The Next Byte Podcast · 2 Aug 2022 · 29m
Hosts Daniel and Forbode discuss two major engineering breakthroughs: using machine learning to reverse-engineer gut microbiome interactions for targeted medicine, and Professor Kit Parker’s team at Harvard using focused rotary jet spinning (FRJS) to fabricate functional, helically-aligned heart tissue scaffolds. They explore how ML models correlate microbial colonies with health-impacting metabolites and how FRJS overcomes the speed limitations of 3D printing to create programmable micro-scale structures for biofabrication.
Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.
Engineering & simulationmap out 33,000,000 colonies in minutes
The team used a machine learning model to correlate microbial density with metabolite production, allowing them to map 33 million potential microbial colonies in minutes rather than days or months.
“With this model, these folks say that they can map out the 33000000 colonies in minutes, whereas the conventional approach could take days to months to map out.”
Speaker 1 · Hear it at 10:24
makers and hobbyists
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Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White discuss the technical implications of the 2038 time bug, the utility of the 'single-file libraries' GitHub repository for embedded development, and Christopher's hands-on MIDI project using an STM32 NUCLEO-144 board. Elecia also shares her exploration of Tiny ML for PID controller tuning and her attempt to apply for a NASA NIAC grant using curved crease origami for sensor systems.
Ian from Electromaker reviews a variety of maker projects, including Valima’s 3D-printed 'Minority Report' kitchen timer and a miniature billiards game by Electro-Japanese. He highlights TinyML applications, such as running heart arrhythmia detection on an Arduino Mega using the Newton platform, and discusses Framework’s initiative to provide old laptop mainboards to developers to foster reuse and reduce e-waste. The episode also covers new event-based vision sensors from Metavision and crowdfunding campaigns for SMD component counters and USB-to-TTL adapters.
Dr. Sonia Grego, founder and CEO of Coprata and lead of Duke University's Smart Toilet Lab, discusses the engineering challenges of monitoring gut health through human waste. She explains how Coprata’s Microbiome Activity Tracker (MAT) kit uses colorimetric analysis via smartphone to assess gut health, while detailing the complex robotics required for their smart toilet prototype to isolate and analyze specimens. Grego also shares lessons from field-testing non-sewered sanitation systems in India and South Africa, highlighting the gap between academic prototypes and real-world deployment.
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