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RIYADH: The Fashion Commission has made a strong impression at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan with programming blending education, heritage and design, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Through a panel discussion and exhibition at the Saudi pavilion, the commission showcased its mission to preserve cultural identity and nurture the next generation of designers. 

The discussion focused on the manner in which culture shapes creative expression and how designers can balance tradition with innovation, the SPA added.

Burak Cakmak, the commission’s CEO, said: “Bringing Saudi creativity to the forefront fosters meaningful exchange. 

“Our designers share stories rooted in heritage while engaging a global audience seeking innovation, authenticity, and cultural relevance. This interplay bridges tradition and the future.”

The pavilion also highlighted cultural exchange with a curated exhibition of 10 pieces from two of the commission’s signature initiatives.

One was the "Saudi Heritage Revival" competition, held with Swarovski, challenging 26 designers to interpret this theme through sustainable fashion using the company’s crystals. 

The winner earned a residency at the ����ֱ�� design house Dar Al-Hanouf, and the top five joined an international academic competition.

Another, the “Traditional Handcrafts Revival in Saudi Fashion” program, gathered 25 participants in early 2025 for workshops on the country’s architecture, crafts, and garments. 

Designers created contemporary pieces inspired by local heritage, first shown at the Saudi Cup and now at Osaka. 

Both initiatives are a part of the commission’s Education and Talent Development track, which builds local expertise, preserves traditional crafts, and creates sustainable careers for Saudi designers.

At the pavilion, guests viewed the designs and spoke with commission members.

The commission’s presence at the expo underscores its commitment to advancing the creative industries as a part of Vision 2030. It aims to foster a fashion ecosystem that is proudly Saudi, globally relevant, and sustainable.

RIYADH: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has developed a new tool to study models of human embryos grown under artificial laboratory conditions.

Scientists at the university have explained how the tool — deepBlastoid — is capable of analyzing pictures of the models with results of equal quality to human experts — but 1,000 times faster.

“Little is known about the very early stages of embryo development. With deepBlastoid we can scale up blastoid research to study embryo development and the effects of chemicals on the embryo and pregnancy,” said Mo Li, an associate professor at KAUST and an expert in stem cell biology.

The laboratory at which Li works pioneered the embryo models known as human blastoids.

The understanding of the human embryo in its early stages is significantly important for scientists in order to study fertility and detect pregnancy complications as well as developmental disorders.

Due to ethical considerations, this type of research on human embryos has been limited.

In this study, researchers at KAUST developed and trained their new tool using more than 2,000 microscopic images of blastoids.

They also used the tool to analyze the impact of various chemicals on blastoid development, examining an additional 10,000 images.

The insights gained from the KAUST research are of significance for women who are taking prescription medication or other drugs while planning for pregnancy, as they shed light on how such substances might interfere with early embryonic development.

Peter Wonka, professor and member of the Center of Excellence for Generative AI at KAUST, said that “deepBlastoid not only matches human performance in accuracy, it delivers an unparalleled increase in throughput. This efficiency allows scientists to analyze vast amounts of data in a short time, enabling experiments that were previously unfeasible.”