UVA's AI Tool Identifies Potential Heart Failure Treatment; Biological Black Box Develops Neuron-Integrated AI Hardware

Researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) have developed an AI tool, LOGIRX, to accelerate the discovery of new disease treatments. LOGIRX identifies patient populations that could benefit from specific drugs and elucidates how these drugs function within cells. The tool identified escitalopram, an antidepressant, as a potential preventive measure against heart failure. Clinical trials are needed before escitalopram can be prescribed for heart health. Meanwhile, Biological Black Box (BBB), a startup, has unveiled its Bionode platform, integrating lab-grown neurons with traditional processors to create a new class of AI hardware. BBB's biological computing approach uses human stem cells and rat-derived cells to grow neurons that act as computer chips, offering a low-power alternative to GPUs. This system aims to reduce energy costs, improve processing efficiency, and accelerate AI model training. BBB's neural chips are already powering computer vision and LLMs for customers.