BRISBANE, Calif., May 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareDx, Inc. (Nasdaq:CDNA), a molecular diagnostics company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value diagnostic solutions for transplant patients, today announced a partnership with Cibiltech, a French MedTech company that develops AI-based products for predictive medicine, to commercialize Predigraft. Predigraft is a data analysis tool that provides an early prediction of an individual's risk of allograft rejection and transplant loss. It was developed from Cibiltech's proprietary software algorithm called iBox, which is built off the outcomes data from tens of thousands of transplant patients. "I see incredible value in using prognostic data alongside a measure of organ injury from non-invasive biomarkers such as AlloSure," said Gaurav Gupta, MD, Virginia Commonwealth University. "This can give me insights that shape the care I give to my transplant patients."

Waymo will build its autonomous vehicles in Detroit. CEO John Krafcik wrote Tuesday in a Medium post that the company will repurpose an existing facility in Motor City with the goal of being operational by mid-2019. Back in January, the company announced it had chosen southeast Michigan as the location of its new facility for the mass production of L4 autonomous vehicles, the first of its kind in the world. The company will create anywhere between 100 to 400 jobs as a result of the venture, according to The Detroit Free Press. Waymo will also receive incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Elon Musk believes humans must link up with machines in order to fight the inevitable onslaught of artificial intelligence. In a recent tweet, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO said technology from his latest company, Neuralink, will be'coming soon.' Musk has yet to offer up any more details on when or how the tech will come to fruition. Neuralink has previously teased a product that would effectively connect human brains to computers using a tiny implanted chip. Elon Musk believes humans must link up with machines in order to fight the inevitable onslaught of artificial intelligence. In a recent tweet, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO said technology from his latest company, Neuralink, will be'coming soon' In a new interview, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his latest company Neuralink will have the technology ready to merge human brains with machines'within the next decade' While many tech leaders push that AI will become invaluable to humanity, others argue it poses a threat to our species.

Total SA plans to start a digital factory in the coming weeks to tap artificial intelligence in a bid to save hundreds of millions of dollars on exploration and production projects, according to an executive. The use of artificial intelligence to screen geological data will help identify new prospects, and shorten the time to acquire licenses, drill and make discoveries, Arnaud Breuillac, head of E&P, said at a conference organized by IFP Energies Nouvelles in Paris on Friday. It will also help optimize the use of equipment and reduce maintenance costs, he said. The digital factory will employ between 200 and 300 engineers and build on successful North Sea pilot projects, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said at the same event. It will also be a way to attract "young talent" to the industry.

Drone footage captured Notre Dame cathedral's beauty just five months before Monday's fire. Video game publisher Ubisoft, which recreated the Notre Dame Cathedral in its 2014 game "Assassin's Creed Unity," is willing to help in restoration efforts. The company announced Wednesday it is making a contribution of 500,000 Euros (about $565,000) to the rebuilding of the cathedral. And the Paris-headquartered game maker said Wednesday it will make its virtual rendition of the cathedral available to those involved in the rebuilding of the church. Ubisoft is also making "Assassin's Creed Unity" available free to players on PC for the next week.

Shares of Qualcomm soared 23% Tuesday – and remained up Wednesday – in the wake of a late-afternoon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, wherein the company announced that it reached a "multi-year" "global patent license agreement" and "chipset supply agreement" with Apple that settles the companies' yearslong intellectual property litigation and appears likely to work out to the benefit of both parties. In said filing with the SEC, Qualcomm states that as of April 1, 2019, it has directly licensed its relevant patents to Apple for at least the next six years, with the option to extend the agreement for an additional two years. Moreover, Qualcomm will supply chipsets to Apple for use in the latter's devices for several years at least. In exchange, Apple will make a one-time payment of an unspecified amount to Qualcomm, and pay continuing royalties to boot – also in an amount unspecified. Robotic advances: Mush! Watch a team of Boston Dynamics' SpotMini robot dogs pull a truck down the street Finally, "all worldwide litigation" between the two combatants "will be dismissed and withdrawn," including lawsuits against Apple's contract manufacturers. Qualcomm is expected to report earnings on May 1, at which time the company promises to provide "further updates" on the details of its agreement with Apple.

Acer had a lot to share at its annual global press conference in New York today. In addition to a slew of gaming laptops and monitors, it showed off a new line of pro-grade computers. Called ConceptD, the new series is the result of a collaboration with IF Design agency and targets creators who want machines that look as good as the work they produce. ConceptD revolves around four pillars -- performance, silence, design and precision -- which is about delivering accurate colors on monitors. And the devices that Acer unveiled certainly seem to deliver on those fronts.

Brick and mortar stores have been hit hard by online retailers like Amazon. Walmart (which has its own online presence) believes it has an answer to dwindling sales. Its solution, robots that take care of mundane jobs (like cleaning up spills) while its staff spends their time helping customers. The retailer announced today that it will deploy 1,500 new "Auto-C" autonomous floor cleaners, 300 "Auto-S" shelf scanners and an additional 1,200 "FAST" unloaders to scan and sort items as they come off delivery trucks. Plus to streamline online orders, it'll have 900 "Pickup Towers" so customers can order something on the company's site and just pick up it up from a vending machine at their nearest Walmart.

Canada 5.2.2 Europe 5.2.2.1 Germany 5.2.2.2 UK 5.2.2.3 France 5.2.2.4 Rest of Europe 5.2.3 Asia Pacific 5.2.3.1

Silicon Valley startup FarmWise Labs announced today that it is teaming up with Michigan-based manufacturing and automotive company Roush to create autonomous vegetable weeders. The companies will work together over the course of the year to create prototypes for self-driving robots that will be able to navigate across crops. If all goes well, they will start to scale up with additional units in 2020. The weeding robots could prove to be a major help for Michigan farmers. The autonomous vehicles will be designed to perform high-precision weeding and thinning and will be able to operate around the clock, saving farmers from having to perform the time-sucking tasks.