Weekly Piece of Future #116
From Artificial Hearts to Cancer Treatments and Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Hey there, fellow future-addicts!
Welcome to this week's edition of Rushing Robotics! This month’s roundup is stacked with wild breakthroughs and boundary-pushing updates: a magnetically levitated artificial heart saves a child’s life, deepfakes now fake your pulse, and robots are not just working—they’re training together. AI is outperforming experts in virology labs, tidal kites are pulling megawatts from the Moon’s gravity, and no-code platforms are making agency-level creativity available to everyone.
🤯 Mind-Blowing
In Central China, a 45-gram, magnetically levitated artificial heart is now beating inside a 7-year-old boy who would’ve died waiting for a transplant. This device isn’t just life-saving—it’s redefining what’s possible in pediatric cardiac care. Meanwhile, researchers in Oxford are resurrecting an ancient fungal molecule used in traditional Chinese medicine—then supercharging it into a modern cancer drug that’s 40 times more potent than the original. And deepfake technology? It just crossed a chilling threshold: mimicking the subtle pulse of human skin tone to fake biological signals that were once considered foolproof detection tools. We’re not just augmenting life. We’re blurring the line between real and synthetic.
🔊 Industry Insights & Updates
UPS is deep in talks with Figure AI to bring humanoid robots into their logistics flow. Over in China, humanoid bots are already completing complex multi-task drills in 5G-enabled smart factories—learning, adapting, and collaborating. In the clean energy space, researchers at UCLA have built a hydrogen fuel cell catalyst that could last 200,000 hours—a 7x leap beyond the 2050 targets for heavy-duty applications. And in the sky? Joby Aviation just pulled off the first ever piloted transition flight of an all-electric eVTOL aircraft, proving air taxis aren’t vaporware—they’re inevitable. Infrastructure is being rewritten. Quietly, but irreversibly.
🧬 BioTech
Advanced AI models now outperform virologists in key lab tasks, making them formidable tools—and potential threats—in virology and biomedical R&D. We’re seeing a fundamental shift: models are acquiring practical, procedural expertise, not just theoretical knowledge. At the same time, scientists have developed an injectable treatment that dramatically improves recovery after heart attacks by hacking a natural inflammation pathway. In Alzheimer’s research, South Korean scientists have pinpointed a single enzyme—SIRT2—that may be responsible for a harmful astrocyte chain reaction that accelerates brain decline. We’re witnessing the convergence of computation, chemistry, and cognition—where every layer of biology is becoming programmable.
💡 Products/Tools of the Week
Nutix AI lets you build and deploy automation agents with a simple screen recording. Fluig transforms raw text into professional diagrams instantly. Maqnet provides creative campaigns on-demand, while Cerebro organizes scattered knowledge into actionable insights—helping you work smarter, faster, and more creatively.
🎥 Video Section
Check out Kepler Humanoid revolutionizing smart factories, Adam showing off its human-like walking abilities, and LEVA—the legged vehicle that’s rethinking logistics. Plus, Bloomberg Originals explores how AI and robotics are transforming farming and food production.
The future isn’t a dream—it’s already operational. These breakthroughs are live, making waves across medicine, energy, logistics, and more. Stay hungry, stay futurish!
🤯 Mind-Blowing
In a groundbreaking procedure in Central China, physicians successfully implanted a magnetically levitated artificial heart in a 7-year-old patient with end-stage heart failure. The device, weighing only 45 grams and measuring 2.9 cm in diameter, is reportedly the smallest and lightest artificial heart ever developed.
The child, known as Jun Jun, was unable to receive a transplant due to a rare blood type and deteriorating condition marked by respiratory distress and high infection risk. The implant, which operates between 1,500 and 3,600 RPM, provides stable blood circulation for pediatric patients with low body weight, offering a promising alternative in cases where transplantation is not immediately viable.
Researchers from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with biopharmaceutical company NuCana, have developed a novel chemotherapy agent, NUC-7738, derived from a compound found in a Himalayan fungus historically used in traditional Chinese medicine. By chemically modifying the original molecule to enhance its ability to penetrate cancer cells, scientists achieved a drug with up to 40 times the potency of the natural compound. Published in Clinical Cancer Research, the findings suggest NUC-7738 delivers significantly stronger anti-cancer effects with minimal toxicity, highlighting the potential for a new class of chemotherapeutic agents based on natural products.
A new study published in Frontiers in Imaging reveals a significant advancement in deepfake technology, marking a new chapter in synthetic media evolution. Researchers at Humboldt University of Berlin have demonstrated that the latest generation of face-swap tools can now replicate subtle physiological signals—specifically, heartbeat-induced skin tone variations on the face—that were once key biomarkers for detecting deepfakes. This discovery undermines one of the most promising automated detection techniques, as synthetic videos are now capable of mimicking realistic pulse signals. The findings highlight the urgent need to develop more sophisticated detection methods, as visual cues like facial micro-pulses can no longer be considered reliable indicators of video authenticity.
Chinese robotics company UBTech has achieved a historic milestone in humanoid automation. Its industrial humanoid robot, Walker S1, has successfully completed the world’s first collaborative training exercise involving multiple robots, tasks, and operational scenarios. The achievement took place at Zeekr’s cutting-edge 5G-enabled smart factory in Zhejiang, China. Zeekr is the electric vehicle (EV) brand under leading automaker Geely. In March, UBTech deployed a fleet of Walker S1 robots equipped with its proprietary “BrainNet” AI framework. These robots collaboratively learned and executed complex, industrial tasks across various production scenarios—marking a significant leap in coordinated humanoid robot performance in real-world manufacturing environments.
The Faroe Islands Space Program is pioneering a groundbreaking method to harness "Moon energy"—without ever venturing into space. If scaled, this innovative technology could replace the total global coal power capacity currently under development. At the heart of the initiative lies Luna 12, a tidal kite developed by Minesto that captures the kinetic energy of underwater currents driven by the Moon’s gravitational pull off the coast of the Faroe Islands. This low-friction, high-efficiency system marks a major advancement in tidal energy. The Luna 12, described as a "spacecraft" by technology partner SKF, is Minesto’s first megawatt-scale tidal kite and is already delivering electricity to the Faroese grid. Plans are underway to expand to a 200 MW tidal power plant—an installation that would meet 40% of the Faroe Islands' expected electricity demand by 2030. Rather than soaring into space, this program flies through ocean currents to tap into the Moon’s consistent energy. The current Dragon 12 model from the Dragon Class line, rated at 1.2 MW, can power at least 200 homes annually.
🔊 Industry Insights & Updates
Researchers in the United States have developed a novel catalyst that could dramatically extend the operational lifespan of hydrogen fuel cells, achieving durability of over 200,000 hours. Led by Professor Yu Huang of UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering, the team designed a catalyst combining pure platinum with a graphene-protective layer and a porous carbon support.
This new architecture enhances both stability and performance, addressing one of the central technical limitations in proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems. Impressively, the catalyst surpasses the U.S. Department of Energy's 2050 durability target for heavy-duty fuel cells—currently set at 30,000 hours—by nearly sevenfold. The breakthrough may significantly accelerate the adoption of hydrogen-powered solutions for long-haul transportation.
Japanese researchers have set a new benchmark in solar energy by developing an all-organic solar cell with a record-breaking power conversion efficiency of 8.7%, more than double the previous record of 4%. The solar cell, composed entirely of carbon-based materials, addresses key fabrication challenges by utilizing transparent and highly conductive organic electrodes. In addition to its performance, the innovation emphasizes sustainability by avoiding hazardous substances in the manufacturing process. The resulting cell is lightweight and flexible, offering deployment opportunities in environments unsuitable for traditional silicon-based photovoltaics.
UPS is reportedly in discussions with robotics startup Figure AI to integrate humanoid robots into its logistics operations, according to sources familiar with the matter. The two companies began exploring a potential partnership last year, with talks continuing into recent months, said the sources, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions. While the specific roles the robots would fulfill remain undisclosed, Figure previously teased a logistics collaboration in February by sharing a 90-second video on social media platform X. The footage showed its 5-foot-6 humanoid robot working alongside a conveyor belt, picking and sorting small packages. In a statement, UPS declined to confirm any specific partnerships, saying only that it “regularly explores and deploys a wide range of technologies, including robotics.” Figure also declined to comment.
On April 22, 2025, Joby Aviation, based in California, made aviation history by becoming the first company to pilot an all-electric, tilt-rotor eVTOL aircraft through a complete transition flight. The aircraft successfully took off vertically, transitioned to horizontal flight, and then landed vertically—with a pilot onboard.
This achievement represents a significant breakthrough in the eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) industry. While many companies have attempted similar feats, Joby’s successful piloted transition puts it at the forefront of the global race to introduce a passenger-carrying air taxi service. The aircraft is capable of flying at speeds of up to 174 knots (200 mph or 322 km/h), with a maximum range of 130 nautical miles (150 miles or 241 kilometers), and can reach altitudes as high as 15,000 feet (5,000 meters).
🧬 BioTech
A new study has revealed that advanced AI systems can outperform expert human virologists in specialized laboratory tasks, prompting both optimism for accelerated biomedical research and concern over potential misuse. Using the Virology Capabilities Test, researchers compared leading AI models—such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o—against expert virologists in domains requiring deep technical and procedural knowledge. Results showed that the AI achieved higher accuracy across many benchmarks. While this development could revolutionize disease prevention and therapeutic discovery, experts warn of dual-use risks. The ability of AI to autonomously perform virology-related lab functions raises fears it could be repurposed to develop biological weapons. Dan Hendrycks of the Center for AI Safety emphasized the shift, stating: “Previously, the models had theoretical knowledge. Now, they are gaining a concerning level of practical capability.”
Researchers at the University of California San Diego and Northwestern University have developed a novel intravenous therapy intended for administration shortly after a heart attack. This treatment is designed to enhance cardiac healing and significantly reduce the likelihood of subsequent heart failure. In preliminary animal studies, the injectable therapy showed promising outcomes in improving heart function and encouraging tissue repair, even several weeks post-infarction. The therapy targets a molecular pathway known to exacerbate inflammation following a heart attack. Under normal physiological stress, the body activates a protective protein known as Nrf2, which helps shield cells from inflammation-induced damage. However, another protein, KEAP1, binds to Nrf2 and promotes its degradation, thereby limiting its protective capacity. The new treatment involves a protein-like polymer (PLP) that mimics Nrf2. When introduced into the bloodstream, the polymer seeks out and binds to KEAP1, preventing it from degrading Nrf2. This allows the protective protein to persist, helping to safeguard heart tissue and promote effective healing.
Researchers at South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have identified SIRT2, a relatively obscure enzyme, as a key instigator in the biochemical cascade that drives cognitive decline. The study provides critical insights into how astrocytes—traditionally viewed as support cells—actively contribute to neurodegeneration by overproducing GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, in response to amyloid-beta plaque buildup, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
This excessive GABA release suppresses neuronal activity, impairs memory, and triggers the generation of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), which further accelerates brain damage. By pinpointing SIRT2 as a central factor in this dysfunctional process, researchers hope to neutralize its effects without disrupting healthy brain function.
💡Products/tools of the week
Nutix AI is a no-code solution designed to empower users to build and automate AI agents through screen recording and other intuitive functionalities. By capturing actions—such as transferring information from LinkedIn into a CRM—users can create personalized agents that automatically perform these tasks. Acting as a centralized hub for AI agents, the platform supports a wide range of applications including social media research, content creation, document handling, web data extraction, and travel planning. It features integrated analytics, role-based access controls, automatically linked databases, and centralized storage. With one-click configuration, rapid deployment, and no programming skills required, Nutix enables organizations to automate workflows efficiently and securely within a unified system.
Fluig is an AI-driven diagramming solution that effortlessly converts text and conceptual input into polished, professional diagrams—no design expertise required. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, the platform automatically interprets plain text and generates a wide range of visual formats, including flowcharts, mind maps, and process diagrams. From corporate professionals to educators, users can drastically reduce the time typically spent on manual diagramming by simply entering their ideas and allowing Fluig to handle the visualization. This makes it an ideal tool for those who need to convey complex information visually but lack graphic design skills or the time for hands-on diagram creation.
Maqnet AI is a sophisticated creative platform designed to replicate the thought process of an award-winning creative director, delivering high-impact marketing visuals, campaigns, and content. It generates "Super Bowl-quality" ideas on demand, producing professional-level marketing materials without the typical expense or turnaround time associated with traditional agencies. The platform offers users access to a library of over 12,000 creative concepts, with more than 400 new ideas added daily. Ideal for marketers, content creators, and businesses, Maqnet enables access to agency-grade creativity quickly and affordably, helping brands rise above the digital clutter.
Cerebro is an AI-driven knowledge management platform that transforms scattered, unstructured information into organized, actionable insights. Users can easily capture content from multiple sources—including YouTube videos, PDFs, and online articles—and structure it using Nova, an intelligent AI assistant. The platform allows seamless interaction with stored knowledge via chat and helps uncover hidden relationships between information through a dynamic graph view. Ideal for researchers, professionals, students, and knowledge workers, Cerebro is designed to combat information overload, improve learning efficiency, boost productivity, and provide a smarter way to manage personal knowledge bases.
