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Category: health – Page 5

Scientists at Caltech and Princeton University have discovered that bacterial cells growing in a solution of polymers, such as mucus, form long cables that buckle and twist on each other, building a kind of “living Jell-O.”

The finding could be particularly important to the study and treatment of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, in which the mucus that lines the lungs becomes more concentrated, often causing bacterial infections that take hold in that mucus to become life threatening. This discovery could also have implications in studies of polymer-secreting conglomerations of bacteria known as biofilms—the slippery goo on river rocks, for example—and in industrial applications where they can cause equipment malfunctions and health hazards.

The work is described in a paper published on January 17 in the journal Science Advances.

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Existing computer systems have separate data processing and storage devices, making them inefficient for processing complex data like AI. A KAIST research team has developed a memristor-based integrated system similar to the way our brain processes information. It is now ready for application in various devices, including smart security cameras, allowing them to recognize suspicious activity immediately without having to rely on remote cloud servers, and medical devices with which it can help analyze health data in real time.

The joint research team of Professor Shinhyun Choi and Professor Young-Gyu Yoon of the School of Electrical Engineering has developed the next-generation neuromorphic semiconductor-based ultra-small computing chip that can learn and correct errors on its own. The research is published in the journal Nature Electronics.

What is special about this computing chip is that it can learn and correct errors that occur due to non-ideal characteristics that were difficult to solve in existing neuromorphic devices. For example, when processing a , the chip learns to automatically separate a moving object from the background, and it becomes better at this task over time.

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An international team of researchers has made significant progress in understanding how gene expression is regulated across the human genome. In a recent study, they conducted a comprehensive analysis of cis-regulatory elements (CREs)—DNA sequences that control gene transcription. This research provides valuable insights into how CREs drive cell-specific gene expression and how mutations in these regions can impact health and contribute to disease.

CREs, such as enhancers and promoters, play a critical role in determining when and where genes are activated or silenced. Although their importance is well known, analyzing their activity on a large scale has been a longstanding challenge.

“The human genome contains a myriad of CREs, and mutations in these regions are thought to play a major role in human diseases and evolution,” explained Dr. Fumitaka Inoue, one of the co-first authors of the study. “However, it has been very difficult to comprehensively quantify their activity across the genome.”

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Leading A Government-Wide Response To Long COVID — Dr. Ian Simon, Ph.D. — Director, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Dr. Ian Simon, Ph.D. is the Director for the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice (https://www.hhs.gov/longcovid/index.html), in the Office of Science and Medicine, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health \& Human Services.

The Office of Science and Medicine harnesses the power of collaboration, scientific analysis, data-driven innovation, and emerging technologies for advancing initiatives across the Department, including not just Long COVID, but in the areas of behavioral health, health equity, kidney disease, infection-associated chronic conditions, mother-infant dyad, sickle cell disease, and traumatic brain injury.

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How can computer models help medical professionals combat antibiotic resistance? This is what a recent study published in PLOS Biology hopes to address as a team of researchers from the University of Virginia (UVA) developed computer models that can be used to target specific genes in bacteria to combat antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria. This study has the potential to help scientists, medical professionals, and the public better understand innovative methods that can be used to combat AMR with bacterial diseases constantly posing a risk to global human health.

For the study, the researchers used computer models to produce an assemblage of genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions (GENREs) diseases to identify key genes in stomach diseases that can be targeted with antibiotics to circumvent AMR in these bacterial diseases. The researchers validated their findings with laboratory experiments involving microbial samples and found that a specific gene was responsible for producing stomach diseases, thus strengthening the argument for using targeted antibiotics to combat AMR.

“Using our computer models we found that the bacteria living in the stomach had unique properties,” said Emma Glass, who is a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering at UVA and lead author of the study. “These properties can be used to guide design of targeted antibiotics, which could hopefully one day slow the emergence of resistant infections.”

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By the end of 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) had established themselves as the main transformative forces behind recent technological advancements in healthcare. A report by Silicon Valley Bank states that in 2024, the amount of VC investment in health AI in the U.S. was expected to reach $11.1 billion, the highest number since 2021.

In my experience, the main driver behind the AI investment and adoption craze is the measurable value technology offers healthcare providers. A 2023 National Bureau of Economic Research study indicates that integrating AI can save the U.S. healthcare system up to $360 billion annually. A 2023 survey by the AMA shows that physicians see AI as a way to reduce the administrative burden of documentation (54%) and improve workflow efficiency (69%).

But do these positive changes reflect on the quality of care, and do patients benefit from AI and ML-powered solutions? In this article, I share my take on the transformative potential of AI and ML in the modern care delivery process.

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Concussions and repeated head injuries are no longer seen as mere occupational hazards of contact sports; they are now recognized as serious health concerns.

Recent research from Tufts University and the University of Oxford reveals a potential link between head trauma and the activation of dormant viruses in the brain, which may lead to long-term neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The findings, published in the journal Science Signaling, suggest that early preventive treatments using antiviral drugs could help mitigate these risks.

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Large language models (LLMs), the most renowned of which is ChatGPT, have become increasingly better at processing and generating human language over the past few years. The extent to which these models emulate the neural processes supporting language processing by the human brain, however, has yet to be fully elucidated.

Researchers at Columbia University and Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research Northwell Health recently carried out a study investigating the similarities between LLM representations on neural responses. Their findings, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, suggest that as LLMs become more advanced, they do not only perform better, but they also become more brain-like.

“Our original inspiration for this paper came from the recent explosion in the landscape of LLMs and neuro-AI research,” Gavin Mischler, first author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.

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Over the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been firmly in the world’s spotlight, and the rapidly advancing technology can often be a source of anxiety and even fear in some cases. But the evolution of AI doesn’t have to be an inherently scary thing — and there are plenty of ways that this emerging technology can be used for the benefit of humanity.

Writing in “AI for Good” (Wiley, 2024), Juan M. Lavista Ferres and William B. Weeks, both senior directors at Microsoft’s AI for Good Research Lab, reveal how beneficial AI is being used in dozens of projects across the world today. They explain how AI can improve society by, for example, being used in sustainability projects like using satellites to monitor whales from space, or by mapping glacial lakes. AI can also be used in the wake of natural disasters, like the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey, or for social good, like curbing the proliferation of misinformation online. In addition, there are significant health benefits to reap from AI, including studying the long-term effects of COVID-19, using AI to manage pancreatic cysts or detecting leprosy in vulnerable populations.

In this excerpt, the authors detail the recent rise of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT or Claude 3 and how they have grown to become prominent in today’s AI landscape. They also discuss how these systems are already making a significant beneficial impact on the world.

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Scientists believe that they may have identified the cause of so many unexplained cancers.

Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in finding the cause of certain cancers. Credit: Flying Colours Ltd / Getty

A groundbreaking scientific review has uncovered a potential cause for certain cancers and health conditions that can’t be fully explained by genetics, diet, or lifestyle.

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