Lead story / research

Researchers screen 70 million cells with AI, then recover selected cells for analysis

Researchers have demonstrated a way to connect AI’s analysis of microscope images with the genes and proteins behind cellular changes. In a study published in Cell spanning 70 million cells, the team used SPARCS to select individual cells from genome-wide genetic screens and physically recover them. The experiments examined cellular recycling and activation of an immune-system sensor.

Genome-wide genetic screens are routine for simple cellular traits, but complex features visible in microscope images are harder to study this way. SPARCS combines gene-disabling CRISPR experiments with machine-learning image analysis. Automated laser microdissection isolates selected cells in place, leaving them intact for mass-spectrometry protein analysis. That gives researchers molecular evidence alongside the visual features used to choose the cells.

One experiment recovered a large proportion of genes already known to regulate autophagosome formation in autophagy, the cell’s recycling process, and identified additional contributors. The other focused on STING, an innate immune sensor. Researchers found that acidity in the Golgi apparatus matters for STING’s early movement within cells. They linked GPHR, a protein that influences that acidity, to the sensor’s subsequent activation.

The researchers also used computational modeling to propose additional STING regulators, but those remain candidates rather than confirmed findings. The demonstrated advance is the pairing of visual selection and molecular readouts in these two processes—not validation of every modeled target. The associated protein-analysis dataset is publicly listed in ProteomeXchange as PXD082653.

partnership

Uber and Pony.ai plan London robotaxi tests, with no date for passenger rides

Uber and Pony.ai expect to begin robotaxi testing in London in the coming weeks. The city is part of a planned 2,000-vehicle European deployment, not a confirmed London fleet allocation. In Zagreb, Pony.ai supplies the driving system, Verne owns and operates the vehicles, and Uber connects riders. The companies have not disclosed London’s fleet owner or operator, or a passenger-service launch date.

research

Yale-led researchers find evidence of structured relationships inside seven AI models

A Yale-led preprint reports that seven language models’ internal numerical representations can be closely approximated by structures linking content to its role, with little change in behavior. In one internal edit, researchers moved “clever” from describing the doctor to describing the lawyer, and the model’s sentence interpretation shifted accordingly. The experiments covered language, arithmetic, logic, and code. The finding concerns one kind of organization, not a full account of how models encode information.

culture

San Francisco’s average one-bedroom rent hits $4,400 as eviction notices rise

San Francisco’s average one-bedroom rent reached $4,400, up more than 25% from a year earlier. Eviction notices rose 44%; that figure does not count completed evictions. The Guardian links the squeeze to AI salaries and anticipated shareholder wealth, but cannot isolate AI’s contribution. Mayor Daniel Lurie has declared a rent emergency and proposed legal aid, larger displacement payments, and caps on increases for newly vacant rent-controlled units.

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•  University of Washington gets nearly 7 million computing hours to design proteins

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•  Google releases an offline Mac app for meeting notes and questions

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•  Meta and Vercel release a template to build Quest VR experiences from prompts

•  OpenAI launches a decision tool that accepts images and costs more than Jev

•  Doctors found Google’s AI visit summaries useful in 75% of cases in a small study

•  Anthropic adds live dashboards and editable animations to Claude in beta

•  OpenAI says its revenue run rate hit about $50 billion as AI stocks fall

•  Google introduces a Gemini agent designed to work across business apps for days

San Francisco / Fri, Oct 9 · 10:30 AM PT

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