After 18 years of unsuccessful attempts to have a child, one couple finally succeeded—with the help of artificial intelligence.
At the Columbia University Fertility Center, doctors used an AI system called STAR for the first time to identify healthy sperm cells in a man with a severe form of infertility.
STAR uses algorithms originally developed for searching for stars in space, but instead of celestial objects, it analyzes millions of microscopic images to detect functional reproductive cells. While experts searched for two days with no success, STAR found 44 healthy cells in under an hour—scanning as many as 8 million images.
The system is currently available only in New York, with a cost of around $3,000—significantly more affordable than traditional IVF treatments, which often cost between $15,000 and $30,000 and don’t guarantee success.
Fertility rates are declining globally, and many families face financial and emotional barriers. AI tools like STAR could open the door to more accessible and accurate infertility treatments—and bring new hope to those who had nearly given up.
So the next time someone asks, “How much can AI really help people?”—here’s your answer: for someone, it brought life.
In Brief: Tech World Highlights
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a LlamaCon interview that AI now writes 30% of the company’s code, with an acceptance rate between 30–40%.
- Chinese tech giant Xiaomi introduced MiMo, a small open-source reasoning model with 7B parameters that rivals much larger competitors like o1-mini in math and coding tasks.
- Freepik and Fal launched F-Lite, a new open-source image generation model with open weights, trained on 100% licensed data.
- Perplexity launched its Perplexity Assistant app on iOS, allowing users to take agent-style actions, access live internet search, and more using voice commands.
- German researchers have developed an innovative e-skin that detects and tracks magnetic fields using a single global sensor, paving the way for futuristic wearable devices.
AI Trending Tools:
- Qwen3 – Alibaba’s new family of open-weight models featuring hybrid reasoning.
- ChatGPT Search – Enhanced shopping experience, citations, and WhatsApp support.
- Ray2 Camera Concepts – Advanced camera control now accessible via API.
