Lab Talk news in brief: AI screening, synthetic genomes, scaled up production
14 Aug 2025
UAE-based health company M42 group says it has conducted one of the largest real-world clinical validations of an AI-driven healthcare solution to date, analysing more than 1 million chest X-rays to evaluate the efficacy and scalability of AI in tuberculosis screening.
Conducted in collaboration with the group’s Capital Health Screening Centre in Abu Dhabi, the work is detailed in npj Digital Medicine - Nature, assessed M42’s AI Radiology in Screening TB (AIRIS-TB) model’s ability to streamline routine tuberculosis screenings,.
Capital Health Screening Centre CEO Dr. Laila Abdel Wareth said: "The outcomes of this study reaffirm that AI models like AIRIS-TB can not only match but safely surpass human-level accuracy and efficiency in clinical practice.
“By automating high-volume, routine screenings with precision, we are equipping radiologists to concentrate on complex and high-risk cases, unlocking greater diagnostic capacity. This shift holds immense potential to elevate patient outcomes, streamline healthcare delivery and bolster public health infrastructure on a global scale."
Enzymatic DNA synthesis specialist Camena Bioscience and genome writing firm Constructive Bio have joined a project led by Germany’s Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP), Germany, for a research initiative to develop synthetic chloroplast genomes.
Studying genomes of chloroplasts, the structures within plant cells that perform photosynthesis, provides insights into plant evolution how plants capture energy and adapt to changing environments.
Synthetic chloroplast genomes have the potential for optimising crop performance in response to climate change and developing plants as sustainable biofactories for biofuels and pharmaceuticals.
The project is backed by £9.1million funding from the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), sponsored by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Pic: Shutterstock
Medical engineering design and manufacturing firm, KMC Systems has rebranded as HiArc.
The 45-year-old company which provides solutions to complex engineering and manufacturing challenges for the life science and diagnostic sector, said its new name and accompanying brand identity better reflected the company’s position in the industry as a bespoke, high-performance solution architect.
Suneet Chadha, HiArc’s president said that alongside the rebrand, HiArc is investing in new capabilities and offerings to deepen its ability to serve next-generation diagnostic and life science innovators. These include advanced expertise across the areas of robotics, optics, microfluidics, and thermo-dynamics as well as a new product offering next year.
Biologics contract development and manufacturing organisation Bionova Scientific is opening a 10,000 square-foot plasmid DNA (pDNA) development and production facility in The Woodlands, Texas.
The subsidiary of global conglomerate Asahi Kasei’s new facility will design, develop and manufacture research-grade pDNA materials to support the cell and gene therapy field in anticipation of the global pharmaceutical market’s predicted growth to almost US$3 trillion by 2033.
Bionova Scientific will expand beyond mammalian protein production and provide clinical to commercial-scale current good manufacturing practice production of pDNA by Q4 2025. Plasmid DNA is a critical starting material for advanced therapeutics, including mRNA and viral vector-based cell and gene therapies.
