helicopters. In addition to dramatically lower fuel costs offered by electric and hybrid vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (known as eVTOLs for short), electric motors are simpler and cheaper to maintain than turbine engines. Distributed electric propulsionleveraging anywhere from four to dozens of separately-powered rotorsmay reduce the vehicles total noise output and eliminate safety concerns associated with a single main rotor (though batteries have their own significant safety challenges).

Great advancements are also underway in the realm of automation, with pilots representing both one of the largest fixed expenses in helicopter operation and pilot error one of the most common causes of fatal accidents. LA-based startup Skyryse recently demonstrated a commercial helicopter modified to fly completely autonomously, a system they hope will allow newly-certified pilots to deliver a flight experience and safety record that rivals commercial airlines.

Theres a reason why people with means travel via helicopter and private airplanes: Its much faster than taking the increasingly congested streets below, though limited by available landing locations. Comparing a 300-mile car trip to an airplane flight, the skies are clearly the way to gobut for a 20-mile trip across town, as urban air mobility hopes to offer, theres much less time to save.

But what if the proposed route contains a geographic obstacle that prevents quick travel on the ground, such as Vancouver Harbouror traffic conditions as bad as Mumbai, So Paulo, or Los Angeles? Blade Air Mobility, which currently offers service in New York City from a helipad in Lower Manhattan to JFK airport (and many other destinations), charges $200 for a five-minute helicopter ride over the East River that takes more than an hour via taxi or public transit.

Of course, the Blade experienceor Uber Copter, which offers a similar servicedoesnt take five minutes door-to-door, especially if ones final destination isnt a helipad or an airport. Once ground transit to and from the helicopter and waiting for departure are included, journalists from the New York Post found Ubers service was three minutes slower than public transportation.

The money-for-time value proposition of urban air mobility will depend on reducing the time spent traveling to and from air transit nodes and increasing passenger throughput. Commercial air transportation is often disconnected from other forms of urban transit; airports almost always lie beyond city limitsoutside the reach of complicated zoning and airspace restrictions.

Urban air mobility will have to be properly integrated into existing and future metro, bus, and other transit options for the full-trip time savings of taking to the air to be realized. Many cities also do not currently have enough helipads to build a useful network of destinations, a challenge which infrastructure investment and real estate development firms are beginning to tackle.

In addition to creating time savings, the consumer cost of 3D urban transit must come down if it is to become a market worthy of the trillion-dollar expected valuations its been given by analysts.

Blade, Uber, and Vooma subsidiary of aerospace giant Airbushave reduced the cost of on-demand helicopter transit substantially, from thousands per trip to roughly $200 through tech, data, and ridesharing. Electric vehicles, and eventually autonomy, promise to bring this cost down further, but will that be enough to present a cost-viable alternative to cars and public transit?

Its also a moving cost target that urban air mobility is trying to hit, as auto manufacturers and tech companies invest billions into autonomous driving capabilities, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing capabilitiesall of which threaten to reduce the cost and friction of car-based transportation, which has the tremendous physics advantage of not having to overcome gravity. Uber revolutionized the on-demand car experience in ways unimaginable 10 years ago. What will air taxis be up against by the time theyre certified and ready for prime time?

Its hard to understate how revolutionary the targeted scale of urban air mobility is for the aerospace industry writ large.

On average, in the US, there are nearly three million people flying through the sky every day, sipping on ginger ale and apple juice, facing an incredible rate of just 0.2 deaths per ten billion passenger miles for commercial air travel750 times safer than driving. While an astounding accomplishment of steady industry progress, the 5,000 airplanes flying across US airspace simultaneously at peak operational times hardly compare to the 1.4 billion estimated cars on the road worldwide. Meeting that bar with tens of thousands of low-altitude vehicles crisscrossing the sky will require precise and instantaneous air traffic control systems without a human in the loopa 180-degree departure from the human-centric system in place today.

For urban air mobility to succeed, the aerospace industry will have to safely manufacture, operate, and maintain aircraft at a scale never before imagined while meeting the publics astoundingly high expectations for air safety. Its unsurprising that many leading eVTOL aircraft developers have taken strategic investment from leading auto manufacturers including Daimler, Hyundai, and Toyotacompanies which have experience manufacturing by the million, rather than the hundred, and are angling to stay relevant in a world that has likely reached peak internal combustion engine.

There are many, many reasons to doubt the urban air mobility industry will take off or reach the scale and unit economics its greatest advocates promise. Even if the aircraft, airspace, and regulatory challenges are solved, urban air mobility may have little to offer over existing transportation without proper integration, and city planners are already making critical decisions for 2030.

The World Economic Forum recently partnered on an industry study with the city of Los Angelesone of three cities Uber aims to launch commercial air taxi service in by 2023 through its Elevate ecosystembut educating and convincing cities, with constituents who may be skeptical of spending taxpayer infrastructure dollars on flying cars, will be an uphill challenge. A single high-profile accident could set urban air mobility back years, especially as the public struggles to process the industry-wide safety failure that was the Boeing 737 MAX.

Right now, over two hundred electric and hybrid aircraft projects are under development, though most industry observers guesstimate that somewhere between two and five will succeed in producing an FAA-certified aircraft capable of carrying multiple passengers. The urban air mobility world is likely experiencing an investment bubble, still full of insane promises, newcomers to aerospacethe best way to make a million bucks in aerospace is to start with a billionand outright grifters.

Whats next for those building the flying car future?

A wave of bankruptcy, consolidation, and lowered expectations may be imminent. But after that course correction, cities around the world might see electric on-demand air taxis in their skyline, sooner than one may thinkand if were lucky, they might actually be affordable.

Brian Garrett-Glaser is assistant editor for Avionics International. He is the author of The Skyport, a free bi-weekly newsletter covering the rise of drones and air taxis.

Banner Image: Bells latest air taxi concept, the Bell Nexus 4EX, draws on tiltrotor technology the company developed for the V-22 Osprey military aircraft. Its intended for inner-city or suburb-to-city travel. Image Credit: Bell

See original here:

What Needs to Happen to Get to the Flying Car Future - Singularity Hub