Weekly Dose of Optimism #197
Brief
Packy McCormick’s Weekly Dose of Optimism #197 (June 12, 2026) highlights cultural, biomedical, and robotics advances. Barcelona’s La Sagrada Família had its central Tower of Jesus Christ blessed by Pope Leo XIV as teams now finish Gaudí’s vision using technologies Mark Burry introduced—aircraft-design software, CNC stone carving, 3D printing, LiDAR and VR. In biomedicine, Life Biosciences treated the first human in a partial cellular‑reprogramming glaucoma trial (FDA clearance January 2026) using three Yamanaka factors (c‑Myc omitted) as a safety‑first test with oncogenic risk concerns. Jennifer Doudna’s group published a Nature paper describing a programmable CRISPR‑Cas12a2 system (Jingkun Zeng) that recognizes p53‑mutant RNA and selectively destroys mutant cells in culture, with delivery to vivo systems remaining the key hurdle. The newsletter also notes a Saronic Corsair drone boat rescued two downed Apache crew and Standard Bots’ $200M raise at a $1B valuation to scale U.S. industrial robotics.
Why it matters
Pope Leo XIV blessed La Sagrada Família’s central Tower of Jesus Christ on the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudí’s death; the project relied on Mark Burry’s late-20th-century use of airplane-design software, CNC machining, 3D printing, LiDAR and VR to translate Gaudí’s complex models into buildable stone and is now the tallest Catholic church.
Key details
- Life Biosciences has treated the first human in the world’s first clinical trial of partial cellular reprogramming for glaucoma (FDA cleared in January 2026); the therapy uses three of Yamanaka’s factors (omitting c‑Myc) to nudge cells younger—this is a safety trial in one patient with notable cancer-risk concerns flagged by longevity researchers.
- Jennifer Doudna’s Innovative Genomics Institute published a Nature paper where Jingkun Zeng engineered CRISPR‑Cas12a2 to detect RNA signatures of p53‑mutant cells and shred their genomes in vitro, selectively killing mutants; the approach is programmable but faces major delivery challenges for animals and humans.
- Autonomy and robotics milestones: a Saronic Corsair drone boat performed the first U.S. rescue by an autonomous surface vessel after an Apache was downed near the Strait of Hormuz, and Standard Bots raised $200 million at a $1 billion valuation (Evan Beard), aiming to deploy 10% of U.S. industrial robots by 2027 while China installed ~9× more robots than the U.S. last year.