May 24, 2017 - Technology

Tiny, swallowable robots are the future of surgery

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The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT has been working on a tiny, swallowable robot made with magnets and dried pig intestines, which could be controlled magnetically from outside the body to perform medical operations inside the body, Forbes reports. The device is folded up inside an ice capsule, which melts once it's in the stomach.

What it could do: Remove unwanted items from the stomach, patch wounds and administer medicine.

So far there have been no human tests. "There could be a minimum of six years to have a successful treatment for humans," MIT professor Daniela Rus told Forbes.

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Axios
Updated 13 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 18,982,658 — Total deaths: 712,266— Total recoveries — 11,477,642 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 4,873,747 — Total deaths: 159,931 — Total recoveries: 1,598,624 — Total tests: 59,652,675 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi rips GOP over stimulus negotiations: "Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn" — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive.
  4. Public health: Majority of Americans say states reopened too quickly — Fauci says task force will examine aerosolized spread.
  5. Business: The health care sector imploded in Q2 — More farmers are declaring bankruptcy — July's jobs report could be an inflection point for the recovery.
  6. Sports: Where college football's biggest conferences stand on playing.
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Dave Lawler
34 mins ago - World

Nuclear free-for-all: The arms control era may be ending

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki have remained unreplicated for 75 years in part because the U.S. and Soviet Union — after peering over the ledge into nuclear armageddon — began to negotiate.

Why it matters: The arms control era that began after the Cuban Missile Crisis may now be coming to a close. The next phase could be a nuclear free-for-all.

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Rashaan Ayesh
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Pelosi, Schumer demand postmaster general reverse USPS cuts ahead of election

Schumer and Pelosi. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday calling for the recent Trump appointee to reverse operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that "threaten the timely delivery of mail" ahead of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: U.S. mail and election infrastructure are facing a test like no other this November, with a record-breaking number of mail-in ballots expected as Americans attempt to vote in the midst of a pandemic.

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