The car maker Tesla now offers customers its very own insurance package which will be up to 30% cheaper than conventional deals. Previously, Tesla cars were considered a risk due to the electric drive and autonomous driver, with owners having to pay higher contributions. To lower the additional costs associated with purchasing a Tesla car, the company is now offering its own customized service. The integrated sensors and cameras enable Tesla to reconstruct accidents better and prove who exactly was at fault. What's more, the data collected will help to improve the company's products.

Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a “body-on-a-chip” system consisting of up to 10 “organ-on-a-chip” devices that are linked together. At the heart of the approach is an automated device termed the “Interrogator”, which can shuttle fluids along channels lined with endothelial cells between numerous organ chips, mimicking blood flow between organs in the body. The new system allows for more comprehensive drug testing, enabling researchers to see the effects of a drug on multiple organ systems simultaneously.

Scientists at Michigan State University and Stanford University have developed a method for treating atherosclerotic plaque deposits on the inner walls of arteries. To do so, the researchers created special nanoparticles and injected them intravenously into the bloodstream with a drug known as an SHP1 inhibitor. Once the nanoparticles encounter a plaque deposit, they act upon immune cells inside of it, known as macrophages, and then reduce the plaque or inhibit the SHP1 signalling pathway within the macrophages.

The Australian start-up Harrison.ai has developed an AI called “Ivy” that offers women undergoing in-vitro fertilisation the best possible results. Ivy uses an algorithm to analyse time-lapse videos of embryos as they are incubated after being fertilised. The AI identifies which embryos have the highest likelihood of successful development. What's more, Ivy is a self-improving AI system that continuously learns from analysed embryos by fully evaluating the growth of the embryos during all development stages in the incubator.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a kind of “skin” for buildings, enabling them to independently breathe like living structures. The researchers use 3D printers to design shape-memory polymers that react in a certain way to external stimuli. The smart-skin building layers open in warm weather to absorb air, and then close during cold temperatures. This sustainable development will spell the end for electrical and mechanical climate-regulation solutions, and thereby help to reduce energy costs.