Scientists discover new method to destroy cancer

PLUS: Disney loses 'Steamboat Willie'

Happy New Year, Tech enthusiasts.

Scientists have created ‘molecular jackhammers,’ which have had a 99% success rate in destroying cancer cells in the lab.

Is a potential end-all cure to cancer near? Let’s get into it…

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Scientists destroy cancer cells using vibrating molecules

  • Disney loses copyright on Mickey Mouse ‘Steamboat Willie‘

  • 8 New products

  • Cornell scientists’ new engineered bacteria breakthrough

  • Robots make underground deliveries in Georgia

  • ZEEKR launches a new electric Sedan

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

NATURE CHEMISTRY

Image source: Nature Chemistry

The Rundown: A newly published paper in Nature Chemistry demonstrates a remarkable discovery using ‘molecular jackhammers' that eradicated 99% of cancer in the lab and destroyed cancer in half of the mice that received treatment.

The details:

  • ‘Molecular Jackhammers‘ stimulates aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light, causing them to vibrate in sync, enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells.

  • The research team from Rice University, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas says the approach is a considerable improvement over another kind of cancer-killing molecular machine.

  • The treatment eradicated 99% of cultured, lab-grown cancer cells and eliminated melanoma tumors (a form of skin cancer) in half of the mice treated.

Why it matters: This discovery provides a new way to treat cancer using mechanical forces at the molecular scale — delivering further hopes of a potential end-all cure within the next decade.

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DISNEY

Image source: Steamboat Willie

The Rundown: Disney has lost copyright control over Mickey Mouse’s ‘Steamboat Willie,‘ with the first-ever Disney animated short to star Mickey and Minnie Mouse now turning into a public domain.

The details:

  • The original versions of Mickey and Minnie within Steamboat Willie are now in the public domain as of January 1st, 2024.

  • This means anyone can now use designs of the original Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse wherever they want.

  • While the original designs of Mickey and Minnie from Steamboat Willie are now public domain, Disney retains copyright and trademark rights over later versions and iterations of these characters.

The relevance: The addition of the short film into the public domain marks a significant milestone for copyright law and the age of Hollywood Studio dominance.

NEW PRODUCTS

🏠 Room Reinvented- Room interior transformation with AI (link)

🧊 Polar Habits- Build lasting habits without the guilt of broken streaks (link)

💬 Findly- Interact with your Google Analytics through conversation (link)

🎵 Korus- Create music with an AI platform from Deadmau5 (link)

🪄 InMagic- Uncover your personality based on your Instagram profile (link)

🌌 Image Pipeline- Seamlessly integrates multiple stable diffusion models for image processing (link)

📚 Readbay AI- An effortless way to grow maximally with minimalist reading (link)

💻 Canvas- A DALL-E playground for the Mac (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

SNIPPETS

A new report reveals driverless cars are immune from traffic tickets in California under current laws.

Google is reportedly exploring widespread layoffs of up to 30,000 employees as it looks to integrate AI tools and processes company-wide for efficiency gains.

Cornell scientists show that genetically engineered bacteria could improve the efficiency of the purification of elements found in smartphones, computers, electric cars, and more.

ZEEKR launches a new electric car called the ‘007 Sedan’ for under $30K with a 540-mile range and already over 50,000 pre-orders in place.

A city in the US state of Georgia is testing a system that will allow robots to make deliveries via underground tunnels.

Korean researchers are using AI to investigate how microplastics are impacting global soil and agriculture.

Samsung leaked promotional material, revealing new AI-enhanced capabilities to arrive with Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S24 phones, with features spanning photography, productivity, audio transcription, and more.

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THAT’S A WRAP

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