Despite Italy's recent cuts in scientific research and the so-called brain drain that has cast a shadow over growth prospects for the peninsula, the country has seen some notable advances in cancer research and robotics in recent months. At Milan's renowned San Raffaele University and Research Hospital, a breakthrough in the search for blood cancer cures that may also fight other cancers is inspiring optimism among some doctors. Dr. Chiara Bonini, head of the experimental hematology unit at San Raffaele University and Research Hospital, and her team have contributed to the global buzz surrounding T-cell therapy, which involves engineering the patient's immune system to fight cancer. Bonini's team has found a way to track the T-cells that can last longest in the immune system, which they believe may lead to creating a drug that can last through a patient's lifetime and prevent cancer from returning. "I have to say, the results are really, really promising," Bonini told FoxNews.com.

On Thursday, Aaron's Inc., a Maryland-based appliance and electronics company, set a new Guinness World Record for the "largest human mattress dominoes" chain with 1,200 participants taking a total of 13 minutes and 38 seconds to complete the larger than life feat. Event organizers used two exhibit halls covering 70,000 square feet to set up 34 rows of mattresses. The first mattress was pushed over by Aaron's CEO John Robinson. "Breaking a Guinness World Records title has been a great team building event for the associates we have attending our National Managers meeting," said Robinson at the event. The event not only broke a world record but supported a great cause.

Drones are opening up a world of new possibilities for consumers. They may have started off as aerial cameras, but now, as the technology has matured, they're finding applications far outside the realm of photography. Nowadays we've got drones that deliver goods, fight deforestation, and even patrol our coastlines to warn swimmers of nearby sharks -- but this is just the beginning. In the not so distant future, drones will also be used to save lives. Staring very soon, DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, will be supplying drones to the European Emergency Number Association for use in high-impact situations like rescue missions -- a deal that could fundamentally change the way first responders operate.

Although Rembrandt died in 1669, his artistic legacy lives on in the shape of an ambitious high-tech painting project. Unveiled in Amsterdam Tuesday "The Next Rembrandt" was crafted by an unlikely duo: technology and algorithms that were able to study, mimic, and then create a 3D printed painting based on the famous artist's work. The painting carefully mimics Rembrandt van Rijn's style. The team behind the painting undertook an 18-month evaluation and analysis of Rembrandt's entire body of work (346 paintings) using high-resolution 3D scans and digital files. After the team determined that a majority of his work consists of portraits, the image of a "Caucasian male between the age of thirty and forty, with facial hair, wearing black clothes with a white collar and a hat, facing to the right" was determined to be the proper subject using a demographic segmentation of the people in the portraits.

California Rep. Duncan Hunter is reportedly being questioned by the Federal Election Commission over his use of campaign funds to buy video games. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Hunter listed 1,302 worth of Steam Games on his campaign financial disclosure for the end of 2015, with a note saying "personal expense – to be paid back." The Republican lawmaker has said that the purchases were a mistake by his teenage son, who also made several other unauthorized purchases. The Union-Tribune reported that the purchases run from Oct. 13 to Dec. 16, and no payback was listed during that time period. Joe Kasper, a spokesman for Hunter, said the congressman's son used his father's credit card for one game and then several more charges were made after Hunter tried to close access to Steam.

Drones have evidently been programed with a new skill: the ability to dart and dive away from a sword. Researchers at Stanford University's Autonomous Systems Laboratory have released a video that shows an autonomous drone doing everything from gently adjusting its position to dramatically swooping away as a masked swordsman antagonizes it with a foil. The quadrocopter drone then returns to a stable hovering position after dodging the blade, even after bouncing off the floor. Related: 'The Next Rembrandt' 3D printed painting unveiled The Autonomous Systems Laboratory refers to this kind of technology as "real-time kinodynamic planning," and says that it was made possible by an algorithmic framework that the researchers developed. And while it seems unlikely that a drone will have to face off against a medieval weapon like a sword anytime soon, this type of skill-- the ability for a robot to respond in real-time to obstacles in its way--is necessary to help drones and other robotic systems execute real-world tasks, like delivering packages in crowded areas, the lab said.

An Iranian-born video-game designer wants players to relive history with a new game that gives users a first-person perspective on the 1979 Iranian revolution. "1979 Revolution: Black Friday" lets gamers experience the tumultuous events through the eyes of a photojournalist who is watching his country unravel. Released Tuesday by indie game designer iNK Stories, the game has garned acclaim for its accurate depiction of the revolution. The lead on the project, Navid Khonsari -- a former Rockstar Games designer who helped developed the popular "Grand Theft Auto" series – says he wanted to create a game that is not only historically accurate but could also lead to a new genre of video games. The game offers multiple scenarios based on the revolution, but does not include the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Sianagh Gallagher of York was born without a left arm, shoulder blade or collarbone -- but that didn't stop her from taking up rock-climbing nine years ago, and becoming the captain of her country's paraclimbing team. "Growing up with my disability never really held me back from doing anything. If anything, I was more determined to get things done and prove myself to people," Gallagher, 19, told Barcroft Media. Gallagher -- Europe's lone paraclimber -- struggled to learn how to tie her shoes and peel an egg, but was at ease working her way to the top of a rock wall. "It was the first time I'd been really good at a sport," she said.

Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is sending a convoy of three autonomous big rigs from its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to Rotterdam, Holland, as part of the European Union-sponsored European Truck Platooning Challenge of 2016. Based on the series-produced Actros model, the three trucks are equipped with Mercedes' Highway Pilot Connect software, which relies on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology to let the rigs travel in what Daimler calls a platoon. Data about the road ahead gathered by the lead truck is constantly transferred to the two other trucks via a Wi-Fi connection, so each vehicle knows precisely when to accelerate, when to brake, and when to turn without requiring any human input. However, the driver must remain alert and focused on the road ahead. The trucks in the platoon follow each other in 50-foot intervals, which boosts gas mileage by up to ten percent by reducing drag.

The very first prototype hopes to demonstrate the potential of what will ultimately become a fleet of unmanned ships, known as Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessels (to be pronounced "active" for short). In addition to tracking submarines, the ACTUV could prove useful in a number of additional operations.Everything from serving as a supplier to other ships, countering undersea mines, and aiding in the logistics of complex operations could be carried out with these unmanned vessels, especially given their ability to remain at sea for three months at a time without a human crew. In preliminary tests, the drone has successfully tracked a submarine from 1 kilometer away, which the Pentagon says is a major improvement in the technology. "Picking up the quiet hum of a battery-powered, diesel-electric submarine in busy coastal waters is like trying to identify the sound of a single car engine in the din of a major city," said Rear Admiral Frank Drennan, commander of the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command. ACTUV ships are also expected to help lower costs for the U.S. Navy, helping them save human capital and resources with this autonomous technology.