Automated data searches and new customized patient care are the future of cancer treatment.
Each day information floods into every cancer clinic. Oncologists are scrambling for new ways to tap it to deliver the best of modern cancer care.
This article was produced by Hackensack Meridian Health in partnership with Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board of editors.
Possibly one of the most surprising ways in which our mind and body are interlinked with one another is the gut-brain axis, which is a collection of bidirectional biochemical signals which are transmitted between the nervous system of the body and the digestive system. This is understandably surprising, as the functions of these two distinct parts of the body are completely different to one another. The gut is unlike most other parts of the body, because a large part of its function and health is dictated by cells which are not part of the body, but are instead bacteria cells which colonise the inner lining of the gut.
It has been known for a while now that the makeup of the gut flora changes as we age, which has in turn been linked to cognitive decline through the disruption of the aforementioned gut-brain axis. It has even been shown that faecal transplants can help to correct this cognitive decline in mice, and has been shown to be able to generate a direct positive effect on cognitive function.
Further research into this phenomenon has revealed that the graduate degradation of the gut flora, or more commonly referred to as the ‘good’ bacteria inside the gut has revealed that these bacteria play an important role at keeping unwanted bacteria in check. Researchers at the University Of Florida have found that certain types of ‘good’ bacteria inside the gut produce a chemical known as butyrate, which supresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae. These pathogenic, or ‘bad’ bacteria effect the body in numerous ways, such as interfering with the protein folding, resulting in a build up of toxic and mis-formed proteins within the body. This disruption to protein folding causes problems all across the body, including in the muscles, intestines, gonads, and most notably the brain and central nervous system.
Posted in food, habitats, health, robotics/AI
Designing an autonomous, learning smart garden.
In the first episode of Build Out, Colt and Reto — tasked with designing the architecture for a “Smart Garden” — supplied two very different concepts, that nevertheless featured many overlapping elements. Take a look at the video to see what they came up with, then continue reading to see how you can learn from their explorations to build your very own Smart Garden.
Both solutions aim to optimize plant care using sensors, weather forecasts, and machine learning. Watering and fertilizing routines for the plants are updated regularly to guarantee the best growth, health, and fruit yield possible.
Colt’s solution is optimized for small-scale home farming, using a modified CNC machine to care for a fruit or vegetable patch. The drill bit is replaced with a liquid spout, UV light, and camera, while the cutting area is replaced with a plant bed that includes sensors to track moisture, nutrient levels, and weight.
Bill Gates isn’t going to use it to track you.
Your next doctor’s appointment could soon become much more informative thanks to new microchips the size of dust mites, only visible beneath a microscope.
Picture this: Your surgeon wants to continuously monitor your lungs prior to a procedure to ensure your respiratory system is strong enough to deal with anesthesia. So, a technician uses a hypodermic needle to inject a few small microchips into your body. Then, they use an ultrasound machine to communicate with the chips, which show your lungs are primed for the operation. Your subsequent surgery is a breeze.
WASHINGTON—The Biden administration launched an initiative Thursday aiming to make more government data available to artificial intelligence researchers, part of a broader push to keep the U.S. on the cutting edge of the crucial new technology.
The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Task Force, a group of 12 members from academia, government, and industry led by officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation, will draft a strategy for creating an AI research resource that could, in part, give researchers secure access to stores of anonymous data about Americans, from demographics to health and driving habits.
They would also look to make available computing power to analyze the data, with the goal of allowing access to researchers across the country.
Summary: The resting brain repeatedly and rapidly replays faster memories of what a person has recently learned and practiced. The more a person replays the memory during rest, the better they become during subsequent sessions where they practice their newly learned skill.
Source: NIH
In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and discovered why taking short breaks from practice is a key to learning.
Electric bicycles in the rugged moped style are all over the place these days, and for good reason. Unlike fitness e-bikes that are often used for a combination of exercise and leisure riding, electric mopeds are built mostly for good old fashioned getting around. And the Addmotor M-66 R7 moped fully embodies that design ethos. It’s a transportation e-bike that will have you zipping around your city faster than a car and cheaper than a public transport season ticket.
Summary: A study in fruit fly models of autism reveals sleep disruption associated with the neurodevelopmental disorder is associated with elevated levels of serotonin. The origin of the higher levels of serotonin was discovered to be in glial cells in the blood-brain barrier.
Source: Radboud University.
Bad sleep causes severe health issues and affects our ability to concentrate, memorize, and cope with challenging situations. Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and intellectual disability, frequently suffer from sleep problems. However, little is known about their underlying mechanisms.
Health, Equity, And Economic Growth — Dr. Helene Gayle, MD, MPH, President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust.
Dr. Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, is President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust (CCT), one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations, and under her leadership, CCT has adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region.
An expert on global development, humanitarian, and health issues, for almost a decade, Dr. Gayle was president and CEO of CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization, and prior to that spent 20 years with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. She also worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues.
The study found that children following vegan diets were on average 3 cm (1.2 inches) shorter, had 4–6% lower bone mineral content and were more than three times more likely to be deficient in vitamin B-12 than the omnivores.
Children on vegan diets have a healthier cardiovascular profile and less body fat than their omnivore peers, but the diets may affect growth, bone mineral content and micronutrient status, according to researchers from UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw, Poland.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also found that children following vegetarian diets had a lower risk of nutritional deficiencies compared to the omnivores, but a less healthy cardiovascular profile.
For the study, 187 healthy 5 to 10-year-olds in Poland were recruited in 2014–2016. Of those, 63 children were vegetarians, 52 vegans and 72 omnivores. The team then collected data on growth, body composition, cardiovascular risk, and micronutrient status in vegetarian or vegan children and compared them to the group of children who consumed meat in their diet.
