Rice, MD Anderson receive $1.5 million to further brain cancer research

fresh funding

Rice and MD Anderson scientists are researching new methods for treating brain cancer by overcoming the blood-brain barrier. Photo via Getty Images.

Rice University chemist Han Xiao, who also serves as director of the university’s Synthesis X Center, and cancer biologist Dihua Yu of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation.

The funding will allow them to continue their research on treating brain metastasis by overcoming the blood-brain barrier, or the BBB, according to a news release.

Brain metastasis is the leading form of brain cancer, with survival rates below 20 percent within a year of diagnosis, according to the National Library of Medicine. It commonly originates from breast, lung and melanoma cancers.

The BBB typically acts as a protective barrier for the brain. However, it prevents most drugs from being able to directly reach the brain. According to Rice, only 2 percent of FDA-approved small molecule drugs can penetrate the BBB, limiting treatment options.

Xiao and Yu’s approach to dealing with the BBB includes a light-induced brain delivery (LIBD) platform. The advanced system employs nanoparticles that are embedded with a near-infrared dye for the transport of therapeutic agents across the BBB. The research will evaluate the LIBD’s ability to improve the delivery of small-molecule drugs and biological therapies. Some therapies have shown potential for reducing cancer growth in laboratory studies, but they have struggled due to limited BBB penetration in animal models.

“Our LIBD platform represents a novel strategy for delivering drugs to the brain with precision and efficiency,” Xiao said in a news release. “This technology could not only improve outcomes for brain metastasis patients but also pave the way for treating other neurological diseases.”

The Kleberg Foundation looks for groundbreaking medical research proposals from leading institutions that focus on “innovative basic and applied biological research that advances scientific knowledge and human health” according to the foundation.

“This research is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation,” Xiao said in a news release. “Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in treating brain metastasis and beyond.”

Rice launched the Synthesis X Center, or Synth X, last spring. It was born out of what started about eight years ago as informal meetings between Xiao's research group and others from the Baylor College of Medicine’s Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. It aims to turn fundamental research into clinical applications through collaboration.

“This collaboration builds on the strengths of both research teams,” Xiao said in the release. “By combining SynthX Center's expertise in chemistry with Dr. Yu's expertise in cancer biology and brain metastases, we aim to create a transformative solution.”

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Dr. Jenny Chang's cancer research has generated more than $35 million in funding for Houston Methodist. Photo courtesy Houston Methodist

Houston hospital names leading cancer scientist as new academic head

new hire

Houston Methodist Academic Institute has named cancer clinician and scientist Dr. Jenny Chang as its new executive vice president, president, CEO, and chief academic officer.

Chang was selected following a national search and will succeed Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, who will retire in February after 20 years of leadership. Chang is the director of the Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and the Emily Herrmann Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research. She has been with Houston Methodist for 15 years.

Over the last five years, Chang has served as the institute’s chief clinical science officer and is credited with strengthening cancer clinical trials. Her work has focused on therapy-resistant cancer stem cells and their treatment, particularly relating to breast cancer.

Her work has generated more than $35 million in funding for Houston Methodist from organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, according to the health care system. In 2021, Dr. Mary Neal and her husband Ron Neal, whom the cancer center is now named after, donated $25 million to support her and her team’s research on advanced cancer therapy.

In her new role, Chang will work to expand clinical and translational research and education across Houston Methodist in digital health, robotics and bioengineered therapeutics.

“Dr. Chang’s dedication to Houston Methodist is unparalleled,” Dr. Marc L. Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, said in a news release. “She is committed to our mission and to helping our patients, and her clinical expertise, research innovation and health care leadership make her the ideal choice for leading our academic mission into an exciting new chapter.”

Chang is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Stand Up to Cancer Scientific Advisory Council. She earned her medical degree from Cambridge University in England and completed fellowship training in medical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital/Institute for Cancer Research. She earned her research doctorate from the University of London.

She is also a professor at Weill Cornell Medical School, which is affiliated with the Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

AccessPath is a novel, affordable, slide-free pathology system that helps surgeons determine if they have completely removed tumors during surgery. Photo via Getty Images

Promising Houston cancer research project wins $18M grant

fresh funding

The Biden-Harris administration is deploying $150 million as a part of its Cancer Moonshot initiative, and a research team led by Rice University is getting a slice of that pie.

AccessPath is a novel, affordable, slide-free pathology system that helps surgeons determine if they have completely removed tumors during surgery. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, a Rice bioengineering professor and director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, is the lead PI on the project that is receiving up to $18 million over five years from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

“Because of its low cost, high speed, and automated analysis, we believe AccessPath can revolutionize real-time surgical guidance, greatly expanding the range of hospitals able to provide accurate intraoperative tumor margin assessment and improving outcomes for all cancer surgery patients,” Richards-Kortum says in a news release.

The project is focused on two types of cancer, breast and head and neck cancer, and Ashok Veeraraghavan, chair of Rice’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science, is a co-PI and Tomasz Tkaczyk, a professor of bioengineering and electrical and computer engineering at Rice, is also a collaborator on the project.

AccessPath is addressing the challenge surgeons face of identifying the margin where tumor tissue ends and health tissue begins when removing tumors. The project not only hopes to provide a more exact solution but do so in an affordable way.

“Precise margin assessment is key to the oncologic success of any cancer operation,” adds Dr. Ana Paula Refinetti, an associate professor in the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and one of the lead surgeons PIs on the project. “The development of a new low-cost technology that enables immediate margin assessment could transform the landscape of surgical oncology — particularly in low-resource settings, reducing the number of repeat interventions, lowering cancer care costs and improving patient outcomes.”

The project optimizing margin identification with a fast-acting, high-resolution microscope, effective fluorescent stains for dying tumor margins, and artificial intelligence algorithms.

AccessPath is a collaboration between Rice and MD Anderson Cancer Center, other awardees in the grant include the University of Texas Health School of Dentistry, Duke University, Carnegie Mellon University and 3rd Stone Design.

“AccessPath is exactly the kind of life-changing research and health care innovation we are proud to produce at Rice, where we’re committed to addressing and solving the world’s most pressing medical issues,” Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Rice’s executive vice president for research, says in the release. “Partnering with MD Anderson on this vital work underscores the importance of such ongoing collaborations with our neighbors in the world’s largest medical center. I am thrilled for Rebecca and her team; it’s teamwork that makes discoveries like these possible.”

Rebecca Richards-Kortum, a Rice bioengineering professor and director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, is the lead PI on the project. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

A new tool being used at Houston Methodist taps into artificial intelligence breast cancer diagnosis. Photo courtesy of Houston Methodist

Houston hospital uses AI to create new breast cancer risk calculator

iBrisk

In the medical field, billions of dollars are wasted each year — about $935 billion, but who's counting? According to a paper published by the JAMA Network, an estimated $75.7 billion to $101.2 billion is wasted through overtreatment. Of the many procedures that can lead to wasted resources, breast cancer biopsies are a major source of overtreatment. Houston Methodist Hospital is using artificial intelligence to create a more efficient and accurate Breast Cancer Risk Calculator, called iBrisk.

Breast cancer is something that plagues the lives of many women, and some men. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Women are advised to start having annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer starting at age 40 to try to catch cancer in its earliest stages. With mammograms becoming a standard procedure, the process inevitably leads to more biopsies.

While more biopsies sound like the obvious course of action, Houston Methodist Hospital shares that out of 10,000 women biopsied, less than two will be positive while using the national standard. The result of a negative biopsy? Wasted time, resources, and money, as well as undue worry for the patient.

"It's not just wasteful. . .when you do an unnecessary procedure, you're potentially harming the patient," says Stephen Wong, Ph.D. After a negative biopsy, Dr. Wong explains that patients often begin to show emotional responses like high anxiety and low self-esteem. They often speculate the biopsies are wrong, and that they've had a missed cancer diagnosis by their medical provider.

Dr. Wong estimates that more than 700,000 patients have unnecessary biopsies in the breast cancer category alone.

Spearheading the iBrisk tool, Dr. Wong has found a way to utilize a smarter model than the current system for detecting breast cancer risk.

Hospitals across the country currently use the Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System score (BI-RADS), a system created by the American College of Radiology to determine breast cancer risk and biopsy decision-making.

To expand on BI-RADS data, Dr. Wong used multiple patient data points and AI technology to create the improved system. The iBRISK integrates natural language processing, medical image analysis, and deep learning on multi-modal BI-RADS patient data to make one of three recommendations: biopsy not recommended, consider biopsy, or biopsy recommended.

"While using AI, we try to simulate how the physician thinks," explains Dr. Wong. "The physician looks at different data: imaging, patient clinical data, demographic, history and other social factors. You don't rely on one particular thing."

To create iBrisk, Dr. Wong used 12 to 13 years of BI-RAD data at Houston Methodist Hospital to train the AI using deep learning.

He estimates that more than 80 percent of technical information is in the free text format, meaning unstructured data, in the United States.

"We applied an AI technique called natural language processing, which is using the computer to read the text automatically for us," explains Dr. Wong.

This data extraction tool was also used with imaging of mammogram ultrasounds by applying image analysis computer vision.

iBrisk also deploys deep learning, a machine learning tactic where artificial neural networks, inspired by the human brain, learn from large amounts of data. They determined approximately 100 parameters to analyze, including age, sex, socio-economic data, medical history, and insurance plans. After putting the data points into a deep learning method, the AI reduced the data points to the 20 risk indicators.

Houston Methodist Hospital used an estimated 11,000 cases for training, and then used 2,200 of its own data to test iBrisk. They have even been able to create unbiased independent validation by working with other hospitals like MD Anderson, testing their patients using iBrisk and confirming the results.

The potential of iBrisk to cut costs and contribute to less overtreatment has garnered support with other hospitals around the country. The breast cancer risk calculator is a collaboration with Dr. Jenny Chang of HMCC and breast oncologists at MD Anderson, UT San Antonio, and University of Utah Cancer Center.

While implicit racial bias has become a more prominent issue in the United States, Houston Methodist's iBrisk grants a neutral, unbiased lens. AI isn't immune to racial bias; in fact, computer scientist and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Joy Buolamwini, uncovered the large gender and racial biases of AI systems sold by IBM, Amazon and Microsoft in a 2019 article for Time.

With AI's history of racial bias in mind, Dr. Wong set out to create an impartial, fair system. "Our AI data is not sensitive to race. . .it's unbiased," he explains.

Houston Methodist Hospital plans to expand the iBrisk model to other forms of cancer in the future, including its next venture into thyroid and incidental lung nodule screenings.

The AI allows patients to save the stress of getting a biopsy.

"We are very careful to put any drugs or any procedure into clinical workflow until we are very sure you really have to pick this [outcome]," explains Dr. Wong. Using advanced risk detectors like iBrisk allows medical practitioners to make more thorough, informed decisions for patients looking into biopsies.

The categories are broken into low, moderate and high-risk groups. The low-risk groups have seen a 99.8 percent accuracy in results, missing only two cases out of a sample of 1,228. Patients that have fallen into the high-risk groups (leading patients to get a biopsy) have seen an 85.9 percent accuracy, compared to radiology, which is 25 percent accurate according to Dr. Wong.

Dr. Wong notes that patients that fall in the moderate section of the risk assessment can then have a dialogue with their physician to determine if they want to move forward with the biopsy. In the moderate category, there is a 93.4 percent accuracy.

If implemented, iBrisk would be able to reduce 75 percent of unnecessary biopsies, estimates Dr. Wong.

Currently, Houston Methodist Hospital is using AI technology outside of oncology, with the recent release of a tool that can diagnose strokes using a smartphone, announced in Science Daily. The tool, which can diagnose abnormalities in a patient's speech and facial muscular movements, was made in collaboration with Dr. Jay Volpi of Eddy Scullock Stroke Center at Houston Methodist Hospital.

"We are answering bigger questions," explains Dr. Wong, who looks forward to continuing to expand AI capabilities and risk calculators at Houston Methodist Hospital.

In the future, Dr. Wong looks forward to doing a multicenter trial to bring this technology outside of Texas.

Texans see need for telemedicine amid the pandemic, Liftoff Houston has launched applications, ChipMonk Bakery is growing, and more of the latest Houston innovation news. Getty Images

Startups raise funds, Houston biz contest opens apps, and more innovation news

Short stories

From health-conscious cookies reaching fundraising goals to a Houston-wide business competition, the Bayou City's innovation news is pretty diverse.

In InnovationMap's latest roundup of startup and tech short stories, there's everything from telemedicine, fundraising, and more.

Houston baking startup raises money after finding its new home

ChipMonk Baking Company, a consumer packaged goods startup focused on healthy dessert options, has met its goal of $150,000. Photo courtesy of ChipMonk

Houston-based ChipMonk Baking Company, which recently found a new home in a new dedicated production facility, has reached its goal on its investment round on NextSeed.

ChipMonk, which was founded last year to create sweets that use sweeteners monk fruit and allulose for health-conscious consumers, will soon operate in a 2,300-square-foot space at 3042 Antoine Dr. The space is strictly for baking, storage, etc. and will not have a storefront.

Co-founders Jose Hernandez and David Downing have seen a spike in demand since the start of the pandemic, which increased the need to upgrade from shared kitchen space.

"The stay-at-home environment has encouraged many people to think more about their health and to start cooking and baking more at home. We've been able to offer a delicious option that fits perfectly in this growing trend," says Downing, who also serves as CEO.

ChipMonk's lease begins next month, and, to fund its growth plans, the company launched a its campaign on NextSeed. In just a couple weeks, the startup met its fundraising goal of $150,000.

Cancer nonprofit moves into new space

The Rose has a new facility to better serve patients. Photos courtesy of The Rose

The Rose, a Houston-based breast cancer nonprofit that provides medical services to 40,000 patients annually, has moved into its new space at 6575 West Loop South, suite 275, in May.

"We know this location will allow us to better serve our community," says Dorothy Gibbons, co-founder and CEO of The Rose, in a news release. "During this time of the pandemic, we've added so many safety precautions and will continue to space appointments to allow social distancing. Most of all we want our patients to feel safe and welcome from the moment they walk through our door."

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data reports have shown a drop in routine health care, like cervical and breast cancer screenings. Gibbons says the drop in these appointments is concerning and those who postpone routine screening or diagnostic testing could be at risk for developing later stage breast cancer.

"Our message to our patients is breast cancer is not going to wait until this pandemic is over; neither should you. With the projected increase in uninsured women, due to so many job losses, The Rose has to be ready to serve. Now more than ever, we depend on our insured patients to help cover the care for uninsured patients," she says.

Houston business competition opens applications

Small businesses in Houston have until August 10 to apply for the annual Liftoff Houston competition. Photo via liftoffhouston.smapply.org

The city of houston's annual business plan competition, Liftoff Houston, has opened applications. The program, which is sponsored by Capital One Bank, is looking for companies and will award winners in three categories: Product, service, and innovation

Each business that wins will receive a $10,000 cash prize. The competition is focused on early stage startups with revenue less than $10,000 and must have only been in business for less than a year. The companies also must be based in Houston.

Applicants can submit their information online to be considered for the contest. The deadline to apply is August 10.

TMCx company closes $1.53 million seed round

Manatee

Manatee has raised funds for its digital therapy platform. Photo via getmanatee.com

Manatee, a health tech startup based in Denver that was a member of this year's TMCx cohort, has announced it closed its seed funding round at $1.53 million. The company, which provides digital solutions to therapy for children, closed the round at the end of June.

Michigan-based Grand Ventures led the raise and invested alongside The American Family Insurance Institute (AmFam), Telosity, SpringTime Ventures, and notable health care entrepreneurs, Danish Munir, Luke Leninger, and Johnathan Weiner, according to information emailed by Manatee representative.

"Manatee was the first solution we found that really understood kids and their unique needs," says Christopher Neuharth, executive director of digital health and experience at Children's Wisconsin. "They got the dynamics between the child, parent, and therapist – and how to influence behavior change."

Accenture study finds COVID-19 has been a gamechanger for telemedicine

Houston medical organizations pivot to telemedicine and remote care amid COVID-19 crisis

An Accenture study found that most Texans are seeking telehealth amid the pandemic. Getty Images

According to a recent study from Accenture, 89 percent of Texas consumers want telehealth options — and the COVID-19 pandemic deserves the credit for the increased interest.

According to a press release from the company, the research found that:

  • One-fourth of Texans surveyed said they first learned about virtual health care following the outbreak of COVID-19.
  • The number of Texans who said they know a little or a lot about virtual health care increased 25 percent following the outbreak.
  • Approximately nine in 10 Texans surveyed after the pandemic began believe that virtual care options should be available to everyone.

The widespread stay-at-home orders exposed Texans to virtual health care and left a positive impression on receiving care remotely. For instance:

  • An estimated 4.5 million state residents began using virtual health care services since the onset of the pandemic.
  • Nearly half (45 percent) of Texans said they trust a virtual health visit as much as or more than an in-person visit—a 15 percent uptick from the pre-pandemic period.
  • Six out of seven remote-care patients (86 percent) who have continued to use virtual care options during the pandemic said their experience after the start of the COVID-19 outbreak was better or the same as before, and three-quarters (76 percent) said their wait time was shorter or the same.

"A lot of Texans got a taste for what it's like to see their physicians and specialists from the safety and comfort of their home," says Mark Olney, a managing director in Accenture's health practice and the study's lead author. "Now patients are eager to get more of that access, convenience and time savings."

Breakthrough research on metastatic breast cancer, a new way to turn toxic pollutants into valuable chemicals, and an evolved brain tumor chip are three cancer-fighting treatments coming out of Houston. Getty Inages

These 3 Houston research projects are aiming to fight or prevent cancer

Research roundup

Cancer remains to be one of the medical research community's huge focuses and challenges, and scientists in Houston are continuing to innovate new treatments and technologies to make an impact on cancer and its ripple effect.

Three research projects coming out of Houston institutions are providing solutions in the fight against cancer — from ways to monitor treatment to eliminating cancer-causing chemicals in the first place.

Baylor College of Medicine's breakthrough in breast cancer

Photo via bcm.edu

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have unveiled a mechanism explains how "endocrine-resistant breast cancer acquires metastatic behavior," according to a news release from BCM. This research can be game changing for introducing new therapeutic strategies.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and shows that hyperactive FOXA1 signaling — previously reported in endocrine-resistant metastatic breast cancer — can trigger genome-wide reprogramming that enhances resistance to treatment.

"Working with breast cancer cell lines in the laboratory, we discovered that FOXA1 reprograms endocrine therapy-resistant breast cancer cells by turning on certain genes that were turned off before and turning off other genes," says Dr. Xiaoyong Fu, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology and part of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor, in the release.

"The new gene expression program mimics an early embryonic developmental program that endow cancer cells with new capabilities, such as being able to migrate to other tissues and invade them aggressively, hallmarks of metastatic behavior."

Patients whose cancer is considered metastatic — even ones that initially responded to treatment — tend to relapse and die due to the cancer's resistance to treatment. This research will allow for new conversations around therapeutic treatment that could work to eliminate metastatic cancer.

University of Houston's evolved brain cancer chip

Photo via uh.edu

A biomedical research team at the University of Houston has made improvements on its microfluidic brain cancer chip. The Akay Lab's new chip "allows multiple-simultaneous drug administration, and a massive parallel testing of drug response for patients with glioblastoma," according to a UH news release. GBM is the most common malignant brain tumor and makes up half of all cases. Patients with GBM have a five-year survival rate of only 5.6 percent.

"The new chip generates tumor spheroids, or clusters, and provides large-scale assessments on the response of these GBM tumor cells to various concentrations and combinations of drugs. This platform could optimize the use of rare tumor samples derived from GBM patients to provide valuable insight on the tumor growth and responses to drug therapies," says Metin Akay, John S. Dunn Endowed Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering and department chair, in the release.

Akay's team published a paper in the inaugural issue of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society's Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology. The report explains how the technology is able to quickly assess how well a cancer drug is improving its patients' health.

"When we can tell the doctor that the patient needs a combination of drugs and the exact proportion of each, this is precision medicine," Akay explains in the release.

Rice University's pollution transformation technology

Photo via rice.edu

Rice University engineers have developed a way to get rid of cancer-causing pollutants in water and transform them into valuable chemicals. A team lead by Michael Wong and Thomas Senftle has created this new catalyst that turns nitrate into ammonia. The study was published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

"Agricultural fertilizer runoff is contaminating ground and surface water, which causes ecological effects such as algae blooms as well as significant adverse effects for humans, including cancer, hypertension and developmental issues in babies," says Wong, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Rice's Brown School of Engineering, in a news release. "I've been very curious about nitrogen chemistry, especially if I can design materials that clean water of nitrogen compounds like nitrites and nitrates."

The ability to transform these chemicals into ammonia is crucial because ammonia-based fertilizers are used for global food supplies and the traditional method of creating ammonia is energy intensive. Not only does this process eliminate that energy usage, but it's ridding the contaminated water of toxic chemicals.

"I'm excited about removing nitrite, forming ammonia and hydrazine, as well as the chemistry that we figured out about how all this happens," Wong says in the release. "The most important takeaway is that we learned how to clean water in a simpler way and created chemicals that are more valuable than the waste stream."

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Houston lab develops AI tool to improve neurodevelopmental diagnoses

developing news

One of the hardest parts of any medical condition is waiting for answers. Speeding up an accurate diagnosis can be a doctor’s greatest mercy to a family. A team at Baylor College of Medicine has created technology that may do exactly that.

Led by Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa, assistant professor of pathology and immunology at Baylor and principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, the scientists have developed an artificial intelligence-based approach that will help doctors to identify genes tied to neurodevelopmental disorders. Their research was recently published the American Journal of Human Genetics.

According to its website, Dhindsa Lab uses “human genomics, human stem cell models, and computational biology to advance precision medicine.” The diagnoses that stem from the new computational tool could include specific types of autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and developmental delay, disorders that often don’t come with a genetic diagnosis.

“Although researchers have made major strides identifying different genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, many patients with these conditions still do not receive a genetic diagnosis, indicating that there are many more genes waiting to be discovered,” Dhindsa said in a news release.

Typically, scientists must sequence the genes of many people with a diagnosis, as well as people not affected by the disorder, to find new genes associated with a particular disease or disorder. That takes time, money, and a little bit of luck. AI minimizes the need for all three, explains Dhindsa: “We used AI to find patterns among genes already linked to neurodevelopmental diseases and predict additional genes that might also be involved in these disorders.”

The models, made using patterns expressed at the single-cell level, are augmented with north of 300 additional biological features, including data on how intolerant genes are to mutations, whether they interact with other known disease-associated genes, and their functional roles in different biological pathways.

Dhindsa says that these models have exceptionally high predictive value.

“Top-ranked genes were up to two-fold or six-fold, depending on the mode of inheritance, more enriched for high-confidence neurodevelopmental disorder risk genes compared to genic intolerance metrics alone,” he said in the release. “Additionally, some top-ranking genes were 45 to 500 times more likely to be supported by the literature than lower-ranking genes.”

That means that the models may actually validate genes that haven’t yet been proven to be involved in neurodevelopmental conditions. Gene discovery done with the help of AI could possibly become the new normal for families seeking answers beyond umbrella terms like “autism spectrum disorder.”

“We hope that our models will accelerate gene discovery and patient diagnoses, and future studies will assess this possibility,” Dhindsa added.

Texas robotics co. begins new search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370

International News

Malaysia’s government has given final approval for a Texas-based marine robotics company to renew the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than a decade ago.

Cabinet ministers agreed to terms and conditions for a “no-find, no-fee” contract with Texas-based Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 5,800-square-mile site in the ocean, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement Wednesday. Ocean Infinity will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered.

The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues to its location, although debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands. A private search in 2018 by Ocean Infinity also found nothing.

The final approval for a new search came three months after Malaysia gave the nod in principle to plans for a fresh search.

Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Punkett earlier this year reportedly said the company had improved its technology since 2018. He has said the firm is working with many experts to analyze data and had narrowed the search area to the most likely site.

Loke said his ministry will ink a contract with Ocean Infinity soon but didn’t provide details on the terms. The firm has reportedly sent a search vessel to the site and indicated that January-April is the best period for the search.

“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the passengers of flight MH370,” he said in a statement.

Harris County booms with 3rd biggest population in U.S.

Boomtown

Newly released U.S. Census Bureau data has revealed Harris County became the third most populous county nationwide in 2024, and it had the highest year-over-year growth rate from 2023.

The new population report, published this month, estimated year-over-year population data from 2023 to 2024 across all 3,144 U.S. counties, and 387 metro areas.

Harris County's numeric growth rate outpaced all other U.S. counties from July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024, the report found. The Census Bureau estimated Harris County's population grew by 105,852 people year-over-year, bringing the total population to 5,009,302 residents. That's around a 2.16 percent growth rate.

Los Angeles County, California (No. 1) and Illinois' Cook County (No. 2) are the only two U.S. counties that have larger populations than Harris County. Los Angeles County now boasts a population of nearly 9.76 million, while Cook County's has increased to more than 5.18 million people.

The top 10 most populous counties in the U.S. are:

  • No. 1 – Los Angles County, California
  • No. 2 – Cook County, Illinois
  • No. 3 – Harris County, Texas
  • No. 4 – Maricopa County, Arizona
  • No. 5 – San Diego County, California
  • No. 6 – Orange County, California
  • No. 7 – Miami-Dade County, Florida
  • No. 8 – Dallas County, Texas
  • No. 9 – Kings County, New York
  • No. 10 – Riverside County, California

Montgomery County also ranked among the top 10 U.S. counties with the highest numeric growth, ranking 9th nationally after gaining 34,268 residents from 2023 to 2024. Montgomery County's population has now grown to 749,613 people.

In the report's national comparison of counties with the largest population growth by percentage, Montgomery County ranked No. 7 with a year-over-year growth rate of 4.8 percent.

Most populated U.S. metro areas

The U.S. Census Bureau additionally found Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands nearly led the nation as the second-fastest growing metro area in 2024.

From July 2023 to July 2024, the Houston metro added 198,171 residents to bring the total population to 7,796,182.

New York-Newark-Jersey City was the only metro area to outpace Houston's growth during the one-year period. The New York-New Jersey metro added 213,403 new residents, which brought the total population to over 19.94 million last year.

Kristie Wilder, a Census Bureau Population Division demographer, said in the report that the nation's population growth in its major metros was largely impacted by international migration rather than changes in birth rates.

"While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these areas," Wilder said.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington was right behind Houston as the third-fastest growing U.S. metro in 2024. The Metroplex gained 177,922 residents last year, and now has a total population of more than 8.34 million.

The top 10 U.S. metros with the highest numeric growth from 2023 to 2024 are:

  • No. 1 – New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey
  • No. 2 – Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas
  • No. 3 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
  • No. 4 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida
  • No. 5 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
  • No. 6 – Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
  • No. 7 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
  • No. 8 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia
  • No. 9 – Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana
  • No. 10 – Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
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This article originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

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