Lifeboat Foundation

Recent advances in AI are using deep learning to identify areas within human organs that surgeons can safely dissect before operating, machine learning to predict if patients with memory issues will develop Alzheimer’s within two years, and deep learning to analyze eye scans during routine examinations to identify patients at short-term high risk for a heart attack.

AI is being used for surgical guidance in the OR, for predicting early-onset Alzheimer’s, and through eye exams who may have a heart attack.

Research on proteins has been front and centre in our battle to defeat COVID-19. That’s why major efforts are being made to unlock the mystery of how combinations of amino acids when folded can be powerful tools in combatting diseases and more.

DeepMind in the UK and the University of Washington leading the way in proteins research to meet 21st-century problems and challenges.

The elixir of technological innovation and the information it delivers at our very fingertips every day has proven to be a Pandora’s Box unleashing misinformation, rumour, hate, selfish malfeasance, and violence. Since when did access to knowledge produce so much havoc? Because that’s what appears to be happening with COVID-19, climate change, and more.

My more recent personal experience is equally relevant. When I got COVID-19 in April 2020, it attacked the lining of my heart temporarily enlarging the upper left chamber where pulmonary veins interact with the muscle. Those veins were damaged by the virus leading to the beginning of changes to my heart rhythm and the onset of atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias.

Three weeks before getting infected I had a full physical in preparation for upcoming knee replacement surgery. At the time I was told that my heart was healthy with no underlying medical conditions of concern. Then COVID-19 struck leading me to go to the hospital emergency where I was told that I was in danger of an imminent stroke and was now a heart patient.

Continue reading “Technology, Human Behaviour and the March of Events Setting Us Up for Catastrophe” »

Paroxysmal AF occurs when the upper chambers of the heart beat irregularly. Instead of initiating normal sinus rhythm, the two atria fibrillate or quiver. That doesn’t stop blood flowing from the upper to lower chambers, but it does upset the normal heartbeat causing the heart to race. In my case, the paroxysmal reference meant that my heart was going in and out of AF. Sometimes everything was normal. At other times I would experience a racing heartbeat exceeding 120 beats per minute and lasting from minutes to hours.

When an AF episode ends what happens inside the heart? An apt analogy is the electric control panel in every home that either contains circuit breakers or fuses. When lights go out you can go to the box to reset a tripped circuit or replace a blown fuse. In Paroxysmal AF that reset is automatic with the heartbeat returning to normal sinus rhythm.

So where does conversion come into the conversation? I had worn a Holter Monitor (a portable ECG device) for 14-days back in the latter part of November of last year. In this pandemic-disrupted world, it took a while before a cardiologist got back to me about what the Holter showed. In a video call last week I learned about conversion in an entirely new context. The cardiologist told me that over the two weeks of wearing the Holter Monitor I had been in AF for 8.5% of the time and had experienced seven conversion pauses lasting between 3.5 and 5 seconds. A pause is exactly what you think it means. If we carry the analogy of the fuse box, it is as if a power fluctuation caused the lights to go out and it took five seconds to reset the circuit breaker for them to come back on. The cardiologist said the AF occurrences were less of a concern than the conversion pauses, particularly one lasting 5 seconds (apparently happened in my sleep).

University associations are looking to make research papers and publications open to all by dropping paywalls.

The European University Association (EUA) consists of 850 academic institutions covering 48 countries. Created in 2001 they are responsible for the education and training of more than 17 million students across Europe. In creating the Association, European academics have endeavoured to create a common educational standard and policies related to educational and research accountability and processes. They are not alone in doing this, joined by like-minded organizations such as OA2020, the Max Planck Society open access initiative, and the IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the need to accelerate research and development of new vaccines and medications has fostered a move for greater openness in publishing and sharing research. This has spirited a recently unveiled strategy, the EUA Open Science Agenda 2025 promoting open access to research and scholarly publications, and the removal of paywalls from scientific and academic journals and publications of European origin.

Continue reading “Making Scientific Discoveries Open to All” »

Biotechnology is a rapidly growing industry with lots of exciting innovations! So, I created this list as a resource to help people learn about and keep track of key biotechnology companies.

PDF version: List of Biotechnology Companies to Watch

I created this list to serve as a resource to help people learn about and keep track of key biotechnology companies. Some of these are emerging startups, some are established giants, and some provide useful services. Though this list is far from comprehensive, I have tried to cover as many of the key players as possible. In the next iteration of this list, I would especially like to add more agricultural biotechnology companies. It is also important to realize that this landscape is constantly changing, so some of the information on this list will eventually transition into antiquity (this current version was written over the course of 2021 and early 2022). I think many people will find my compilation both interesting and useful. I hope you enjoy delving into the exciting world of biotechnology!

Continue reading “List of Biotechnology Companies to Watch” »

Bright indoor lighting during daytime.

According to a new study published in Diabetologia, Insulin-resistant volunteers’ postprandial substrate processing, energy expenditure, and thermoregulation are all affected by the indoor light environment in a time-dependent manner. Further Optimization of indoor lighting to a brighter during daytime hours and dimmer in the evening may provide cardiometabolic benefits.

Artificial light is available 24 hours a day in today’s civilization, and most individuals are exposed to electrical light and light-emitting screens during the dark part of the natural light/dark cycle. Suboptimal lighting has been linked to negative metabolic impacts, and changing indoor lighting to more closely mirror the natural light/dark cycle has the potential to improve metabolic health.

Continue reading “Bright indoor light during daytime may lower blood sugar, improve energy expenditure” »

Long before Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, once-trusty proteins start to knot together in the brain in a process that may be hastened by poor sleep.

Now, scientists have uncovered a possible mechanism linking disruptions in circadian rhythms and the build-up of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, by studying the rhythmic operation of immune cells and finding the molecular ‘timers’ that control them.

Circadian rhythms are the daily rhythms of bodily functions which are tied to our natural body clock, respond to light exposure, and govern our sleep-wake cycles.

David Bennett, 57, of Maryland received a pig heart in a transplant on Jan. 7. He continues to recover and the heart is working as expected thus far.