From MIT Technology Review · · 3m
Frozen pig kidneys revived, nuclear power pushed harder
Scientists thaw year-old pig kidneys successfully, while US nuclear plants race to squeeze out more power.
In brief
Scientists thaw year-old pig kidneys successfully, while US nuclear plants race to squeeze out more power. Pig kidneys frozen for over a year have been successfully thawed and shown to work, and US nuclear operators are adding capacity to existing reactors to meet rising electricity demand. Originally reported by MIT…
Pig kidneys frozen for a year thawed successfully
Scientists cooled pig kidneys to minus one hundred fifty degrees Celsius and stored them in a freezer for months. Once rewarmed and transplanted into pigs, the kidneys regained colour and produced urine, showing they worked.
Kidneys stayed in glass-like state over a year
The kidneys, similar in size to human ones, were left in a glass-like state in one case for over a year before being successfully rewarmed and tested in machines.
Major milestone for organ transplantation
The results represent a big milestone for transplant science. However, the team still needs to establish whether the approach could work for humans, not just pigs.
Nuclear plants racing to boost power output
As electricity demand rises, nuclear operators are trying to squeeze more power from existing plants. Constellation, the largest nuclear operator in the US, announced plans to add nearly a gigawatt of new capacity.
Constellation expanding across eleven reactors
Constellation plans to add nearly a gigawatt of new capacity across eleven existing nuclear reactors at six plants, boosting clean power supply for data centers and other high-demand users.
Department of Energy backs nuclear upgrades
On October fifth, the Department of Energy awarded Vistra a four point two billion dollar loan to upgrade three plants, accelerating the nuclear industry's push to provide more clean electricity.
BasiGo electrifying African public transport
BasiGo aims to replace tens of thousands of diesel-powered buses on sub-Saharan African roads with electric ones. The company has more than one hundred fifty electric buses on the road in Kenya and Rwanda.
BasiGo expanding to trucks with reservation list
BasiGo has a reservation list of one thousand two hundred customers and is now targeting trucks, another major source of pollution on African roads, using a pay-as-you-drive business model.
OpenAI building fully automated AI researcher
OpenAI announced a new grand challenge: building a fully automated agent-based system capable of tackling large, complex research problems. The company plans to debut a multi-agent system in twenty twenty-eight.
AI research intern precedes full automation
OpenAI will first build an autonomous AI research intern capable of handling a small number of specific research problems. This precursor will lead to the fully automated multi-agent system launching in twenty twenty-eight.
Automated research is OpenAI's north star
OpenAI's chief scientist Jakub Pachocki said the new goal will be the company's north star for the next few years, marking a major shift in the firm's research direction and ambitions.
The bottom line
Pig kidneys frozen for over a year have been successfully thawed and shown to work, and US nuclear operators are adding capacity to existing reactors to meet rising electricity demand.
