Antiviral medicines can keep any virus at bay.
Learn about VEKLURY® (remdesivir), a COVID-19 antiviral treatment. FDA approved. See Important Safety Information.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,292
Artificial Intelligence Is Now Smart Enough to Know When It Can’t Be Trusted
Artificial intelligence is being developed that can analyze whether it’s own decision or prediction is reliable.
…An AI that is aware/determine or analyze it’s own weaknesses. Basically, it should help doctors or passengers of the AI know quickly the risk involved.
How might The Terminator have played out if Skynet had decided it probably wasn’t responsible enough to hold the keys to the entire US nuclear arsenal? As it turns out, scientists may just have saved us from such a future AI-led apocalypse, by creating neural networks that know when they’re untrustworthy.
These deep learning neural networks are designed to mimic the human brain by weighing up a multitude of factors in balance with each other, spotting patterns in masses of data that humans don’t have the capacity to analyse.
While Skynet might still be some way off, AI is already making decisions in fields that affect human lives like autonomous driving and medical diagnosis, and that means it’s vital that they’re as accurate as possible. To help towards this goal, this newly created neural network system can generate its confidence level as well as its predictions.
A microscope for everyone: Researchers develop open-source optical toolbox
Modern microscopes used for biological imaging are expensive, are located in specialized laboratories and require highly qualified staff. To research novel, creative approaches to address urgent scientific issues—for example in the fight against infectious diseases such as COVID-19—is thus primarily reserved for scientists at well-equipped research institutions in rich countries. A young research team from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) in Jena, the Friedrich Schiller University and Jena University Hospital wants to change this: The researchers have developed an optical toolbox to build microscopes for a few hundred euros that deliver high-resolution images comparable to commercial microscopes that cost a hundred to a thousand times more. With open-source blueprints, components from the 3D printer and smartphone camera, the UC2 (You. See. Too.) modular system can be combined specifically in the way the research question requires—from long-term observation of living organisms in the incubator to a toolbox for optics education. The research team presents its development on November 25, 2020 in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
The basic building block of the UC2 system is a simple 3D printable cube with an edge length of 5 centimeters, which can host a variety of components such as lenses, LEDs or cameras. Several such cubes are plugged on a magnetic raster base plate. Cleverly arranged, the modules thus result in a powerful optical instrument. An optical concept according to which focal planes of adjacent lenses coincide is the basis for most of the complex optical setups such as modern microscopes. With the UC2 toolbox, the research team of Ph.D. students at the lab of Prof. Dr. Rainer Heintzmann, Leibniz IPHT and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, shows how this inherently modular process can be understood intuitively in hands-on-experiments. In this way, UC2 also provides users without technical training with an optical tool that they can use, modify and expand—depending on what they are researching.
RNA-binding proteins in human genetic disease
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are critical effectors of gene expression, and as such their malfunction underlies the origin of many diseases. RBPs can recognize hundreds of transcripts and form extensive regulatory networks that help to maintain cell homeostasis. System-wide unbiased identification of RBPs has increased the number of recognized RBPs into the four-digit range and revealed new paradigms: from the prevalence of structurally disordered RNA-binding regions with roles in the formation of membraneless organelles to unsuspected and potentially pervasive connections between intermediary metabolism and RNA regulation. Together with an increasingly detailed understanding of molecular mechanisms of RBP function, these insights are facilitating the development of new therapies to treat malignancies. Here, we provide an overview of RBPs involved in human genetic disorders, both Mendelian and somatic, and discuss emerging aspects in the field with emphasis on molecular mechanisms of disease and therapeutic interventions.
Space or Earth? Both!
While we are opening our preliminary discussion for the 3rd SRI World Congress, a number of questions and concerns are being expressed by the main space columnists, about what could be the philosophic setup of the space policy defined by the new US Administration, should it be confirmed the next December 14th. Though Joe Biden didn’t yet say very much about space policy, the most accredited plans foresee cuts to the budget of NASA’s manned space flight programs, in order to give more fuel to the observation of Earth, climate change, and environmental issues.
We are not against raising the budget to Earth observation programs, which are much needed in the current climatic and environmental situation. Besides Earth observation, space agencies should also begin considering the use of space technologies to mitigate the effects of the climate change and the environmental issues, i.e. active space strategies targeted to control the Earth climate.
However, the most important point to be duly focused is that the same priority granted to environmental space programs should be given to bootstrapping the geo-lunar space region settlement and industrialization. Space development is the primary strategy against the awful multi-crisis that is striking our globalized civilization: pandemics, economic, climatic-environmental, resource conflicts, migrations, unemployment.
HDL: What’s Optimal For Minimizing Disease Risk And Maximizing Longevity?
Here’s my latest video!
Meta-analysis for the association between HDL with all-cause mortality risk has identified HDL levels 55 — 60 mg/dL range as optimal. However, that data includes subjects up to 85y-in the video, I present data for 85y — 115yr olds that additionally suggests HDL in the 55 — 60 mg/dL range as optimal. In addition, I show my own HDL data over the past 15 years (n=34), the correlation for HDL with my diet, and how I plan on consistently increasing my 15-year average HDL of ~44 mg/dL to the 50’s.
Connecticut coronavirus update
I found this news while researching on hyperbaric oxygen therapy. A lot of news on it now. 😃
GREENWICH, Connecticut (WABC) — A hospital in Connecticut is one of six nationwide treating COVID-19 with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which officials say is emerging as an effective way to deliver oxygen to coronavirus patients.
Greenwich Hospital is part of a yearlong trial to treat 600 patients with the therapy, best known for treating scuba divers for decompression sickness.
The hospital has already treated three COVID-19 patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, with some promising results.
AI and the transformation of the medical world
Another great advantage is the ability to incorporate AI at early stages of image acquisition. Among other things, this enables us to reduce the amount of radiation needed to acquire a high-resolution CT or shorten the duration needed for an MRI scan. And this leads to patient welfare improvements as well as healthcare cost reductions.
AI applications
In recent years there has been tremendous work in this field mainly focusing on cardiovascular, ophthalmology, neurology, and cancer detection.