President Trump signed an executive order in October establishing a presidential task force on women's health and directing the NIH to create a Women's Health Division within an existing institute. The move echoes earlier efforts, including the 1993 NIH Revitalization Act under Clinton and a 2023 Biden initiative that sought $12 billion in congressional funding for women's health research but was not ultimately appropriated.
nature.com
· 2026-11-03
Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar claimed on CBS's Face the Nation that some AI researchers have taken up smoking to signal their belief that AI will eventually cure cancer. He described this as a kind of 'mass psychosis' or social delusion within Silicon Valley's AI community, comparing faith in AGI to a substitute for religious belief.
techspot.com
· 2026-10-13
A new commentary argues that quantum computing has moved past theoretical promise into applied use, citing challenges like disease research, complex financial portfolio management, and secure communications as areas where current quantum tools can already contribute. The piece frames quantum computing as a usable technology today rather than a distant future capability.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-06
A recent report by the American Association for Cancer Research reveals that 71% of cancer patients in the US now survive at least five years post-diagnosis, compared to 49% in the late 1970s. Notable improvements include lung cancer, where five-year survival rates have risen from 13% to 29%, and childhood leukemia, with survival rates for young patients increasing from 57% to 90%. These advances are attributed to better surgical methods, radiation therapy, and targeted medicines.
nature.com
· 2026-10-05
Biochemist Anna Pertl at the Whitehead Institute prompted an AI system called Co-Scientist to generate novel strategies for disrupting molecular condensates that fuel the cancer-driving protein MYC. Unlike a simple chatbot, the tool deploys multiple autonomous agents that search literature, debate competing explanations, and iteratively refine hypotheses before returning results, a process that can take hours. The work builds on prior findings by her supervisor Richard Young, whose lab showed cancer cells hijack condensates at super-enhancers to overproduce MYC, research now being pursued commercially through his company Dewpoint Therapeutics.
nature.com
· 2026-09-21
Researchers report that cancer cells don't just passively resist immune detection—they actively alter the tissue around them to create a protective microenvironment. This process helps shield tumours from being recognized and destroyed by the body's immune defenses.
nature.com
· 2026-09-16
Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm Holdings, told the BBC that AI will eventually cure cancer by modelling complex cellular and DNA processes beyond current human or computing capability, though he said this progress is being constrained by a shortage of chips needed to build data centres. He also predicted humanoid robots would become widespread within five years, while expressing doubt that chip manufacturing could realistically be built up in the UK.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-09-07
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