Lifeboat Foundation

A colonoscopy is the best way to screen for colorectal cancer. Everyone at average risk for the disease should start getting them at age 45.

If you’re scheduled for your first colonoscopy, you may be wondering what to expect and how much time it will take. While the procedure itself could take as little as 20 minutes, once you factor in the prep and recovery time, the experience does take longer.

We spoke with gastroenterologist Mazen Alasadi, M.D., to learn more.

Making the yogurt of the future requires a cast of 21st-century helpers: machine learning, gut science and even a mysterious artificial stomach.

At a new Danone facility near Paris, researchers feed dollops of yogurt into globular glass vessels and plastic tubes designed to mimic the human gut. Once the bacteria inside show they can survive the digestive juices, artificial intelligence is put to work to probe their potential health benefits.

To consumers bombarded with claims about the supposed power of probiotics, the goal may sound familiar: souped-up yogurt. But the owner of Activia and Actimel is betting technology can yield answers on which friendly bacteria work best and why, giving its products a scientific edge at a time when revenue is lagging and consumers are growing wary of processed food.

Infection is a constant risk. Any germs that make it past the body’s barriers, like the skin, can cause illness if the immune system does not respond properly and efficiently. Most people can easily fight off common bacteria that could be pathogenic, but people with weaker or compromised immune systems have a greater risk of infection. For the immunocompromised, bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa that are everywhere in the environment can start to grow in different parts of the body, including the lungs; if this occurs, a chronic and even lifelong infection can arise. If bacteria that cause these chronic infections move to the bloodstream, they can become far more serious and even deadly. Scientists are still learning about how bacteria are able to make the transition.

New work has provided insight into how P. aeruginosa can change from causing one type of infection to another. This study used human samples to reveal a biomarker that indicates when this transition has taken place, in the form of a small RNA generated by the bacterium. The findings have been reported in Nature.

Ants were just as accurate as cancer-sniffing dogs. Better yet, they could be trained in minutes rather than months.

A new family of DNA elements which control the activation of certain genes known to cause a rare disease known as MSL3 syndrome in children has been identified.

The study led by researchers at the Queen Mary University of London and published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology shines a new light on the mechanism behind this poorly understood disease, hoping that it can lead to better treatments for this and similar diseases in the future.

Mutations in the MSL3 gene are known to cause a rare disease in children called MSL3 syndrome—a newly discovered disease with only around 50 registered diagnoses worldwide, although scientists predict that more cases are currently undiagnosed.

Elon Musk is exploring the possibility of upgrading the human brain to allow humans to compete with sentient AI through ‘a brain computer interface’ created by his company Neuralink. “I created [Neuralink] specifically to address the AI symbiosis problem, which I think is an existential threat,” says Musk.

While Neuralink has just received FDA approval to start clinical trials in humans (intended to empower those with paralysis), only time will tell whether this technology will succeed in augmenting human intelligence as Musk first intended. But the use of AI to augment human intelligence brings up some interesting ethical questions as to which tools are acceptable (a subject to be discussed… More.

Chat GPT may have an effect on critical thinking. Also early adopters may be at an advantage with GPT. Study with students.

Continue reading “ChatGPT — A Human Upgrade Or Future Malaise?” »

“A new way for artists, record producers, and streaming services to delight listeners with new music.”

Predicting hit music is no easy feat. Popular music streaming services give people a fresh mixtape of music daily or weekly.

Spotify does this with its “Discover Weekly” feature that gives users a playlist of 30 new songs every Monday. Another subscription-based music service Pandora introduces new music using “Personalized Soundtracks” after an analysis of 450 attributes via its Music Genome Project.

A new study shows how space travel may modify the gene expression in white blood cells (WBCs), which fight infections.

Beyond Earth, a less gravity environment poses a significant risk to the health of astronauts, particularly during longer-duration missions.

Understanding how the human body reacts to the space environment is crucial for the long term and designing countermeasures to protect astronauts’ health.

Win free electronics gear and learn from the experts at Keysight here: https://www.keysight.com/us/en/events/keysight-world/live-fr…ering.html.

Watch this video ad free on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/videos/realengineering-the-insane-engineering-of-mri-machines.

Continue reading “The Insane Engineering of MRI Machines” »