MIT boffins aim to build injectable mini-organs that can fill in for a damaged liver
MIT researchers develop injectable liver cell clusters from stem cells that perform metabolic functions for eight weeks in mice livers. The mini-organs aim to support patients awaiting transplants or suffering acute failure, bypassing donor shortages.
The Register • Mar 6
SYNTHETIC POSTHUMAN
Science Corp., Another Braintech Startup Founded By Neuralink Alums, Raises $230M Series C
Science Corp., founded by ex-Neuralink engineers, closes $230M Series C for brain-computer interfaces advancing vision restoration and sensory augmentation. Investors include ARCH Venture Partners and Optum Ventures, signaling heavy VC bets on invasive neural tech amid intensifying BCI race.
Crunchbase • Mar 6
CORPORATE FINANCE POSTHUMAN
German technology company CorTec implants second human with its brain-computer interface
CorTec successfully implanted its proprietary Brain Interchange BCI system in a second stroke patient during an FDA-approved clinical trial at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The procedure follows promising results from the first participant, advancing implantable neural interfaces for motor function restoration. This milestone accelerates the transition of brain-computer interfaces from research prototypes to therapeutic devices.
Robotics and Automation News • Mar 4
POSTHUMAN ROBOTICS HEALTH
Prime to test FDA flexibility with 2-patient gene editing submission
Prime Medicine plans an IND submission for its gene-editing therapy against rare chronic granulomatous disease using data from just two patients, challenging FDA norms for rare disease approvals. The move comes amid economic reprioritization and intensified regulatory scrutiny of accelerated pathways. Success could streamline synthetic biology therapies into markets faster.
BioPharma Dive • Mar 4
REGULATION SYNTHETIC POSTHUMAN
What It’s Like to Have a Brain Implant for 5 Years
Rodney Gorham, ALS patient and longest-term user of Synchron's endovascular brain-computer interface, has operated the implant for five years. The stent-based BCI enables thought-controlled computing, texting, and web navigation without physical input. Long-term data affirms viability of permanent neural augmentation amid accelerating human enhancement development.
WIRED • Mar 4
POSTHUMAN
STAT+: Prime Medicine to seek approval for gene-editing treatment after two-patient trial
Prime Medicine files for FDA approval of its prime editing-based therapy for chronic granulomatous disease after positive results in two patients. The move tests regulators' commitment to fast-track gene-editing treatments despite recent rejections of similar applications. Approval would mark a milestone for precise DNA editing technologies entering clinical use.
STAT News • Mar 4
REGULATION SYNTHETIC POSTHUMAN
Meta Tightens Grip on Smart Glasses Market as Global Shipments Soar 139%
Meta leads smart glasses market with dominant share as global shipments rise 139% in second half of 2025. AI glasses comprise 88% of shipments, driving AR wearable commercialization. Reflects platform consolidation in personal augmentation hardware.
CNET • Mar 3
CORPORATE WEARABLES POSTHUMAN
Evolving descriptive text of mental content from human brain activity
AI systems can now decode mental content from brain activity with increasing specificity. Research demonstrates non-invasive neural decoding that translates thought patterns into descriptive text without surgical implantation, advancing capabilities previously requiring implanted devices.
BBC Future • Mar 2
SURVEILLANCE PRIVACY TECH
Watch a computer powered by human brain cells play Doom
Cortical Labs has trained its CL-1 biocomputing chip, composed of 200,000 lab-grown human neurons, to play the video game Doom. Visual data from the screen is translated into electrical stimulation patterns, and the living neurons respond with their own signals that control in-game actions. The demonstration builds on the company's 2022 work showing similar cultures playing Pong, representing a functional interface between living neural tissue and digital computing systems.
The Verge • Mar 1
TECH AI SYNTHETIC
Cutting-edge Chinese gene-editing technique raises prospect of new autism treatments
Chinese researchers have successfully used an advanced gene-editing tool to correct a DNA mutation responsible for cognitive and behavioral problems in laboratory mice. The South China Morning Post reports that mice engineered with the mutation showed significant behavioral changes after receiving injections with edited genes, suggesting potential pathways for treating autism spectrum disorders. The research represents a significant advance in precision genetic medicine.
South China Morning Post • Feb 28
CORPORATE SYNTHETIC POSTHUMAN
Flagship-backed Generate Biomedicines eyes $2.2 billion valuation in US IPO
Generate Biomedicines, founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering (the venture firm behind Moderna), announced plans to raise up to $425 million in a Nasdaq IPO that would value the company at $2.17 billion. The company uses AI to replace traditional trial-and-error drug discovery by generating novel protein-based therapeutics computationally. Its lead candidate, GB-0895 for severe asthma, is currently in late-stage trials. Menlo Ventures, which cited Aurora Therapeutics' bespoke CRISPR work as validation of the approach, has invested $16 million in AI-driven genetic medicine startups.
Reuters • Feb 24
CORPORATE FINANCE AI
The FDA creates a quicker path for gene therapies
The FDA announced draft guidance for a "plausible mechanism pathway" that would allow gene-editing treatments for ultra-rare diseases to proceed without traditional clinical trials when biological understanding is strong. The policy builds on the successful treatment of "Baby KJ," an infant who received a bespoke CRISPR therapy for a fatal metabolic disorder. The framework specifically targets diseases too rare to attract pharmaceutical investment, potentially opening treatment paths for thousands of conditions affecting 30 million Americans.
NPR • Feb 24
CORPORATE PRIVACY BIOMETRICS
AI tools can design genomes. Will they upend how life evolves?
Researchers are now using AI-powered generative biology to design biological components, artificial genes, and even entire synthetic viruses from scratch. Last year, scientists produced AI-designed artificial genes expressible in mammalian cells and created the first fully AI-generated synthetic virus. This "generative biology" approach turbocharges synthetic biology by enabling the creation of novel organisms without natural templates.
Nature • Feb 23
TECH AI SYNTHETIC
Have we leapt into commercial genetic testing without understanding it?
Daphne O. Martschenko and Sam Trejo's new book "What We Inherit" warns that polygenic embryo selection has entered clinical practice with minimal regulatory oversight while offering limited predictive value. The technology uses statistical associations between gene variants and traits to rank embryos, but accuracy varies dramatically by genetic ancestry — with Pacific Islander Americans seeing systematically worse predictions than those of European descent. If access remains concentrated among wealthy populations, embryo selection could encode class and racial disparities directly into the human genome, compounding across generations.
Ars Technica • Feb 22
INEQUALITY REGULATION SYNTHETIC
As schools embrace AI, more students are using it as a friend
Students increasingly form emotional and romantic bonds with AI systems in schools, eroding human connection while expanding data collection and surveillance infrastructure targeting vulnerable youth
NPR • Oct 8
SURVEILLANCE SOCIAL AI