Deaf girl is cured in world first gene therapy trial
“A British girl has had her hearing restored after becoming the first in the world to take part in a groundbreaking new gene therapy trial. Opal Sandy, aged 18 months, was born completely deaf due to the condition auditory neuropathy, which is caused by the disruption of nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain. Now, thanks to a “one and done” gene therapy being trialed in the UK and worldwide, Opal’s hearing is almost normal – and could even improve further.” (Independent)
A weekly dispatch featuring exclusive interviews with deep tech founders & a roundup of the most important deep tech news.
- Google DeepMind’s new AI can model DNA, RNA, and ‘all life’s molecules’
- XPRIZE’s $100M carbon-removal contest selects finalists
- Neuralink’s first in-human brain implant has experienced a problem, company says
- The US is cracking down on synthetic DNA
- Florida’s beef with lab-grown meat is evidence-free
- NASA is expanding its Wallops Island facility to support three times as many launches
- Climate tech investment roars back with an $8.1B start to 2024
- Starfish Space and D-Orbit complete orbital rendezvous, bringing Otter Pup mission to close
- Smart labs for bespoke synthesis of nanomaterials are emerging
- Anduril announces Pulsar family of AI-enabled electromagnetic warfare systems
- Femtosecond Lasers Solve Solar Panels’ Recycling Issue
- Researchers harness blurred light to 3D-print high-quality optical components
- Quantum breakthrough sheds light on perplexing high-temperature superconductors
- Geologists, biologists unearth the atomic fingerprints of cancer
- New super-pure silicon chip opens path to powerful quantum computers
- Research team discovers new property of light
- Xona Space Systems closes $19M Series A to build out ultra-accurate GPS alternative
- Lucid Bots secures $9M for drones to clean more than your windows
- Triomics raises $15M Series A to automate cancer clinical trials matching
- Deeptech VC raises €300M in push for ‘semiconductor supremacy’
- Biden administration plans $285M in CHIPS Act funding for digital twins
- Neurable raises $13M for brain-computer interface with everyday products
- MIT spin-off Rapid Liquid Print raises $7M for 3D printing
- Allozymes, an AI startup testing millions of bio-based chemical reactions, raised a $15M Series A
- Niobium, a custom silicon provider, raised a $5.5M seed round
- XTEND, an AI OS for humans to interact with drones and robots, raised a $40M Series B
- XR tech startup Optix raised a $15M round
- Hysata, an Australian startup developing sustainable electrolyzers, raised a $111M Series B
Psychedelic Toad Venom Shows Promise for New Depression Treatment / Rifle-Armed Robot Dogs Now Being Tested by Marine Special Operators / Engineering Needs More Futurists / AI in space: Karpathy suggests AI chatbots as interstellar messengers to alien civilizations / Nintendo blitzes GitHub with over 8,000 emulator-related DMCA takedowns / NASA hasn’t landed on the Moon in decades—China just sent its third in six years / Google bans advertisers from promoting deepfake porn services / An Old Abstract Field of Math Is Unlocking the Deep Complexity of Spacecraft Orbits / AI-Operated F-16 Jet Carries Air Force Official Into 550-MPH Aerial Combat Test / Magical mushrooms: How mycelium is changing industries beyond food / Technology Is Transforming Rap Beef / What Can AI Researchers Learn From Alien Hunters? / Can drones help the National Weather Service better predict a devastating tornado? / Sperm whale ‘alphabet’ discovered, thanks to machine learning / How technology is revolutionizing insect research / Teens come up with trigonometry proof for Pythagorean Theorem / Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon / Spacecraft Takes Close Up Video of the Sun, Revealing Otherworldly Hellscape / Giant batteries are transforming the way the U.S. uses electricity