Lifeboat Foundation

Twenty-four years ago, Ray Kurzweil predicted computers would reach human-level intelligence by 2029. This was met with great concern and criticism. In the past six months technology experts have come around to agree with him. According to Kurzweil, over the next two decades, AI is going to change what it means to be human. We are going to invent new means of expression that will soar past human language, art, and science of today. All of the concepts that we rely on to give meaning to our lives, including death itself, will be transformed.\
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Speakers:\
Ray Kurzweil\
Inventor, Futurist \& Best-selling author of ‘The Singularity is Near’\
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Reinhard Scholl\
Deputy Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau\
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)\
Co-founder and Managing Director, AI for Good\
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The AI for Good Global Summit is the leading action-oriented United Nations platform promoting AI to advance health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure, and other global development priorities. AI for Good is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the UN specialized agency for information and communication technology – in partnership with 40 UN sister agencies and co-convened with the government of Switzerland.\
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The AI for Good networking community platform powered by AI. \
Designed to help users build connections with innovators and experts, link innovative ideas with social impact opportunities, and bring the community together to advance the SDGs using AI.\
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🔴 Watch the latest #AIforGood videos!\
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What is AI for Good?\
We have less than 10 years to solve the UN SDGs and AI holds great promise to advance many of the sustainable development goals and targets.\
More than a Summit, more than a movement, AI for Good is presented as a year round digital platform where AI innovators and problem owners learn, build and connect to help identify practical AI solutions to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.\
AI for Good is organized by ITU in partnership with 40 UN Sister Agencies and co-convened with Switzerland.\
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Disclaimer:\
The views and opinions expressed are those of the panelists and do not reflect the official policy of the ITU.

A stroke happens when blood flow is lost to part of the brain. Your brain cells cannot get the oxygen and nutrients they need from blood, and they start to die in a few minutes. This can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.

A stroke can occur when an obstruction such as a blood clot travels from another part of the body and lodges inside an artery in the brain.

When an arterial wall becomes damaged, various types of emboli, or obstructions, can form. Emboli can be made up of various substances such as platelets, elements in the blood that help it clot, blood clots that form elsewhere and pass to the damaged area, cholesterol, or a combination of things.

Continue reading “Stroke — Health Video: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia” »

Worldwide, more than one billion people are obese. Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers. But permanently losing weight isn’t easy: complex interactions between body systems such as gut physiology, hormones, and the brain are known to work against it. One method for weight loss is intermittent energy restriction (IER), where days of relative fasting alternate with days of eating normally.

“Here we show that an IER diet changes the human brain-gut-microbiome axis. The observed changes in the gut microbiome and in the activity in addition-related brain regions during and after weight loss are highly dynamic and coupled over time,” said last author Dr. Qiang Zeng, a researcher at the Health Management Institute of the PLA General Hospital in Beijing. The study has been published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

The authors used metagenomics on stool samples, blood measurements, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study changes in the composition of the gut microbiome, physiological parameters and serum composition, and brain activity in 25 obese Chinese women and men on an IER diet. Participants were on average 27 years old, with a BMI between 28 and 45.

Conditioning the lungs with interferon-gamma, a natural immune system protein (cytokine) best known for fighting bacterial infections, appears to be a strong antiviral for SARS-CoV-2, according to National Institutes of Health scientists and colleagues. Their new study, published in Nature Communications, shows in two different mouse models that when a bacterial infection triggers the release of interferon-gamma in the lungs, those animals subsequently are protected from infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The investigators further report that using recombinant interferon-gamma in the nose of study mice at the time of viral exposure substantially reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID disease.

The lead project scientists suggest testing interferon-gamma further, alone and in combination with other treatments, to limit early SARS-CoV-2 infection in people. They also hypothesize that people with prior bacterial infections that naturally release interferon-gamma in their lungs may be less susceptible to COVID-19.

NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) led the project with collaborators at Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a novel artificial intelligence (AI) model that analyzes the spatial arrangement of cells in tissue samples. This innovative approach, detailed in Nature Communications, has accurately predicted outcomes for cancer patients, marking a significant advancement in utilizing AI for cancer prognosis and personalized treatment strategies.

“Cell spatial organization is like a complex jigsaw puzzle where each cell serves as a unique piece, fitting together meticulously to form a cohesive tissue or organ structure. This research showcases the remarkable ability of AI to grasp these intricate spatial relationships among cells within tissues, extracting subtle information previously beyond human comprehension while predicting patient outcomes,” said study leader Guanghua Xiao, Ph.D., Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, Biomedical Engineering, and the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics at UT Southwestern. Dr. Xiao is a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UTSW.

Tissue samples are routinely collected from patients and placed on slides for interpretation by pathologists, who analyze them to make diagnoses. However, Dr. Xiao explained, this process is time-consuming, and interpretations can vary among pathologists. In addition, the human brain can miss subtle features present in pathology images that might provide important clues to a patient’s condition.

Polymer solar cells, known for their light weight and flexibility, are ideal for wearable devices. Yet, their broader use is hindered by the toxic halogenated solvents required in their production. These solvents pose environmental and health risks, limiting the appeal of these solar cells. Alternative solvents, which are less toxic, unfortunately, lack the same solubility, necessitating higher temperatures and prolonged processing times.

This inefficiency further impedes the adoption of polymer solar cells. Developing a method to eliminate the need for halogenated solvents could significantly enhance the efficiency of organic solar cells, making them more suitable for wearable technology.

In a recently published paper, researchers outline how improving molecular interactions between the polymer donors and the small molecule acceptors using side-chain engineering can reduce the need for halogenated processing solvents.

Introduction to spatial genomics The power of single-cell resolution Mapping the blueprint of health Case study: Bio-Techne Challenges and future prospects References Further reading

Spatial genomics is a cutting-edge field that combines genomics and spatial analysis to investigate the role of genomic features in disease at single-cell resolution.

Spatial genomics is a field of study that focuses on analyzing the spatial organization of genomic features within intact tissues. It involves the simultaneous analysis of various molecular components, including genomic DNA and RNA, through transcriptomic analysis and epigenetic modifications within their spatial context. These techniques aim to reveal the spatial relationships between the different genomic elements and provide insights into the organization and function of single cells within tissues, enabling the molecular connection of a particular genotype to its phenotype.

The Hubble Space Telescope recently suffered a glitch that made it go into safe mode, so it has not been collecting new science data since November 23. But on Friday, December 8, NASA will attempt to get the telescope up and running again by tweaking the operation of one of its three gyros.

The gyros are responsible for keeping the telescope pointed in the right direction, and an error in one of them put the telescope into safe mode to prevent any damage occurring to its hardware. Although it is theoretically possible for the telescope to operate with just one gyro, this would be less efficient and observing time would be lost as it would take longer for the telescope to switch between targets. So ideally, all three gyros can be operational.

The problem with the telescope was first shared on November 29, when NASA announced it was performing tests to understand the issue. Now, the tests are complete and NASA plans to resume operations. “After analyzing the data, the team has determined science operations can resume under three-gyro control,” NASA wrote in a new update. “Based on the performance observed during the tests, the team has decided to operate the gyros in a higher-precision mode during science observations. Hubble’s instruments and the observatory itself remain stable and in good health.”

Max Lugavere is a health and wellness expert, author and a diet advocate. Working out what to eat is hard. Which is odd because everybody does it. You’d think that the science of nutrition, a thing the entire human race relies on multiple times per day, would have some definitive answers. Thankfully Max can explain why it’s such a mess and give some solid principles we can all use. Expect to learn whether carnivore is an optimal diet for us all to follow, whether organic and non-GMO actually makes that much of a difference, what to look for in a magnesium supplement, the actual science of seed oils, whether sunscreen is a danger, why nutrition science is so contested, why calories matter but they aren’t all that matter and much more…