Researchers at the University of California San Diego have created and evaluated Spatial Modeling Algorithms for Reactions and Transport (SMART), a software package designed to simulate cell-signaling networks — complex molecular interactions that enable cells to respond to various environmental cues. These networks involve multiple steps and are heavily influenced by the three-dimensional structure…
Asian tech giants lead U.S. patent rankings
Who is leading in terms of U.S. patents? Asia. While U.S. patent grants rebounded by 4% in 2024 after a four-year decline, the real story is who’s driving innovation: Samsung Electronics maintained its crown for the third straight year with 6,377 patents, TSMC claimed second place with 3,989 patents, according to IFI Claims’ roundup of…
Sensor data, reimagined: When 90% less data can fuel 100x gains in efficiency in AI projects
For decades, the Nyquist-Shannon theorem—a foundational principle of signal processing—dictated that fully sampling a signal at or above twice its highest frequency was essential for capturing critical information. Now, a Pennsylvania startup called Lightscline suggests we may be entering a “post-Nyquist era.” According to a recent Nature Scientific Reports paper, the company’s neural-network-based software, inspired…
Leica Biosystems and Indica Labs partner to develop digital pathology platform
Leica Biosystems, a provider of anatomic and digital pathology solutions, has announced a strategic investment in Indica Labs, a company specializing in AI-powered digital pathology software. The collaboration aims to advance AI-enabled companion diagnostics (CDx) and support breakthroughs in biomarker analysis for cancer and other conditions. As part of the agreement, Leica Biosystems and Indica…
R&D 100 of the day: Digital twin system for tapping process, DiTwS-TP
China Steel Corporation (CSC) and its co-developer, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), developed the new Digital Twin System for Tapping Process, which is helping transform the steel manufacturing landscape through automation and digitalization. This comprehensive system, featuring a real-time digital twin model, integrates monitoring, predictive maintenance, and process optimization to boost productivity, reduce costs, and enhance…
National Lab collaboration advances nuclear reactor inspections with faster, safer techniques
A partnership between the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is streamlining inspections of nuclear reactor components and materials by using advanced algorithms and advanced imaging technology. Initially focused on additively manufactured nuclear parts, the collaboration has expanded to include inspections of nuclear fuel, enabling quicker and safer evaluations. Key…
R&D Market Pulse: US tax policy could spur R&D investment, more than one-third of manufacturers using AI
As 2024 nears its end, global R&D-driven industries are navigating a mix of policy shifts, strategic realignments, and accelerating innovation. A proposed policy change could transform how U.S. companies expense their R&D investments, while manufacturing floors are seeing surging AI integration with over a third of companies successfully deploying the technology. In automotive, GM is…
Google Cloud exec sees 2025 as a tipping point for GenAI ROI in life sciences
The irony isn’t lost on Google’s leadership: even the architects of artificial intelligence find themselves navigating its transformative effects. “You know, things are never quiet,” remarked Shweta Maniar, global director of healthcare and life sciences at Google Cloud in a recent interview, recalling how Silicon Valley giants vowed to disrupt healthcare among other industries. “I…
Top 15 R&D spenders of 2024
Each year, the top 2,500 or so international R&D spenders collectively invest more than $1 trillion in R&D. The roster of R&D heavyweights is shaping up to look broadly similar to prior years, but NVIDIA is poised to crack into the top 15 given its recent AI-driven growth. If anything, NVIDIA’s ascent into the ranks…
25 techbio leaders that shaped the AI-biology convergence in 2024
While the term “biotechnology” was coined in 1919, “techbio” dates back roughly a century after that. Around 2019, the VC firm Artis Ventures set up a venture capital fund named Artis techbio with the aim of uniting software, computational biology, and drug development into a cohesive framework. The ambition behind this idea has sometimes surpassed…
Why David Sacks’ appointment could grease the wheels of medical AI innovation
For Avandra CEO and founder Ryan Tarzy, the potential of AI in healthcare is personal. He lost his father to pancreatic cancer, a disease often caught too late in the United States. At the recent Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, he encountered a telling example of what emerging medical tech can achieve. “At…
3 ‘radical’ premises to reshape pharma R&D with AI—starting with holding off on AI
A good number of organizations rushing to deploy AI in pharmaceutical and genomics research have their priorities backward. They need not only a solid data infrastructure but also true data savviness before forging ahead with deep learning or large language models, argues Stavros Papadopoulos, CEO and founder of TileDB, the developer of data platform for…
AI agents: The next big thing in science — eventually?
If you read much about AI, you’ve likely noticed the growing number of models capable of “reasoning” and acting autonomously. This isn’t just about chatbots; it’s transforming scientific discovery. Google DeepMind recently launched a 15-day weather forecasting agent, bringing new levels of accuracy to complex atmospheric modeling. OpenAI’s latest reasoning model, o1, has demonstrated potential…
5 industrial AI trends to watch in 2025
As many as 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2030, according to an influential 2021 projection from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a growth rate of 0.1% from 2023 to 2030, yielding only 110,000 projected new jobs, resulting in a potential overall change from 12.9 million…
How the Living Heart Project could transform FDA’s approach to cardiac device testing
Imagine a future where needing a new heart means you become your own donor. “It’s going to be your cells, your design—an exact replica of your heart, only made healthy,” said Steven Levine, Ph.D., senior director of virtual human modeling at Dassault Systèmes, in a recent interview. For Levine, the goal of transforming cardiac care…
Idemitsu expands partnership with Enthought to accelerate battery material innovation
Integrated energy company Idemitsu Kosan Co. (Idemitsu) has expanded its partnership with Enthought, a specialist in digital transformation for science-driven companies. This move supports Idemitsu’s ambition to scale the development and production of innovative battery materials. The expanded partnership will include new technical consulting and implementation services and continued participation in Enthought’s Materials Informatics (MI)…
Who were 2024’s top patent and R&D leaders in computing, pharma, medtech and beyond?
Industrial and commercial sectors often measure innovation by market capitalization and R&D spending, but these metrics fail to capture the full picture. Tech companies dominate market headlines with AI product launches and chip releases — and our own ranking of most innovative firms of 2024. In addition, tech firms currently hold the top market cap…
AI agents could begin transforming how we work in 2025
The race to create AI agents that can operate computers and perform tasks more autonomously is ramping up, with OpenAI preparing to launch its “Operator” tool in January, according to Bloomberg. The tool, which would allow AI to perform tasks like fill out spreadsheets, book travel or write code on behalf of users, will initially…
From NVIDIA to SAP: How 25 global AI patent leaders fared in 2024
NVIDIA’s dominance in the AI hardware landscape is undeniable. The company has a solid IP strategy, too, with a portfolio of 273 granted AI patents across seven internationally jurisdictions as of late October 2024. NVIDIA’s stock has soared 187.6% so far this year, driving its market capitalization to $3.43 trillion. In addition, data center segment,…
Thermo Fisher Scientific unveils integrated multimodal electron microscope at European Microscopy Congress 2024
Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced the Thermo Scientific Iliad (S)TEM, a fully integrated multimodal scanning transmission electron microscope designed to advance research in materials science by offering atomic-level insights into complex modern materials. Revealed at the European Microscopy Congress 2024 in Copenhagen, the Iliad (S)TEM combines inventive technologies such as electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS)…
This week in R&D: Microsoft to buy electricity from Three Mile Island reactor, Fed lowers the interest rates, and lithium supply is up but demand is down
The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending September 20, 2024, closed at 4,006.95 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 2.11% (or 82.94 basis points). Twenty-one RDWI members gained value last week from 0.14% (Astra Zeneca PLC) to 11.09% (Intel). Four RDWI members lost value the previous week from…
Copyleaks CEO: OpenAI’s o1 emergence could blur the lines between human researcher and AI assistant
The web is facing a deluge of AI-generated content, with an explosive 8,362% surge from November 2022 to March 2024, according to a study by Copyleaks. From Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, the volume of AI-detected content jumped 2,848% based on an analysis of more than a million web pages per period using data from…
This week in AI research: OpenAI’s valuation hits $150B as it unveils o1 model family
After nearly a year of rumors surrounding OpenAI’s “Q*” (later “Strawberry“) project and its potential for advanced reasoning, the company has finally unveiled its new “o1” AI models that mirror humans’ ability to think before speaking. These models allocate more processing power to reasoning before generating output, significantly improving accuracy on complex tasks across science,…
Apple’s AI gets mixed reviews ahead of formal launch
Reviews are in for a beta version of Apple’s AI, following its iPhone 16 announcement. And experts are less than impressed. Vox called the tech “magically mediocre” after testing a developer beta. While AI Supremacy described Apple Intelligence as “late, unfinished & clumsy.” Critics point out that many of the touted AI features are not…
University of California transforms life science research procurement with Labviva
The University of California (UC) has selected Labviva, an AI-powered procurement platform, to enhance its life science research and procurement operations across all ten campuses. Initially deployed at UC San Diego in 2022, the platform went live at UC Merced in September 2024. This collaboration aims to streamline procurement processes for faculty, researchers, and staff,…