Experts say we’re in a golden age for treating chronic kidney disease, with new drugs like Ozempic yielding major results. Will dialysis and organ transplants become a thing of the past?
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To Meld A.I. With Supercomputers, National Labs Are Picking Up the Pace
For years, Rick Stevens, a computer scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, pushed the notion of transforming scientific computing with artificial intelligence.
But even as Mr. Stevens worked toward that goal, government labs like Argonne — created in 1946 and sponsored by the Department of Energy — often took five years or more to develop powerful supercomputers that can be used for A.I. research. Mr. Stevens watched as companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Elon Musk’s xAI made faster gains by installing large A.I. systems in a matter of months.
Ursula Eysin on Uncertainty and Future Scenarios
How do we turn uncertainty from a threat into an advantage?
Three years ago, I sat down with someone who has built her entire career around that question: Ursula Eysin, founder of Red Swan and one of the most multidimensional futurists I’ve ever met.
Ursula is a trained ballerina who speaks seven languages, reads chemistry books for fun, mentors startups, and teaches at five universities — and somehow still finds time to help leaders navigate the unknown with clarity and courage.
In this conversation, we dig into: • Why predicting the future is a powerless position • Scenario planning vs. futurism — and why leaders need both • How to reframe uncertainty as a strategic asset • What it truly means to connect as humans in an age of AI • And why strong, diverse leadership matters more than ever.
My favourite line from Ursula remains razor-sharp:
“Turn uncertainty into an advantage. See it as a gift. And connect to other people.”
If you’re steering a team, a company, or even your own life through volatility, this one is worth your time.
A “Very Old, Undisturbed Structure” May Have Been Discovered Beyond The Orbit Of Neptune, 43 AU From The Sun
If confirmed, the structure may be primordial.
An Autism Epidemic?
The CDC website now says: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim…” Psychologist David Myers from Hope College summarizes the relevant evidence.
You are an educated reader, so I know that you know that vaccines do not cause autism. However, you probably have also read headlines such as the recent U.S. Health and Human Services release, “Autism Epidemic Runs Rampant.”
Investigation of Lung Cancer Cell Response to Cryoablation and Adjunctive Gemcitabine-Based Cryo-Chemotherapy Using the A549 Cell Line
The rising incidence of LC underscores the pressing need for more effective treatment strategies. Cryoablation has emerged as a promising approach for various cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [11,12,24]. A recent meta-analysis by Xu et al. (2023) found that cryoablation for the treatment of NSCLC was superior to radiofrequency ablation, with improved disease-free survival time, along with fewer complications and a significant reduction in recurrence rates [6]. While effective, an understanding of the MLT is necessary to assure that lung cancer destruction remains unknown. Several clinical studies have suggested an MLT in the −20 °C to −35 °C range [24,25,26]. Accordingly, in this study we utilized the A549 cell line as a model to investigate the response of lung adenocarcinoma carcinoma cells to freezing in an effort to identify the MLT. Additionally, we investigated the effect of combining cryoablation with gemcitabine, a standard chemotherapy drug as a potential adjunctive treatment path for NSCLC.
Understanding the MLT is crucial for optimizing cryoablation protocols. While previous studies have investigated MLT for various cancers, defining it for LC remains open due to the complex nature of lung tissue and varying responses to freezing. The results of this study demonstrate that A549 cells were effectively destroyed following a: single freeze ≤−25 °C; repeat freeze to −25 °C; combination treatment with a single freeze ≤−20 °C; and combination treatment with a repeat freeze ≤−15 °C (Figure 1 and Figure 3). Our reported lethal temperature of −25 °C for a repeat 5 min freeze is comparable to other published data [24] as well as other cancer types, which range from −20 °C to −40 °C [18,19,21,33,58]. Further, studies have shown that translation of the MLT as determined in in vitro studies translates well into in vivo application. For instance, Snyder et al.
How the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard predicted today’s AI 30 years before ChatGPT
One of the most important members of this enlightened club is the philosopher Jean Baudrillard – even though his reputation over the past couple of decades has diminished to an association with a now bygone era when fellow French theorists such as Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida reigned supreme.
In writing our new biography of Baudrillard, however, we have been reminded just how prescient his predictions about modern technology and its effects have turned out to be. Especially insightful is his understanding of digital culture and AI – presented over 30 years before the launch of ChatGPT.
Back in the 1980s, cutting-edge communication technology involved devices which seem obsolete to us now: answering machines, fax machines, and (in France) Minitel, an interactive online service that predated the internet. But Baudrillard’s genius lay in foreseeing what these relatively rudimentary devices suggested about likely future uses of technology.
