Lifeboat Foundation

Pääbo did groundbreaking work to sequence the genome of long-extinct Neanderthals, showing that they interbred with modern humans.

When it comes to developing treatments and eventual cures for diseases, being able to diagnose a condition early and accurately makes a huge difference – and scientists have now developed a quick, reliable method of identifying people with Parkinson’s disease.

The test can be run in as little as 3 minutes after a skin swab has been taken. The swab is analyzed for changes in the chemical mix of sebum, a natural waxy oil produced by the skin that has previously been linked to Parkinson’s.

At the moment, there’s no conclusive test for Parkinson’s disease – specialists look at symptoms, medical history, the results of a lengthy physical examination, and in some cases, a brain scan to diagnose the condition.

Because of its distinctive and adorable look, the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum is a popular pet. Unlike other metamorphosing salamanders, axolotls (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) never outgrow their larval, juvenile stage, a trait known as neoteny. It’s also recognized for its ability to regenerate missing limbs and other tissues including the brain, spinal cord, tail, skin, limbs, liver, skeletal muscle, heart, upper and lower jaw, and ocular tissues like the retina, cornea, and lens.

Mammals, including humans, are almost incapable of rebuilding damaged tissue after a brain injury. Some species, such as fish and axolotls, on the other hand, may replenish wounded brain regions with new neurons.

Chinese scientists are reported to have developed a fully-automated, pig-cloning robot, and the AI-powered bot is apparently way more efficient than humans.

So how should companies begin to think about ethical data management? What measures can they put in place to ensure that they are using consumer, patient, HR, facilities, and other forms of data appropriately across the value chain—from collection to analytics to insights?

We began to explore these questions by speaking with about a dozen global business leaders and data ethics experts. Through these conversations, we learned about some common data management traps that leaders and organizations can fall into, despite their best intentions. These traps include thinking that data ethics does not apply to your organization, that legal and compliance have data ethics covered, and that data scientists have all the answers—to say nothing of chasing short-term ROI at all costs and looking only at the data rather than their sources.

In this article, we explore these traps and suggest some potential ways to avoid them, such as adopting new standards for data management, rethinking governance models, and collaborating across disciplines and organizations. This list of potential challenges and remedies is not exhaustive; our research base was relatively small, and leaders could face many other obstacles, beyond our discussion here, to the ethical use of data. But what’s clear from our research is that data ethics needs both more and sustained attention from all members of the C-suite, including the CEO.

Ground-breaking research at Tel Aviv University successfully eradicated glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. The researchers achieved the result by developing a strategy based on their finding of two crucial mechanisms in the brain that promote tumor growth and survival: one shields cancer cells from the immune system, while the other provides the energy needed for rapid tumor growth. The research discovered that astrocytes, which are brain cells, regulate both methods, and that when they aren’t there, tumor cells die and are eliminated.

Rita Perelroizen, a Ph.D. student, served as the study’s lead researcher. She collaborated with Professor Eytan Ruppin of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and was supervised by Dr. Lior Mayo of the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research and the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv. The study was recently published in the journal Brain and was highlighted with scientific commentary.

In a new study that could improve the therapeutic efficacy of deep-brain stimulation (DBS) for psychiatric disorders such as depression, a team of scientists shows that, when DBS is applied to a specific brain region, it improves patients’ cognitive control over their behavior by increasing the power of a specific low-frequency brain rhythm in their prefrontal cortex.

The findings, published April 4 in Nature Communications, suggest that the increase in “theta” rhythms, readily detectable in EEG recordings, could provide neurosurgeons and psychiatrists with the reliable, objective and rapid feedback they’ve needed to properly fine-tune the placement and “dosage” of DBS electrical stimulation. In Parkinson’s disease, where DBS has been most successful, that kind of feedback is available through a reduction in a patient’s tremors. But for depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder, symptoms can be more subtle, subjective and slowly emergent.

“This is a major step forward for psychiatric brain stimulation,” said Alik Widge, the lead and corresponding author on the paper. Widge began the work while a clinical fellow at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT and a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He is now an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “This study shows us a specific mechanism of how DBS improves patients’ brain function, which should let us better identify who can benefit and how to optimize their individual treatment.”

Since the infancy of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 1990, people have been fascinated by the potential for brain scans to unlock the mysteries of the human mind, our behaviors and beliefs. Many breathtaking applications for brain scans have been devised, but hype often exceeds what empirical science can deliver. It’s time to ask: What’s the big picture of neuroscience and what are the limitations of brain scans?

The specific aims of any research endeavor depend on who you ask and what funding agency is involved, says Michael Spezio, associate professor of psychology, data science and neuroscience at Scripps College. Some people believe neuroscience has the potential to explain human cognition and behavior as a fully mechanistic process, ultimately debunking an “illusion of free will.” Not all neuroscientists agree that free will is a myth, but it’s a strong current these days. Neuroscience also has applications in finance, artificial intelligence, weapons research and national security.

For other researchers and funders, the specific aim of neuroscience involves focusing on medical imaging, genetics, the study of proteins (proteomics) and the study of neural connections (connectomics). As caring persons who are biological, neurological, physical, social and spiritual, we can use neuroscience to think carefully and understand our humanity and possible ways to escape some of the traps we’ve built for ourselves, says Spezio. Also, brain scans can enhance research into spirituality, mindfulness and theory of mind – the awareness of emotions, values, empathy, beliefs, intentions and mental states to explain or predict others’ behavior.

Our brains are among the most complex objects in the known universe. Deciphering how they work could bring tremendous benefits, from finding ways to treat brain diseases and neurological disorders to inspiring new forms of machine intelligence.

But a critical starting point is coming up with a parts list. While everyone knows that brains are primarily made up of neurons, there are a dazzling array of different types of these cells. That’s not to mention the various kinds of glial cells that make up the connective tissue of the brain and play a crucial supporting role.

That’s why the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative has just announced $500 million in funding over five years for an effort to characterize and map neuronal and other types of cells across the entire human brain. The project will be spearheaded by the Allen Institute in Seattle, but involves collaborations across 17 other institutions in the US, Europe, and Japan.