The legendary science fiction writer shares his thoughts on the future of medicine, communications and more.
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Category: biotech/medical – Page 350
Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified a metabolism-related gene that may play a role in recruiting immune cells to support the growth of aggressive brain tumors, according to a study recently published in Nature Communications.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing a new era to healthcare. A large part of its value is the ability to collect and analyze data sets to streamline administrative processes, improve diagnosis accuracy, and optimize treatment regimens.
Now researchers have added antibiotic discovery to that list.
A recent study published in Nature Machine Intelligence by McMaster University and Stanford University researchers introduces SyntheMol, a generative AI model capable of designing new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria.
Gut bacteria and a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan can play a protective role against pathogenic E. coli, which can cause severe stomach upset, cramps, fever, intestinal bleeding and renal failure, according to a study published March 13 in Nature.
The research reveals how dietary tryptophan—an amino acid found mostly in animal products, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes—can be broken down by gut bacteria into small molecules called metabolites. It turns out a few of these metabolites can bind to a receptor on gut epithelial (surface) cells, triggering a pathway that ultimately reduces the production of proteins that E. coli use to attach to the gut lining where they cause infection. When E. coli fail to attach and colonize the gut, the pathogen benignly moves through and passes out of the body.
The research describes a previously unknown role in the gut for a receptor, DRD2 has otherwise been known as a dopamine (neurotransmitter) receptor in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
The first patient with a Neuralink brain-computer implant played Nintendo’s Mario Kart video game with his mind in an impressive new demo video, calling it “lifechanging” at a company-wide meeting that was posted Friday on the social media platform X-formerly-Twitter.
“It’s been a wild ride,” said Noland Arbaugh, the 29-year-old Neuralink patient, during the celebratory company meeting.
“This is going to change the world,” added Arbaugh, who’s quadriplegic, meaning he’s paralyzed below his neck from a swimming accident, and requires the use of a wheelchair.
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered a protein called SEL1L that plays a critical role in clearing collagen from tissue, and that may be a therapeutic target to help prevent fibrosis, scar tissue that interferes with organ function. The paper, published on Feb. 20 in Nature Communications, provides clues that could lead to drug development for diseases like lung fibrosis which have no therapeutic options currently.
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In a recent study published in the journal Nature Aging, researchers assessed the added predictive value of integrating polygenic risk scores (PRSs) and gut microbiome scores with conventional risk factors for common diseases in a long-term cohort study.
Analysis: Integration of polygenic and gut metagenomic risk prediction for common diseases. Image Credit: remotevfx.com / Shutterstock.
Background
Patients being treated for B-cell non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) who are part of minority populations may not have equal access to cutting-edge CAR T cell therapies, according to a new analysis led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published today in NEJM Evidence.
The first human recipient of a Neuralink brain implant has shared new details on his recovery and experience of living with the experimental assistive tech, which has allowed him a greater level of freedom and autonomy, including the ability to pull an all-nighter playing Sid Meier’s Civilization 6.
Neuralink co-founder Elon Musk took to X/Twitter in January to reveal that the company had implanted its first brain-computer interface in the head of a human patient, who was “recovering well” following the surgery. The billionaire also hinted at the time that the implant was functioning well and had detected a “promising neuron spike”. In a subsequent February update, Musk commented that the unnamed patient had seemingly made a full recovery, and was even able to use the implant to manipulate a computer cursor with thought alone.
Finally, on March 20, Neuralink posted its own update to X in the form of a nine-minute livestream in which 29-year-old implant recipient Noland Arbaugh used the technology to play a digital version of chess, while discussing how living with the experimental aide had changed his life.
Artificial intelligence is poised to transform the practice of medicine through the design and deployment of AI models that can detect, diagnose, and render prognosis for a disease more rapidly than most human physicians can, and with similar or superior accuracy.
So-called foundation models — trained on vast amounts of unlabeled data and usable in multiple clinical contexts for different purposes with minimal tweaking — offer a particularly tantalizing promise to reshape diagnosis and treatment.