As AI reshapes the way we communicate, researchers at Texas A&M University are developing an artificial intelligence-powered platform that could transform care for children with autism and older adults living with dementia. The technology learns each person’s unique communication style, behaviors, and preferences, enabling increasingly personalized support for caregivers, therapists, and families over time.

Called VoiceLove, it is one of three projects being developed with support from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

At the core of the system is an AI engine that analyzes both speech and nonverbal behaviors documented through short videos recorded by caregivers or therapists during daily communications and interactions. Rather than comparing participants against a general model, the platform focuses on understanding each person’s individual patterns and communication style.

“Every child with autism is unique, and effective support should reflect that,” he said. “Our project leverages artificial intelligence to understand each child’s individual behaviors, communication styles, and preferences. The goal is to deliver personalized recommendations that help families, educators, and clinicians work together more effectively, enabling more responsive, data-driven care and improving the health and well-being of children with autism,” says Dr. Junhyoung Kim, associate professor in the School of Public Health, one of the principal investigators on the project, in a statement. 

The AI system was created to identify behavioral patterns in communication, interests, and responses across different situations. Based on its observations, the program provides personalized recommendations that could help therapists or caregivers create individualized intervention plans.

“The key innovation behind this platform is its ability to understand each child individually and learn their unique preferences, needs, communication styles, and strengths to deliver personalized recommendations,” Kim said. “For people living with dementia, the platform is designed to enhance person-centered care by helping residents communicate their needs, preferences, and daily experiences more effectively.”

Researchers say the technology could support a wide range of developmental goals, including improving communication skills, encouraging self-care, strengthening social engagement, and enhancing a person’s quality of life.

The same personalized approach could also benefit people living with dementia, where communication challenges often make it difficult for individuals to express their needs and wants. 

“Our vision is to create an AI platform that continuously learns from each child’s daily experiences,” Kim said. “As the system identifies patterns in behaviors, preferences, and responses to different activities, it can provide therapists and caregivers with personalized recommendations that evolve over time.”

“This adaptive approach helps explain why certain behaviors occur and supports more individualized, proactive care,” Kim added. 

VoiceLove is designed to keep learning. As caregivers continue using the app, the AI analyzes new interactions while also incorporating caregiver observations, experiences, and responses to daily prompts. 

The research team plans to begin with a small pilot study involving children with autism and older adults living with dementia after receiving Institutional Review Board approval.

Participants will use the platform for approximately one month while researchers evaluate its usability, feasibility, and overall user experience, and from there, insights derived from the pilot will help to inform a larger-scale study at some point in the future. 

Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com. To contact Chrissy with a story, please email chrissy @ thedebrief.org.

Researchers at Texas A&M University report the successful regrowth of skeletal and connective tissues, in what they call a “critical step” toward one day enabling major tissue regeneration in humans.

Throughout time, the regenerative capabilities that, in some cases, can even restore entire lost limbs, have been viewed as an almost miraculous ability that only certain animals, such as salamanders, some reptiles, and other creatures, possess.

However, regenerative science is now unlocking the secrets of this capability, meaning that one day, even humans might be able to tap into one of nature’s most mysterious superpowers.

Awakening Humanity’s Dormant Regenerative Superpower

Current state-of-the-art research at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is revealing a remarkable possibility: that regenerative abilities may not be absent in mammals after all—they may simply be dormant.

This remarkable possibility was detailed in a recent study published in Nature Communications, which details research led by Dr. Ken Muneoka with the school’s Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (VTPP), who says he has devoted most of his career to unraveling this possibility.

Now, Muneoka and his team report a two-step treatment they developed, which successfully triggered the regeneration of bone, joint structures, ligaments, and other tissues following amputation—a significant advancement toward unlocking more powerful regenerative capabilities in humans.

“Why some animals can regenerate and others, particularly humans, can’t is a big question that has been asked since Aristotle,” Muneoka says.

Fibrolasts to the Fore

In their research, the team worked with cells that drive the healing processes and scar formation after wounds occur, which are known as fibroblasts.

In species like salamanders, similar cells go to work when injury or limb loss occurs, which begin to form into structures biologists call blastemas. These formative materials are the primary drivers behind the regrowth of tissues in such creatures.

However, unlike salamanders, mammalian cells need a bit more encouragement before they will begin to follow such regenerative pathways.

To help with this process, Muneoka and his team developed a new sequential treatment based on a pair of primary growth factors. Applying fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in an area where a wound had already healed stimulated the formation of blastema-like formations in mammal cells. Then, after several days, a bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) was applied, which similarly prompted bone cells to begin rebuilding their lost tissues.

“You first shift the cells away from scarring, and then you provide the signals that tell them what to build,” Muneoka said of this two-step process.

While the regenerated structures were not perfect replicas of the original anatomy, what Muneoka and his team achieved is still nothing short of remarkable: the team says they were able to successfully restore all major components that are typically lost when amputation occurs, including bone, tendons, ligaments, and joints.

“The Capacity is Not Absent”

Also of key significance is the fact that the team’s findings suggest that such hidden powers of regeneration might be accessible without the need for introducing external stem cells.

“You don’t have to actually get stem cells and put them back in,” Muneoka said. “They’re already there—you just need to learn how to get them to behave the way you want.”

Dr. Larry Suva, the recent study’s co-author, said the results challenge long-held assumptions about the limits of mammalian healing.

“The cells that we thought to be unprogrammable, in fact are,” Suva said. “The capacity is not absent—it’s just obscured.”

The Future of Regenerative Science

The team’s work is breaking new ground in the promising field of regenerative science, although what they have achieved so far is still in the earliest stages of what they believe may ultimately be possible.

Soon, such approaches may yield applications that could help significantly reduce scarring and may greatly help with tissue repair. Also, since BMP2 has already undergone the approval process for medical uses, and FGF2 is undergoing evaluation in clinical trials, Muneoka, Suva, and the Texas A&M team believe the path toward future medical applications may be more accessible than entirely new therapies.

“Regenerative failure in mammals can be rescued,” Muneoka said.

“Now we have a model to begin figuring out how,” he added.

The team’s recent study, “Digit regeneration in mice is stimulated by sequential treatment with FGF2 and BMP2,” was published in Nature Communications.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.