Previous studies have suggested that children exposed to opioid pain medications while in the womb have higher rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a new study finds that any increased risk could be explained by other factors. Emma N. Cleary of Indiana University Bloomington, USA, and colleagues published these findings on September 16^th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.

Researchers at Lehigh University have received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to explore how biological computation could make artificial intelligence (AI) more energy-efficient and powerful. The team, led by Yevgeny Berdichevsky, associate professor of bioengineering and electrical and computer engineering, will study neurons within engineered brain organoids—three-dimensional structures grown from adult stem cells that resemble developing brain tissue. By arranging and stimulating neurons in controlled ways, the researchers aim to replicate how the brain processes dynamic information, such as moving images. The interdisciplinary project combines neuroscience, bioengineering, electrical engineering, and computer science to create a proof of concept for biological computation and to inspire new AI algorithms. The researchers will also assess the ethical, social, and legal considerations of using brain organoids in computation.

To solve a problem, we have to see it clearly. Whether it’s an infection by a novel virus or memory-stealing plaques forming in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, visualizing disease processes in the body is the first step toward alleviating human suffering. It’s also often the most difficult and costly. But an artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough by Virginia Tech computer scientists published Sept. 16 in Cell Systems — a high-impact journal dedicated to biological research — is bringing those fog-bound processes into focus.