☕ Novel uses

Harvard AI tool finds new uses for existing drugs.

October 18, 2024 Presented by It's Friday. Rare diseases, when grouped together, affect about 300 million people globally. A new tool from researchers at Harvard Medical School uses artificial intelligence not to find brand new drugs, but to identify existing medications that could be used to treat rare diseases. In today's edition: A new Harvard AI tool helps identify existing drugs that could treat rare diseases AV companies make the data case for driverless rides Atlanta entrepreneur aims to solve school transit challenges with on-demand service —Patrick Kulp, Jordyn Grzelewski, Annie Saunders AI A new use case Francis Scialabba Advances in biological AI models have shown promise when it comes formulating new drugs. But can the technology also find ways to treat rare diseases with existing medications? That's what researchers at Harvard Medical School set out to learn with a new foundation model designed to do just that. The TxGNN model, described in a recent paper in Nature, is purportedly the first AI system that seeks to pinpoint already approved drugs that might specifically treat rare diseases for which there are currently no treatments on the market. These diseases might be rare on their own, but taken together, the more than 7,000 conditions classified as such affect around 300 million people worldwide, according to The Lancet. And only 5–7% of these ailments currently have drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Meanwhile, nearly one-third of drugs approved by the FDA end up with more than one approved use later on, often as many as 10 or more, the authors write. The problem, according to the team, is that discovering these new uses tends to be "a serendipitous and opportunistic endeavor"—doctors more or less stumble upon them in the course of working with patients. "Predicting the efficacy of all drugs against all diseases would enable us to select drugs with fewer side effects, design more effective treatments targeting multiple points in a disease pathway, and systematically repurpose existing drugs for new therapeutic use," the authors wrote. Keep reading here.—PK Presented by Verisign Myths vs. facts about .com Billions of internet users and trillions of dollars in global commerce rely on the security, stability, and resiliency of the .com top-level domain (TLD). That's why it's vital for conversations about this topic to be rooted in fact. Get clarity on the myths and facts about .com in this Verisign blog. By maintaining 100% .com DNS uptime for 27+ years, Verisign's stewardship has helped keep the internet running smoothly for users around the globe. With 329 billion DNS transactions processed daily, Verisign helps ensure uninterrupted internet navigation for end users. Purpose-built infrastructure supports over 157 million .com domain names. Learn more about the reliability and security of the .com TLD. FUTURE OF TRAVEL Check it out Gatik If self-driving vehicles are going to play a role in the future of transportation, the public must trust that they're safe. Gatik, an autonomous middle-mile logistics startup, is taking another step toward making its case on this, announcing what it described as an industry first: a third-party audit of its safety case for ditching human drivers. The findings will be made public. This move comes as Gatik attempts to build a business around driverless freight deliveries along routes in North America. It also comes amid heightened scrutiny on the AV industry, which has faced setbacks after some high-profile safety incidents in the robotaxi sector. "The assessment of our safety case goes beyond a basic review of safety practices and mission statements," Gatik CEO Gautam Narang said in a statement. "We are assessing our complete autonomous ecosystem to ensure safety in the real world, not just on paper." Gatik's leaders hope to see industry peers follow suit, he added. Keep reading here.—JG FUTURE OF TRAVEL Village on wheels Getty Between busy work schedules, school bus driver shortages, and unreliable public transit, it's no wonder that many families struggle to get kids to school before the first bell rings. Amia Mize understands this challenge all too well; she dealt with it when her daughter switched to a school district that didn't offer bus services to and from where they lived. At her daughter's new school, Mize observed other families dealing with the same issue. "A lot of students missed out on opportunities because they didn't have the transportation," she said. "From that moment, I wanted to be boots on the ground, behind the wheel, and do something about it." In 2015, Mize founded Takes a Village Transportation (TAVT), which provides door-to-door transportation to around 200 children and families in the Atlanta metro area and will be available via app next year. The company's services are supported by Samsara, a GPS fleet tracking software and solutions provider that includes features like route optimization and driver coaching. It's just one example of transportation tech playing a role in filling transit gaps in the US. Keep reading here.—JG Together With Cisco Are you ready for it? Cybersecurity threats are coming in hot, with 54% of companies experiencing a cybersecurity incident in the past year. Make sure your org is ready to face these attacks with Cisco's updated Cybersecurity Readiness Index. Measure + improve your readiness with this guide. BITS AND BYTES Stat: 28. That's how many billion-dollar climate disasters the US experienced last year, IT Brew reported in a story about prepping data centers for extreme weather. Quote: "It's kind of odd to me that AI governance is like this separate thing that's really scary when, in fact, it is just the same thing that they've been dealing with this whole time…It's just a different piece of software."—Siqi Chen, CEO and CFO of finance platform Runway, to CFO Brew on effective AI governance Read: Volunteers bring solar power to Hurricane Helene's disaster zone (Associated Press) Bustin' myths: AI has completely changed the game, but some misconceptions about its power, potential and availability still exist. We teamed up with Arm to give you the facts about AI. Get the scoop.* *A message from our sponsor. COOL CONSUMER TECH Fly_dragonfly/Getty Images Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech. Speak now? If you want to teach your dog to talk, there's a fairly low-tech way to kind of do that: buttons. But buttons aren't going to let you get existential with your pet. Enter Shazam, a collar with an embedded chatbot. Wired talked to the collar's creator about why it exists and what it can do: "You can select your pet's values, like compassion, justice, and courage. There are settings for its religious beliefs, power of forgiveness, or thoughts on freedom, fate, and destiny. You can give it a take on politics and broad topics like globalism. It is a truly dizzying amount of customization, yet it's not really clear how much these settings will change what your pet says when it is begging you to let it go outside and take a dump." Tech Brew's puppers have figured out how to get what they need by barking at the back door and making meaningful eye contact with the cabinet where the treats are stored, and we're not inclined to allow much more agency than that. Haters gonna hate: As evidenced by the first story in this here newsletter, there are valuable use cases for AI. But the ones being tossed into consumer products? Not to sound like a hater, but for some, they might be more of a hassle than a help. The New York Times's Brian X. Chen—who we've personally found to be more servicey than Google's AI Overviews—has a guide for opting out. End game: Subscription fatigue is a real thing, between streaming services, Substacks, apps, games, and more. But realizing you have a problem is only the first step: Once you identify your superfluous subscriptions, getting out of them can be a burdensome and labyrinthine process. The Federal Trade Commission's new "click-to-cancel" rule seeks to ameliorate this particular digital headache. "Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription," FTC Chair Lina Khan said. "The FTC's rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want." JOBS Break free from the job-board cycle. CollabWORK connects you with relevant job openings curated specifically for communities you're already part of—like Tech Brew. Find high-quality opportunities and land your next big break by joining CollabWORK today. Principal Product Manager at an undisclosed organization (remote) Senior Product Manager at an undisclosed organization (in person) Senior Product Manager at an undisclosed organization (hybrid) SHARE THE BREW Share Tech Brew with your coworkers, acquire free Brew swag, and then make new friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We're saying we'll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others: emergingtechbrew.com/r/?kid=b3968dba Written by Patrick Kulp, Jordyn Grzelewski, and Annie Saunders Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.   Guide → What is AI?   Guide → What is 5G? 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