This week’s list of top data news highlights covers March 8, 2025 to March 14, 2025, and includes articles on using new computer algorithms to reduce medical bias in MS treatment and helping prisons transition back to life outside of prison with VR.
Lila Sciences, a biotech startup based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is accelerating scientific discovery with AI-driven automated labs. Scientists enter a research goal into Lila’s AI system, where models trained on scientific data propose experimental approaches or candidate solutions. Robotic lab equipment conducts the experiments, and another AI system analyzes the results, learns, and refines its approach. This cycle repeats until a successful outcome is achieved. Using this process, Lila has identified novel antibodies and carbon capture materials in months instead of years.
2. Encouraging Environmental Action
Habitat XR, a Johannesburg-based production studio, is using VR to create immersive nature experiences that evoke strong emotional responses and encourage environmental action. By simulating real-world ecosystems and wildlife encounters, the technology has been shown to increase empathy and inspire conservation efforts more effectively than traditional media. Studies suggest VR-driven awe can deepen people’s connection to nature and motivate behavioral changes like reducing plastic use or supporting sustainability initiatives.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente have developed an algorithm to reduce bias in multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment decisions, ensuring more equitable access to highly effective therapies. The system matches patients to treatments based on clinical and social factors—such as symptoms, out-of-pocket costs, transportation, and work schedules—while deliberately excluding race and ethnicity. A study tracking over 6,000 MS patients in Southern California found that after the algorithm was implemented, the use of highly effective therapies increased by 90 percent among Hispanic patients, 87 percent among Black patients, and 80 percent among white patients.
The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in China is using 18 self-driving patrol cars and 2 industrial-grade robotic dogs to improve urban security. The patrol cars are equipped with AI-powered video analysis systems that process real-time surveillance footage, identifying anomalies such as unauthorized access, erratic movement patterns, and fire hazards. These vehicles relay data via 5G to a central system that coordinates responses. The robotic dogs, fitted with high-precision sensors and cameras, conduct close-range inspections, gathering additional data and assisting in tasks like bomb disposal and security enforcement.
The Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium, a collaboration of 20 historic sites, has launched “Three Cities, One Movement,” a virtual reality educational initiative for high school students. The program immerses users in locations across Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, and the Black Belt region that were pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement. The system works by combining oral histories and photographs to bring significant historical sites to life, allowing students to explore the people, places, and events that shaped the struggle for freedom.
Infineon, Qualcomm, Intel, and PepsiCo are developing battery-free IoT sensors that harvest energy from radio waves, heat, and motion to enable real-time tracking of inventory and equipment. Already deployed in factories and supply chains, these sensors monitor product conditions, detect temperature fluctuations, and optimize logistics without requiring batteries or wired power. PepsiCo is using the technology to track beverage stock levels, prevent spoilage, and improve distribution efficiency.
7. Simulating Life Outside of Prison
Creative Acts, a California-based non-profit working to help incarcerated people in state prisons, is using virtual reality to prepare inmates for life outside prison walls. Participants, including those in solitary confinement, spend four hours every day for a week experiencing scenarios like grocery shopping, job interviews, and virtual travel to places like Thailand and France through VR headsets donated by Meta. The program pairs these virtual experiences with art therapy where inmates process emotions through theater, poetry, and painting. Former participants credit the program with teaching them emotional awareness, conflict resolution skills, and renewed hope for life after release.
Agibot, a robotics startup based in China, has developed GO-1, an AI model that serves as a general-purpose brain for humanoid robots. The system processes massive amounts of images and videos through vision-language models, enabling robots to understand human actions and execute tasks based on natural language instructions. GO-1 allows robots to learn from minimal training data, adapting quickly to new environments without relying on pre-programmed routines.
Scientists at Georgia State University have used the Summit supercomputer to simulate how proteins repair damaged DNA through nucleotide excision repair (NER). Their model maps how proteins recognize, verify, and repair DNA damage, revealing dynamic interactions that could help identify disease-causing mutations. This approach provides a framework for developing treatments targeting genetic disorders linked to faulty DNA repair.
10. Enhancing Sports Viewing for the Blind
OneCourt, a Seattle-based technology company has developed a tactile sports broadcast system that converts real-time gameplay data into vibrations for visually impaired fans. The system uses NBA arena camera tracking to map player movements onto a raised court display, allowing users to follow the game through palm vibrations and fingertip exploration. This innovation enables blind fans to experience live basketball action in real time.
