Transhumanismus

An AI system unearthed a trove of CRISPR-like proteins in minutes instead of weeks or months.

CRISPR is a breakthrough technology with humble origins. Scientists first discovered the powerful gene editor in bacteria that were using it as a weapon against invading viruses called phages. Phages can wipe out up to a quarter of a bacterial population in a day. Under assault, bacteria have evolved a hefty arsenal of defenses in a relentless arms race.

These bacterial immune systems often chop up the DNA or RNA of invading viruses and are relatively easy to manufacture, making them alluring targets for scientists developing genetic engineering tools. CRISPR is just one example. There are many more. But traditional methods of searching for them are slow and labor-intensive, leaving most CRISPR-like proteins unexplored.

Now, MIT scientists have released an AI called DefensePredictor that can root out new bacterial defense systems in five minutes, instead of weeks or months. As proof of concept, DefensePredictor churned through hundreds of thousands of proteins in multiple strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Over 600 proteins not previously linked to immune defense popped up. Added to a vulnerable strain of bacteria, a subset of these protected them against attack.

“E. coli harbors a much broader landscape of antiphage defense than previously realized, expanding the likely number of systems by multiple orders of magnitude,” wrote the team.

These systems might hold secrets about how immunity evolved. And because the proteins may work in different ways, they could be a goldmine for next-generation precision molecular tools.

Unrivaled Success

Around three decades ago, Japanese scientists discovered a curious, repetitive DNA sequence in E. coli. Other researchers soon realized it was widespread across bacterial species and matched viral DNA sequences—suggesting it could be part of the bacteria’s immunity against phages.

The system now known as CRISPR stores snippets of DNA from past infections and uses protein “scissors” to cut apart matching viral DNA during reinfection. Intrigued by its precision, scientists repurposed CRISPR into a variety of gene editing tools and launched a gene therapy revolution.

CRISPR is the most famous, but a range of bacterial defense systems have transformed genetic engineering. One, containing an enzyme that cuts specific sequences of foreign DNA, is widely used to add genetic material into cells. Another encodes a balance of toxins and antitoxins that can trigger bacterial death after phage infection. This one has been adapted into a kill switch to prevent engineered microbes or genetically modified crops from spreading uncontrollably.

Researchers are also exploring the use of newly discovered systems—with video game-like names like Zorya and Thoeris—as molecular sensors and programmable signaling in synthetic biology.

There are likely more undiscovered tools in the universe of bacterial defense, and scientists have ways of hunting them down. Some defense genes are grouped close to one another, so a known gene could guide the discovery of others. Researchers have also found genes by screening libraries of free-floating circular genome fragments across bacterial populations.

Over 250 systems have been painstakingly validated. But plenty more could escape current detection methods if, for example, their components are spread across the genome.

“The full repertoire of antiphage defense systems in bacteria remains unknown,” wrote the team. “We currently lack the tools to systematically identify systems with high speed, sensitivity, and specificity.”

AI Discoverer

The new DefensePredictor algorithm bridges that gap.

At its core is a protein language model called ESM-2. Proteins are made of 20 molecular “letters” that combine into strings and fold into complex 3D shapes. Similar to large language models, algorithms like ESM-2 learn the language of proteins and can predict their structure and purpose based on sequence alone.

ESM-2 and other similar algorithms have already helped scientists decipher mysterious proteins in bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms previously unknown to science. Researchers hope their unique shapes could inspire antibiotics, biofuels, or even be used to build synthetic organisms.

To build their AI, the team first established a training ground. With a previous model, DefenseFinder, they screened roughly 17,000 microbial genomes for genes related—and unrelated—to defense systems. They translated these genes into corresponding proteins and built up a database with some 15,000 antiphage proteins and 186,000 proteins unrelated to defense.

These numbers are far too staggering for a human to tackle, but the AI took the work in stride. Alongside ESM-2, the model used several algorithms to distinguish between defense and non-defense proteins. Eventually DefensePredictor learned some general characteristics that make a protein more likely to be part of the immune system. (Like other language models, it’s hard to fully understand the system’s reasoning, which the team is still trying to unpack.)

When tested on 69 strains of E. coli, DefensePredictor surfaced a treasure trove of over 600 new defense-related proteins, including more than 100 that were different than any yet discovered. Although some were encoded near one another or in circular DNA—like previous findings—nearly half weren’t. They were instead littered across the genome yet may still work together.

To test the results, the team engineered a highly vulnerable E. coli strain to express candidate defense proteins—predicted to work either alone or as part of a system—and exposed them to two dozen aggressive phages. Nearly 45 percent of the proteins offered protection against at least one phage.

Beyond E. coli, the scientists expanded their search to 1,000 more microorganisms and found thousands of potential defense proteins unlike anything seen before. “New immune mechanisms remain to be found,” wrote the team.

The race is on. Also published this week, a Pasteur Institute team combined multiple AI models to look for antiphage systems in protein sequences. Across over 32,000 bacterial genomes, the model predicted nearly 2.4 million antiphage proteins—most previously unknown. They released an atlas of AI-predicted bacterial immunity proteins for others to explore.

“The diversity of antiphage defense systems is vast and largely untapped,” they wrote.

Microorganisms harbor a colossal repertoire of biological tools we’re only just beginning to uncover at scale. More species are constantly found thriving in diverse environments, from pond scum to boiling sulfuric springs to the crushing pressure of the Mariana Trench. Every new genome scientists discover and pick apart, now with AI’s help, could be hiding the next CRISPR.    

The post MIT Mined Bacteria for the Next CRISPR—and Found Hundreds of Potential New Tools appeared first on SingularityHub.

Today’s error-prone quantum computers are still far from practical. But a bold deadline could galvanize the field.

As the race to harness quantum computing accelerates, governments are throwing their hats in the ring. The US Department of Energy is now aiming to build a fully functional, fault-tolerant quantum computer within the next three years.

Despite plenty of breathless headlines about the coming quantum revolution, today’s machines remain a long way from being practically useful. It’s widely expected that we will need much larger, more reliable quantum computers before they can tackle real-world problems.

That’s largely due to the fact that qubits are incredibly error-prone, which means future machines will need to run algorithms to detect and correct those errors faster than they occur. It’s estimated that the overhead for these algorithms could be as high as 1,000 physical qubits to create a single, error-corrected “logical” qubit that can actually take part in calculations.

Given that most current devices feature at best a few hundred physical qubits, more sober heads in the industry have suggested that we may be waiting well into the next decade to see a practical fault-tolerant quantum computer. But last week, Darío Gil, the Department of Energy’s undersecretary for science, announced the agency thinks it can hit that milestone in three years.

“By 2028 we will deliver the first generation of fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of scientifically relevant quantum calculations,” he told the Office of Science Advisory Committee, according to Science.

The agency doesn’t actually plan to build the system itself; it wants quantum computing companies to provide a ready-made solution. It has set out performance criteria it expects the future device to meet but is leaving the details up to providers. In particular, the agency has not picked a favorite between leading quantum computing designs, such as superconducting qubits, trapped ions, or neutral atoms.

“You can build it however you want, so long as you meet that objective and demonstrate scientific relevance,” Gil explained.

The proposed system would likely be housed at one of the department’s national laboratories where researchers can apply to use it for free, with projects selected based on scientific merit.

The announcement is the latest example of the agency’s growing focus on quantum technology. In November 2025, it announced $625 million to renew its National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, which are designed to accelerate research in quantum computing, simulation, networking, and sensing.

The goal is undeniably ambitious though. There has been significant progress in error-correction technology in recent years, which has renewed optimism in the industry. In particular, Google’s demonstration of its Willow chip in December 2024 proved quantum error correction works in practice, not just in theory. But massive technical hurdles remain, primarily in scaling up the hardware.

“It’s a very optimistic but worthy goal,” Yale physicist Steven Girvin told Science. Researchers are making “tremendous progress” in error correction, he said, but they’re still far from true fault-tolerance.

Solving that challenge has become an urgent priority for the industry, according to a recent report from quantum computing company Riverlane, but a severe talent shortage may limit how fast the field can move. There are only an estimated 600 to 700 professionals specializing in quantum error correction worldwide, but the industry will need up to 16,000 by the turn of the decade. And training error-correction experts can take up to 10 years.

It’s possible that the kind of grand challenge laid out by DoE can help galvanize both the attention and funding needed to shift the needle. But it’s an open question whether it will be able to deliver on the incredibly bold timeline outlined this week.

The post US Issues Grand Challenge: The First Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer by 2028 appeared first on SingularityHub.

We have godlike technology. Do we have godlike responsibility to match? In this third conversation with Steven Kotler — our first in 14 years — we dig into his latest book, We Are As Gods: A Survival Guide for the Age of Abundance, co-written with Peter Diamandis. And while the book makes a powerful case […]

SYNESTHETES

Tired: Listening to music.
Wired: Feeling the music.

A mind-bending new suit straps onto your torso, ankles and wrists, then uses actuators to translate audio into vivid vibration. The result: a new way for everyone to experience music, according to its creators. That’s especially exciting for people who have trouble hearing.

THE FEELIES

The Music: Not Impossible suit was created by design firm Not Impossible Labs and electronics manufacturing company Avnet. The suit can create sensations to go with pre-recorded music, or a “Vibrotactile DJ” can adjust the sensations in real time during a live music event.”

Billboard writer Andy Hermann tried the suit out, and it sounds like a trip.

“Sure enough, a pulse timed to a kickdrum throbs into my ankles and up through my legs,” he wrote. “Gradually, [the DJ] brings in other elements: the tap of a woodblock in my wrists, a bass line massaging my lower back, a harp tickling a melody across my chest.”

MORE ACCESSIBLE

To show the suit off, Not Impossible and Avnet organized a performance this past weekend by the band Greta Van Fleet at the Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas. The company allowed attendees to don the suits. Mandy Harvey, a deaf musician who stole the show on America’s Got Talent last year, talked about what the performance meant to her in a video Avnet posted to Facebook.

“It was an unbelievable experience to have an entire audience group who are all experiencing the same thing at the same time,” she said. “For being a deaf person, showing up at a concert, that never happens. You’re always excluded.”

READ MORE: Not Impossible Labs, Zappos Hope to Make Concerts More Accessible for the Deaf — and Cooler for Everyone [Billboard]

More on accessible design: New Tech Allows Deaf People To Sense Sounds

The post Make Music A Full Body Experience With A “Vibro-Tactile” Suit appeared first on Futurism.

IN THE FEELS

Today’s prosthetics can give people with missing limbs the ability to do almost anything — run marathons, climb mountains, you name it. But when it comes to letting those people feel what they could with a natural limb, the devices, however mechanically sophisticated, invariably fall short.

Now researchers have created a “synthetic skin” with a sense of touch that not only matches the sensitivity of natural skin, but in some cases even exceeds it. Now the only challenge is getting that information back into the wearer’s nervous system.

UNDER PRESSURE

When something presses against your skin, your nerves receive and transmit that pressure to the brain in the form of electrical signals.

To mimic that biological process, the researchers suspended a flexible polymer, dusted with magnetic particles, over a magnetic sensor. The effect is like a drum: Applying even the tiniest amount of pressure to the membrane causes the magnetic particles to move closer to the sensors, and they transmit this movement electronically.

The research, which could open the door to super-sensitive prosthetics, was published Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics.

SPIDEY SENSE TINGLING

Tests shows that the skin can sense extremely subtle pressure, such as a blowing breeze, dripping water, or crawling ants. In some cases, the synthetic skin responded to pressures so gentle that natural human skin wouldn’t be able to detect them.

While the sensing ability of this synthetic skin is remarkable, the team’s research doesn’t address how to transmit the signals to the human brain. Other scientists are working on that, though, so eventually this synthetic skin could give prosthetic wearers the ability to feel forces even their biological-limbed friends can’t detect.

READ MORE: A Skin-Inspired Tactile Sensor for Smart Prosthetics [Science Robotics]

More on synthetic skin: Electronic Skin Lets Amputees Feel Pain Through Their Prosthetics

The post “Synthetic Skin” Could Give Prosthesis Users a Superhuman Sense of Touch appeared first on Futurism.

BRAIN BOOST

There’s a gadget that some say can help alleviate depression and enhance creativity. All you have to do is place a pair of electrodes on your scalp and the device will deliver electrical current to your brain. It’s readily available on Amazon or you can even make your own.

But in a new paper published this week in the Creativity Research Journal, psychologists at Georgetown University warned that the practice is spreading before we have a good understanding of its health effects, especially since consumers are already buying and building unregulated devices to shock them. They also cautioned that the technique, which scientists call transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), could have adverse effects on the brains of young people.

“There are multiple potential concerns with DIY-ers self-administering electric current to their brains, but this use of tES may be inevitable,” said co-author Adam Green in a press release. “And, certainly, anytime there is risk of harm with a technology, the scariest risks are those associated with kids and the developing brain”

SHOCK JOCK

Yes, there’s evidence that tES can help patients with depression, anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, and other serious conditions, the Georgetown researchers acknowledge.

But that’s only when it’s administered by a trained health care provider. When administering tES at home, people might ignore safety directions, they wrote, or their home-brewed devices could deliver unsafe amounts of current. And because it’s not yet clear what effects of tES might be on the still-developing brains of young people, the psychologists advise teachers and parents to resist the temptation to use the devices to encourage creativity among children.

The takeaway: tES is likely here to stay, and it may provide real benefits. But for everyone’s sake, consumer-oriented tES devices should be regulated to protect users.

READ MORE: Use of electrical brain stimulation to foster creativity has sweeping implications [Eurekalert]

More on transcranial electrical stimulation: DARPA’s New Brain Device Increases Learning Speed by 40%

The post People Are Zapping Their Brains to Boost Creativity. Experts Have Concerns. appeared first on Futurism.

MIND CONTROL

The military is making it easier than ever for soldiers to distance themselves from the consequences of war. When drone warfare emerged, pilots could, for the first time, sit in an office in the U.S. and drop bombs in the Middle East.

Now, one pilot can do it all, just using their mind — no hands required.

Earlier this month, DARPA, the military’s research division, unveiled a project that it had been working on since 2015: technology that grants one person the ability to pilot multiple planes and drones with their mind.

“As of today, signals from the brain can be used to command and control … not just one aircraft but three simultaneous types of aircraft,” Justin Sanchez, director of DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, said, according to Defense One.

THE SINGULARITY

Sanchez may have unveiled this research effort at a “Trajectory of Neurotechnology” session at DARPA’s 60th anniversary event, but his team has been making steady progress for years. Back in 2016, a volunteer equipped with a brain-computer interface (BCI) was able to pilot an aircraft in a flight simulator while keeping two other planes in formation — all using just his thoughts, a spokesperson from DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office told Futurism.

In 2017, Copeland was able to steer a plane through another simulation, this time receiving haptic feedback — if the plane needed to be steered in a certain direction, Copeland’s neural implant would create a tingling sensation in his hands.

NOT QUITE MAGNETO

There’s a catch. The DARPA spokesperson told Futurism that because this BCI makes use of electrodes implanted in and on the brain’s sensory and motor cortices, experimentation has been limited to volunteers with varying degrees of paralysis. That is: the people steering these simulated planes already had brain electrodes, or at least already had reason to undergo surgery.

To try and figure out how to make this technology more accessible and not require surgical placement of a metal probe into people’s brains, DARPA recently launched the NExt-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) program. The plan is to make a device with similar capabilities, but it’ll look more like an EEG cap that the pilot can take off once a mission is done.

“The envisioned N3 system would be a tool that the user could wield for the duration of a task or mission, then put aside,” said Al Emondi, head of N3, according to the spokesperson. “I don’t like comparisons to a joystick or keyboard because they don’t reflect the full potential of N3 technology, but they’re useful for conveying the basic notion of an interface with computers.”

READ MORE: It’s Now Possible To Telepathically Communicate with a Drone Swarm [Defense One]

More on DARPA research: DARPA Is Funding Research Into AI That Can Explain What It’s “Thinking”

The post Military Pilots Can Control Three Jets at Once via a Neural Implant appeared first on Futurism.

ONE IN A MILLION TEN

Today, about 10 people on Earth have bladders they weren’t born with. No, they didn’t receive bladder transplants — doctors grew these folks new bladders using the recipients’ own cells.

On Tuesday, the BBC published a report on the still-nascent procedure of transplanting lab-grown bladders. In it, the publication talks to Luke Massella, who underwent the procedure more than a decade ago. Massella was born with spina bifida, which carries with it a risk of damage to the bladder and urinary tract. Now, he lives a normal life, he told the BBC.

“I was kind of facing the possibility I might have to do dialysis [blood purification via machine] for the rest of my life,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to play sports, and have the normal kid life with my brother.”

All that changed after Anthony Atala, a surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, decided he was going to grow a new bladder for Massella.

ONE NEW BLADDER, COMING UP!

To do that, Atala first removed a small piece of Massella’s own bladder. He then removed cells from this portion of bladder and multiplied them in a petri dish. Once he had enough cells, he coated a scaffold with the cells and placed the whole thing in a temperature controlled, high oxygen environment. After a few weeks, the lab-created bladder was ready for transplantation into Massella.

“So it was pretty much like getting a bladder transplant, but from my own cells, so you don’t have to deal with rejection,” said Massella.

The number of people with lab-grown bladders might still be low enough to count on your fingers, but researchers are making huge advances in growing everything from organs to skin in the lab. Eventually, we might reach a point when we can replace any body part we need to with a perfect biological match that we built ourselves.

READ MORE: “A New Bladder Made From My Cells Gave Me My Life Back” [BBC]

More on growing organs: The FDA Wants to Expedite Approval of Regenerative Organ Therapies

The post Lab-Grown Bladders Can Save People From a Lifetime of Dialysis appeared first on Futurism.