Mitigating methane emissions, and testing AI-developed medication

A Palo Alto–primarily based startup needs to start releasing iron particles into the exhaust stream of a delivery vessel crossing the ocean throughout the subsequent 18 months.
Blue Dot Change hopes to find out whether or not the particles will speed up the destruction of methane, one of the crucial highly effective greenhouse gasses within the ambiance.
It’s amongst a handful of small industrial ventures which are itching to check whether or not releasing comparable particles may curb local weather change. However little is thought about different results of releasing the particles, together with doubtlessly harmful ones. Learn the complete story.
—James Temple
AI is dreaming up medication that nobody has ever seen. Now we’ve received to see in the event that they work.
At 82 years previous, with an aggressive type of blood most cancers that six programs of chemotherapy had didn’t get rid of, “Paul” gave the impression to be out of choices. His medical doctors enrolled him in a trial testing a brand new know-how that pairs particular person sufferers with the medication they want.
Two years on, Paul’s most cancers was gone. The know-how was developed by Exscientia, which is likely one of the a whole lot of startups exploring using machine studying in prescribed drugs, with the shared imaginative and prescient of utilizing AI to make drug discovery quicker and cheaper.
AI is already altering how medication are being made. But it’s nonetheless early days for AI drug discovery— and there are a variety of corporations making claims they will’t again up. Learn the complete story.
—Will Douglas Heaven