🤖 AI Robot Learns Surgery from Watching Videos

Welcome AI & Healthcare enthusiasts!

New generation of AI robots are now picking up skills like a med resident, just by watching. AlphaFold3 is now in researchers’ hands worldwide, unlocking huge potential for new biological discoveries. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s ‘Operator’ might soon handle daily tasks on our computers.

Let’s dive in!

Victor

TODAY’S MENU

• AI Robot Learns Surgery from Watching Videos

• DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 Goes Open Source

• Virtual Lab: The Future of AI-Driven Discovery in Medicine

• OpenAI Sets to Release ‘Operator’ an AI Agent to Control Your Computer

• How Workouts Could Supercharge Brain Health at the Cellular Level

• Everything Else You Should Know this Week

  ‎

  Read time: under 7 minutes

ROBOTICS

AI Robot Learns Surgery from Watching Videos

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have just set a milestone in surgical robotics: training a robot solely by watching videos of surgeons at work. This breakthrough shifts the landscape for robotic surgery, edging closer to fully autonomous procedures.

How It Works?

• The da Vinci Surgical System robot, trained through imitation learning, achieved human-level skill in essential tasks like needle manipulation, tissue handling, and suturing.

• Instead of step-by-step programming, the model learned from hundreds of real surgical videos, using AI that interprets movements mathematically — similar to ChatGPT’s language model approach.

• The robot demonstrated unexpected autonomy, such as retrieving dropped needles, a task it wasn’t specifically programmed for.

• This innovation reduces the need for hand-coded procedures, potentially accelerating fully autonomous surgical robotics.

Why it matters: This breakthrough in training robots through video could pave the way for safer, more adaptable surgical robotics, reducing reliance on human surgeons for complex procedures and advancing precision in the operating room.

DRUG DISCOVERY

DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 Goes Open Source 🔓

Google DeepMind has now open-sourced AlphaFold3, allowing academic researchers to access both the code and model weights for non-commercial use. This change follows months of limited access and aims to accelerate breakthroughs in structural biology.

Key Features:

• AlphaFold3 can predicts interactions between proteins and other molecules, including DNA, RNA, and potential drug compounds.

• Academic can now access source code; however, only specific researchers can request the training weights.

• The system has mapped over 200 million protein structures—a record-breaking feat in structural biology.

• Competing models are emerging globally; Baidu and ByteDance are among those releasing versions based on AlphaFold’s specifications.

• Isomorphic Labs (DeepMind’s affiliate) retains exclusive commercial rights, it reportedly secured $3 billion in pharmaceutical partnerships.

Why it matters: By making AlphaFold3 accessible, DeepMind opens up revolutionary possibilities for biomedicine and levels the playing field in academic research. The golden age of computational medical science is about to begin!

OUR SPONSOR

My go to holiday drink!

The holidays are filled with delicious indulgences that often lead to digestive discomfort. If you’re seeking a natural remedy, matcha is the answer! Did you know matcha green tea has 30 times the antioxidant activity of blueberries? One cup is like drinking 10 cups of regular green tea, packed with benefits like catechin antioxidants for recovery and L-theanine for calm energy. Gift wellness this season with Pique’s Sun Goddess Matcha, which is organic and quadruple toxin-screened. Enjoy 15% off plus free shipping! Cheers to better health!

Enjoy up to 15% off plus free shipping

AI SCIENTIST

Virtual Lab: The Future of AI-Driven Discovery in Medicine

Stanford researchers have unveiled the Virtual Lab — an innovative AI-driven research platform where specialized AI agents collaborates with human scientists to tackle some of today’s most complex scientific challenges. Their first success? Designing nanobodies for COVID variants.

Key Details:

• This platform coordinates a team of specialized AI agents (like immunologists, machine learning experts, computational biologists) overseen by an AI “Principal Investigator.”

• These AI agents simulate real research interactions with minimal human oversight, discussing, strategizing, and refining designs.

• The Virtual Lab integrates advanced AI tools like AlphaFold, Multimer and Rosetta, allowing these digital experts to work together and yield scientifically accurate results.

• Over 90% of the AI-designed molecules were stable and functional in lab tests, with two promising candidates that can bind to both recent COVID strains and the original virus.

Why it matters: Platforms like AlphaFold3 and the Virtual Lab show us a future where AI supercharges discovery, solving challenges that might take human researchers decades to unravel.

OPENAI

OpenAI Sets to Release ‘Operator’ an AI Agent to Control Your Computer

OpenAI plans to release Operator in January, an advanced AI agent designed to independently complete tasks—such as booking flights or writing code—on behalf of users, Bloomberg reports.

Here’s what we know so far:

• Operator will handle complex, real-world tasks, like navigating a web browser to complete multi-step actions, with little to no human oversight.

• In a recent Reddit AMA, CEO Sam Altman shared that agentic AI will feel like “the next giant breakthrough” beyond the mere improvement of models.

• Operator joins a growing field of AI agents, with similar products in development from Anthropic (computer use), Microsoft (Copilot Agents), and Google (codenamed Jarvis).

• OpenAI targets January for both a research preview and developer access, with anticipation building around how it will distinguish itself in this crowded market.

Why it matters: With ‘Operator,’ OpenAI moves from conversational chatbots to truly interactive AI systems that handle real-world tasks independently. With multiple tech giants in the race, it will be interesting to see what sets OpenAI apart and how it might shape the future of personal and professional productivity tools.

NEUROSCIENCE

How Workouts Could Supercharge Brain Health at the Cellular Level

[This article is part of our weekly “Preventive Health” section]

I recently came across this study from MIT, and it made me rethink my own approach to workouts. You know how we push ourselves for muscle growth, endurance, or just to feel good? Well, it turns out that when our muscles work, they don’t just benefit us physically—they release these tiny biochemical signals called myokines that help our brain cells grow, too.

The researchers found that neurons exposed to myokines grew four times more than usual. Even more surprising? Neurons respond directly to movement itself. By mimicking muscle contractions, scientists saw nerve cells grow just as much as when exposed to myokines. This breakthrough, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials for potential nerve repair therapies, particularly for neurodegenerative conditions where regenerating nerve connections could be a game-changer.

Hungry for more? Explore these great newsletters from our friends:

Must-Read AI Healthcare News This Week

Formation Bio, OpenAI, and Sanofi launch Muse, an AI tool that speeds up clinical trial recruitment—already in use in Sanofi’s Phase 3 trials to shorten drug development.

Writer raises $200M now valuing at $1.9Billions: The AI company aims to expand AI workflows in healthcare, retail, and finance sectors.

Notable launches Flow Builder for healthcare AI: New low-code tool allows health systems to deploy EHR-integrated AI Agents for automated workflows, reducing manual tasks and enhancing productivity in patient care.

AI-powered video tool detects hypertension and diabetes: A Japanese study shows high-speed video can detect 94% of hypertension and 75% of diabetes cases, offering a contact-free screening alternative.

Throne unveils AI-powered toilet camera: The solution captures and analyzes excrement to monitor digestive health, potentially aiding conditions like IBS, Crohn’s, and ulcerative colitis with strong privacy controls.

SmarterDx unveils AI denials solution: The AI clinical documentation integrity vendor released an AI denials solution that creates AI-generated appeals letters to combat hospital payer denials

New AI tool could transform childbirth decisions: Real-time ultrasound software assesses fetal head position with 94% accuracy, guiding doctors on natural delivery or urgent interventions.

Thanks for reading!