Soft ‘Electronic skin’ mimics
Animated sequence of different culture systems for cynomolgus embryo culture. A 25-day-old monkey embryo stained with conventional dye (pink) and with fluorescent dyes (multicoloured). Blue denotes cell nuclei; the dense central patch of green and red marks trophoblasts, cells in the embryo’s outer layer.Credit: Zhai et al./Cell
Lab-grown monkey embryos reach 25 days Monkey embryos have been grown in the laboratory for 25 days, making them among the oldest primate embryos ever grown outside the womb. Researchers could watch organs and the nervous system begin to form in the cells. One team even found early signs of blood cells, which are almost impossible to obtain during human embryonic development.
Nature | 5 min read
References: Cell paper 1 & Cell paper 2
WHO declares end to mpox emergency Mpox — the disease caused by the monkeypox virus — is no longer a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced. Millions of mpox vaccines were distributed to slow the spread, mostly in rich countries. Vaccines and treatments have largely been out of reach in Africa, where mpox has disproportionately affected poor populations in remote areas since long before the 2022 outbreak. Some researchers worry that the decision will draw essential resources away from the disease. “I fear that we will see a return to that status quo at least until perhaps the next outbreak that impacts wealthy countries in the West,” says infectious-disease scientist Boghuma Titanji.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is facing a diversity crisis. If it isn’t addressed promptly, flaws in the working culture of AI will perpetuate biases that ooze into the resulting technologies, which will exclude and harm entire groups of people. On top of that, the resulting ‘intelligence’ will be flawed, lacking varied social-emotional and cultural knowledge.