18 | New Scientist | 7 December 2019HealthWelcome to the
dawn of robo-binWANT to turn everyday items into
robotic versions? Now you can
with a smart computer program
that designs custom 3D printed
parts that can be used to automate
a range of household objects.
Xiang “Anthony” Chen at the
University of California, Los
Angeles, and his team developed
the tool, known as Robiot. A user
shoots a short video of themselves
moving an object – opening a binEarly therapy best
for babies with HIVTREATING infants infected with
HIV as soon as possible after birth
seems to be most effective at
reducing signs of the virus.
Roger Shapiro at Harvard
University and his colleagues
studied 20 babies with HIV born
in Botswana. Ten of them had
antiretroviral therapy for HIV
rapidly, normally within a day
of birth, and the others started
treatment at around 4 months old.
The researchers then checked how
the babies were doing two years
after starting treatment.
The babies treated early had
stronger immune systems, with
fewer damaged immune cells,
and 200 times fewer dormant HIV-
infected cells, which are capable of
reactivating (Science Translational
Medicine, doi.org/df8d).
Testing and treatment should
happen early, whenever feasible,
says Shapiro. Without treatment,Infectious diseases^ TechnologyTHE microorganisms in your gut may
dictate whether workouts could help
you stave off diabetes, opening the
door to treatments that target them.
Type 2 diabetes is a growing
problem. It can be prevented by
lifestyle interventions, says Aimin
Xu at the University of Hong Kong.
Exercise is the most cost-effective
method, but it doesn’t reduce the
risk of diabetes for everyone.
To understand why, Xu and his
team studied how exercise affected
the microbiome and metabolism of
39 men with prediabetes – when
blood sugar levels are higher than
normal, but not high enough for a
diagnosis of diabetes.
The participants were randomly
assigned to a sedentary control
group or to a group that undertook
a three-month supervised exercise
training course. Both were toldto maintain their usual diet.
While all those in the exercise
group had similar levels of weight
and fat-mass reduction, only 70 per
cent had significant improvements
in glucose metabolism and insulin
sensitivity, Xu found. An analysis of
their gut microbes revealed that the
people who saw the improvements
had different microbiomes.
Next, the researchers used faecal
samples to transplant the microbes
from participants into obese mice.
Only the rodents receiving microbes
from people who responded well to
exercise saw insulin resistance and
glucose regulation improve (Cell
Metabolism, doi.org/df7q).
The findings raise the possibility
that targeting gut microbiota can
maximise the benefit of exercise
and could help doctors personalise
treatments. Ruby Prosser ScullyGut microbes may help us
fight diabetes with exercise
or angling a lamp, for example.
Robiot then analyses the motion
to create a 3D model that can
replicate the movement.
Scrutinising the video, the
program isolates the object from
its surroundings. The system can
recognise whether the object is
moving in a linear or rotational
fashion, and which parts of the
object need to remain stationary.
It matches the movements to a
repository of 3D models, choosing
the most similar. The system then
3D prints the model, including
motion sensors, which the user
can fix to the object to control it.
Six people of varying technical
ability tried the system and turned
seven objects into robots with
relative ease, including a bin
(pictured). For now, the system can
create only one kind of motion in
any model, but the team plans to
enable more complex movements
(Proceedings of the 32nd Annual
ACM Symposium on User Interface
Software and Technology, doi.org/
df72) Donna Lu25 to 50 per cent of children
infected with HIV die within
their first two years of life.
HIV can be transmitted from
a woman to her child during
pregnancy, childbirth and
breastfeeding. In most cases,
transmission can be prevented by
giving treatment to the mother,
says Shapiro. Left untreated, HIV
causes AIDS – a fatal syndrome
that leaves the body unable to
fight off infections. The condition
progresses more quickly in infants
than adults because their immune
systems are still developing.
Antiretroviral therapy normally
prevents AIDS from developing
but isn’t a cure, meaning that the
drugs must be taken for life.
The latest results add to
growing evidence that early
HIV treatment leads to better
outcomes for children. As a result,
the World Health Organization
now recommends testing at birth
or soon after, and initiating
treatment immediately upon
diagnosis. Layal LiverpoolTO
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