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"Researchers examined ancient microbial DNA from samples of teeth, skulls and skin from 483 mammoths and identified six microbial groups that lived in the mammoths' mouths and bodies, some of which might have caused disease. DNA from one such group, a family of bacteria called Erysipelothrix, is the oldest host-associated microbial DNA yet discovered at more than one million years old."

"A man with partial paralysis was able to operate a robotic arm when he used a non-invasive brain device with a built-in artificial intelligence (AI) 'co-pilot'. The AI-enabled brain-computer interface (BCI) also allowed the man to perform screen-based tasks four times better than when he used the device on its own. AI co-pilots can make non-invasive BCIs more accurate by shouldering some of the heavy-lifting of decoding brain signals, says AI researcher and study co-author Jonathan Kao."

"But researchers say the virus's arrival is only a matter of time. Particularly vulnerable are New Zealand's critically endangered bird species, five of which number fewer than 500 individuals. A recent effort using a H5N3 vaccine showed that vaccination can induce a six-month-long immunity in four of these species, which has researchers rushing to develop a strategy to vaccinate greater numbers of animals."

Ancient microbial DNA was recovered from teeth, skulls and skin of 483 mammoths, revealing six microbial groups that inhabited mouths and bodies and some potentially caused disease. DNA from a bacterial family called Erysipelothrix represents the oldest host-associated microbial DNA discovered at more than one million years old. A man with partial paralysis operated a robotic arm using a non-invasive brain device with an AI "co-pilot" and performed screen-based tasks four times better than with the device alone. Oceania remains free of H5N1 but faces imminent arrival; an H5N3 vaccine produced six-month immunity in four endangered New Zealand bird species, prompting urgent vaccination planning.

Read at Nature