Handling soft fruit is tricky for robots, but after training with hours of data from a human operator, a machine learning algorithm developed the motor skills needed to peel a banana 57 per cent of the time.

Image: https://www.newscientist.com

For the first time, researchers have found microplastics in human blood after a study found traces in about 80% of blood donors.

A group of Dutch scientists made the startling discovery after finding particles in 17 of 22 blood samples. A team of scientists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam studied blood from 22 anonymous volunteers and tested it for five types of common plastic, which was then published in the journal Environmental International.

This includes PET, polypropylene, and polystyrene.

Image: https://www.revyuh.com

Honda is planning to launch a new small electric SUV in 2023 in the global markets and it will be accompanied by a hybrid SUV and the next-generation CR-V. The zero-emission SUV will be based on the e:Ny1 Prototype unveiled a few hours ago and it is said to play a significant role in the brand’s future product range.

Image: https://gaadiwaadi.com

AURP, the world’s leading network of research community professionals, invites you to share your knowledge, expertise and experience by presenting at the 2022 AURP International Conference.

OVERVIEW At our face-to-face international conference in the fall, AURP will be the catalyst of a new exchange, including engagement through:

• Live fireside chats with the world’s leading experts in innovation 
• Concurrent breakout sessions with tracks on legal, facilities and design, marketing/communications, bio health institutions, and more 
• Live and virtual park/innovation district tours from around the globe 
• Case study and roundtables 
• And more

This is a call for proposals as well.  If you wish to present, click through.  -Ed.

Individuals from diverse backgrounds can provide unique and valuable contributions in the research and development of life science innovations that prevent disease, prolong life, and promote health. However, certain groups, such as women and individuals from racial/ethnic minoritized groups, remain underrepresented in the U.S. biomedical sciences and in life science entrepreneurship.

RICHMOND, Va., March 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BRAINBox Solutions, Inc. today announced that the company, in collaboration with leading institutions, including Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC) School of Medicine, has been notified that they have been awarded a $3.5 million SBIR grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to support the clinical development of a multi-modal system for the diagnosis and prognosis of occult mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI or concussion) and cognitive impairment in elderly patients.

Electric heavy-truck company Nikola announced Wednesday that it has started production of its first battery-electric semi-truck.

The official production of the trucks began on Monday at its factory in Coolidge, Arizona. The company plans to deliver 300 to 500 Tre BEV semi-trucks this year.

Image: https://nikolamotor.com/ - TRE BEV

Ben & Jerry's was started by childhood best friends. Four grad school buddies founded Warby Parker. A long friendship-turned-partnership brought Clear to TSA security lines across the U.S. A shopping trip between two pals launched size-inclusive clothing brand Universal Standard.

Yes, stories of successful business partnerships between friends exist. But for every Ben and Jerry, there are countless Janes and Joes ticked off at their college roommate for stiffing them on a business loan.

Alagiri Senthilkumar and his wife, a doctor by profession, were expecting a baby when they relocated to Canada. The couple had to undergo tremendous stress during childbirth due to high blood pressure, but eventually, returned home from the hospital with the mother and baby safe.

The traumatic experience made Alagiri decide to start a healthtech venture that would have a positive impact on patient care, like digitising patients’ health information, and make it interoperable.

Image: https://yourstory.com

To date, AI has gone through three phases of its development. Descriptive analysis to answer what happened, diagnostic analytics to answer why it happened and predictive analytics to answer what might happen next. The analytical and forecasting power of AI has increased tremendously, but it won’t stop there. 

What makes a company “future ready”? The author analyzed top companies by revenue across four sectors, measuring seven equally weighted factors, then analyzed what leading companies were doing differently. They discovered industry specific insights, which also informed more universal lessons.

In a high-tech lab on Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus in Baltimore, engineers have been building a robot that may be able to stitch back together the broken vessels in your belly and at some point maybe your brain, no doctor needed.

The robot has a high-tech camera on one arm and a high-tech sewing machine on a second arm. It’s already reattached halves of a pig’s intestines.

Image: A team of mechanical engineers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a SMART robot (Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot) that can perform soft tissue surgeries such as intestinal reconnections. Left to right, looking at the robot: Jin Kang, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Justin Opfermann, Ph.D. student, Axel Krieger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Michael Kam, Ph.D.. student. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)

Dr. Paul Farmer, the late global health and health equity pioneer once said that we can design effective health delivery systems “by actually talking to people and asking, ‘What would make this service better for you?’ As soon as you start asking, you get a lot of good answers.” At the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) we have been taking that advice to heart.

We are seeking input, through a public request for information, on a new vision for health delivery, Community Connected Health. Community Connected Health combines digital health technologies and community-based approaches to care to lower the barriers to health care access and provide healthier lives for all Americans, especially those currently underserved.

Remote work is here to stay. And with this shift comes the need for managers and leaders to master virtual mentorship. Many individuals incorrectly presume that physical proximity is essential in developmental relationships. But like work itself, mentoring is defined less by the medium in which it is accomplished than by the outcomes delivered. Commitment, trust, relationship quality, and mentor competence are the real ingredients of developmental growth, all of which can be applied to virtual mentorship.

GoPro has a new patent for a camera that looks very similar to the DJI Pocket:

“Published on March 10th, the patents describe a system of “combined mechanical and electronic image stabilization”. The electronic side of things is something that GoPro has already got figured out pretty good, for the most part. But when it comes to mechanical stabilization, you’re still relying on a 3rd party gimbal if you want it with your GoPro, or you’re buying a completely different type of camera like the DJI Pocket 2.”

Image: https://photorumors.com

AI algorithms designed to generate therapeutic drugs can be easily repurposed to invent lethal biochemical weapons, a US startup has warned.

Experts have sounded alarm bells over the potential for machine-learning systems to be used for good and bad. Computer-vision tools can create digital art or deepfakes. Language models can produce poetry or toxic misinformation.

At a time when there has never been a greater premium placed on growth, CMOs are stepping up as lead architects of business transformation. While they have always needed to act as disruptors, what’s notably different now is their mandate to execute changes that transcend marketing and impact the growth trajectory of the entire enterprise. A great case in point: CMOs are now being tasked with driving tighter alignment between marketing and sales teams to craft more individualized buyer journeys that positively impact the bottom-line.

Image: https://www.forbes.com

Venture capital is going to change seismically in the next three years. The venture capital landscape is going to be dominated by three kinds of players: We will use a naval analogy to characterize the landscape.

At this moment, a confluence of factors, including the boom in mRNA vaccine technology and new cell and gene therapy firms, has grown beyond the capacity of the nation's contract manufacturing industry, which firms depend on to outsource their therapy production or meet sudden demand. Life sciences startups need these spaces to run clinical trials and work out kinks in their own manufacturing processes before making bigger real estate commitments.

Image: Courtesy of HYM Investment Group A rendering of the forthcoming Suffolk Downs biomanufacturing facility in Revere, Massachusetts.

Senior White House cybersecurity official Anne Neuberger said on Monday that important U.S. companies that provide critical infrastructure should improve their cyber defensive posture because of ongoing digital threats from Russia.

Neuberger said the U.S. government has seen "preparatory" Russian hacking activity aimed at numerous U.S. companies, but it has "no certainty" such an attack will occur.

Image: A general view of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2021. Photo: Reuters / ALEXANDER DRAGO