Lifeboat Foundation

Galactica was supposed to help “organize science.” Instead, it spewed misinformation.

In the first year of the pandemic, science happened at light speed. More than 100,000 papers were published on COVID in those first 12 months — an unprecedented human effort that produced an unprecedented deluge of new information.

It would have been impossible to read and comprehend every one of those studies. No human being could (and, perhaps, none would want to).

Spiraling costs, closed facilities, capacity issues, staff burnout, staff shortages, lots of chaos — sounds like an ailing industry — and that industry is healthcare. Can artificial intelligence help mend some of the problems faced by hospitals and healthcare providers? There has been progress on that front — not fast enough, but progress nonetheless.

While interest in healthcare AI is high, “the level of acculturation of C-level executives is lagging, especially for organizations that would need it the most — pharmas, medtechs and hospitals,” a recent Capgemini report relates. The problem, the study’s authors relate, is data. “Enhancing the patient care pathway and improving care delivery remain on the top of the organizations’ agendas,” according to the report’s team of coauthors, led by Charlotte Pierron-Perlès. However, only about a third of healthcare organizations surveyed by Capgemini prioritize the availability of patient information. “We do not see major progress from 2021 [the year of the previous study].”

The good news is that many healthcare providers are stepping up their AI work. “The healthcare industry is now starting to implement AI and machine learning solutions at increased scale and sophistication,” says Tony Ambrozie, CIO at Baptist Health South Florida. “AI and machine learning will augment their ability to make sense of the vast amounts of data available.”

A new AI system reconstructs images from MRI data two-thirds more accurately than older systems. This is made possible by more data and diffusion models.

Can AI models decode thoughts? Experiments with large language models, such as those by a Meta research group led by Jean-Remi King, attempt to decode words or sentences from MRI data using language models.

Recently, a research group demonstrated an AI system that decodes MRI data from a person watching a video into text describing some of the visible events.

The fourth discussion of the NEW NOW program, “Transhumanism: Beyond the Human Frontier?”, took place on December 16.

Together with our guest experts, we tried to identify the latest technology that has either already become a reality or is currently in development, focusing on the ethical aspects of the consequences that ensue. We reflected on the question of whether the realization of transhumanist ideas is likely to entail a radical change in the ways people relate to one another. How far are we prepared to go in changing our bodies in order to attain these enhanced capacities? We will attempt to identify the “human frontier”, beyond which the era of posthumanism awaits.

Continue reading “NEW NOW. Transhumanism: beyond the human frontier?” »

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Continue reading “Kidney Function: What’s Optimal For Health (And Potentially, Longevity)?” »

Aging is a complex process that can lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, muscular degeneration, atherosclerosis and neurodegeneration, and it is currently one of the major scientific concerns in the field of medicine [1].

Several strategies have been developed to date for the promotion of healthy aging and an increase in the duration of life. One of the recent strategies that can decrease the deleterious impact of aging and increase the regenerative property at the cellular level is cellular reprogramming.

Cellular reprogramming can convert a somatic cell into an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC). It not only helps to restore tissue and organ function but also helps to determine cell fate. This, in turn, helps in the maintenance of cellular identity through the expression of cell type-specific genes and suppression of lineage-inappropriate genes [2].

The patients wake up from anaesthesia with the cancer treated.

There’s a new robotic technology that finds lung cancer early and also has the ability to treat it at the same time, according to a report by CBS Philadelphia.

The American Lung Association’s annual report revealed that lung cancer survival rates are on the rise thanks partially to this new technology. The five-year survival rate is now estimated at 25%.

Continue reading “New ‘revolutionary’ robotic technology helps both treat and prevent lung cancer in one shot” »

A mechanism has been discovered that regulates cellular levels of tau, a protein whose aberrant accumulation is at the root of tauopathies, a class of devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

The finding was discovered in the laboratory of Michel Cayouette, director of cellular neurobiology research at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) and a medical professor at the University of Montreal.

The research, which was recently published in the journal Science Advances, demonstrates how the protein known as ‘numb’ regulates intracellular tau levels, making numb a potential therapeutic agent for tauopathies.

Back pain is a common condition with numerous causes, including poor posture, overexertion, constant stress at work or at home, lack of exercise, and poor posture. For a considerable number of patients, the symptoms are chronic, meaning they last a long period or reoccur repeatedly. However, port and exercise therapy, when done properly, can provide alleviation.

Physiotherapy, as well as strength and stability exercises, are common treatment options. But how can the treatment be as effective as possible? Which method reduces pain the most effectively? A recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Pain by Goethe University Frankfurt revealed new insights.

The researchers began with data from 58 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving over 10,000 individuals suffering from chronic low back pain throughout the globe. The relevant data from the original manuscripts were first filtered out and then analyzed in groups. When analyzing this data, the researchers looked at whether and how conventional forms of therapy and individualized treatment varied in terms of outcome. “Individualized” refers to some kind of personal coaching where therapists precisely target the needs and potentials of each patient and collaborate with them to choose the course of their treatment.