September eNews
Hello and welcome to our August roundup!
This month is bursting with discoveries—from AI designing cancer-fighting drugs and autonomous labs creating new materials, to Japan unveiling its first fully homegrown quantum computer. Nature shines too, with a dazzling fungi photography book and the reveal of a moth species hidden in plain sight for over a century.
Don’t miss our Editor’s Choice on why implants sometimes fail, and our Image of the Month celebrating science, love, and biodiversity.
As usual, if you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us at news@alphagalileo.org.
We hope you enjoy this issue!
The AlphaGalileo News Team
August Top 5
1. KAIST Develops AI That Automatically Designs Optimal Drug Candidates for Cancer-Targeting Mutations, published by KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) on 11th August
Traditional drug development methods involve identifying a target protein (e.g., a cancer cell receptor) that causes disease, and then searching through countless molecular candidates (potential drugs) that could bind to that protein and block its function. This process is costly, time-consuming, and has a low success rate. KAIST researchers have developed an AI model that, using only information about the target protein, can design optimal drug candidates without any prior molecular data—opening up new possibilities for drug discovery.
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2. New CABI-published book Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray is a ‘feast for the eyes’, published by CABI on 18th August
The new CABI-published book Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray has been described as a ‘feast for the eyes’ with hundreds of beautiful images of weird and wonderful fungi captured in sharp focus from around the world.
Created by an award-winning team of documentary filmmaker, photographer and mycologist, well-known for their work with Sir David Attenborough documentaries and those broadcast on Netflix and National Geographic channel, the book captures the beauty and diversity of mushrooms in some of the most remote regions on earth.
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3. Material Innovation Realized with Robotic Arms and AI, Without Human Researchers, published by KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) on 10th August
A joint research team from industry and academia in Korea has successfully developed an autonomous lab that uses AI and automation to create new cathode materials for secondary batteries. This system operates without human intervention, drastically reducing researcher labor and cutting the material discovery period by 93%.
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4. Japan launches fully domestically produced quantum computer, published by the University of Osaka on 8th August
A Japanese superconducting quantum computer, designed and built with homegrown components and software, went live on July 28th at The University of Osaka’s Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB). This achievement signifies Japan's technological prowess in quantum computing, demonstrating the nation's capacity to design, manufacture, and integrate a complete quantum system. Visitors to Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan will have the opportunity to interact with this cutting-edge technology through a dedicated exhibit.
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5. Geological risk prediction under uncertainty in tunnel excavation using online learning and hidden Markov model, published by Frontiers Journal on 13th August
In a study published in Frontiers of Engineering Management, researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology present an online hidden Markov model (OHMM) for predicting geological risks during tunnel excavation. Applied to a tunnel excavation project in Singapore, the OHMM outperformed conventional methods, accurately forecasting geological risks ahead of the tunnel boring machine using minimal historical data.
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Editor's Choice
Materials science meets medicine: Why implants fail, published by Empa on 28th August
Thanks to advances in medicine, people today live longer than ever. Understandably, we also want to remain healthy and mobile well into old age. Implants and prosthetics can replace worn joints and teeth, relieve pain and greatly improve our quality of life. Modern medical implants are small marvels of biomaterials science and bioengineering. Yet, despite their sophistication, implants do occasionally fail, which can have serious consequences for patients. Why do these failures occur – and why have they been occurring more frequently in recent years? Empa researcher Martina Cihova from the Joining Technology and Corrosion laboratory aims to find out. To do so, she is taking a close look at the behavior of implants inside the body. The scientist has received a four-year Ambizione Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation for her research project.
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Image caption: The oxide layer on the surface of implants is often modified during the manufacturing process, for example to promote bone growth or to give the implants a color code. Image: Empa
Image of the month
Striking new moth species, hidden for a century, named to honour 42 years of marriage, published by Pensoft Publishers on 12th August 2025
A beautiful, colourful moth, previously mistaken for over a century, has been revealed as a new species by entomologist Dr Peter Huemer of the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck, Austria.
Described in the open-access journal Alpine Entomology, the new species, now officially named Carcina ingridmariae, had long been overlooked due to its close resemblance to the widespread oak carcina (Carcina quercana), a moth familiar across Europe and first described in 1775.
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Image caption: Adult female of Ingrid-Maria's carcina. Credit: P. Huemer/Ferdinandeum. CC-BY4.0.