Coronavirus: How behaviour can help control the spread of COVID-19
(Peter Hall/ The Conversation) — (…) Current discussions about COVID-19 in conventional and social media may be focused on the wrong things. Rather than talking about fear-inducing counterfactual scenarios (what ifs), we need to focus on crowdsourcing strategies that limit the ability of the infection to get a foothold in our population. A vaccine would […]
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An AI algorithm just discovered entirely new antibiotics
(Caroline Delbert/ Popular Mechanics) — Researchers at MIT have used brute-force computer power and artificial intelligence to identify a potentially game-changing new antibiotic medication. Using machine learning to comb through millions of options can help scientists think outside the box both chemically and financially. This idea has floated in the public imagination for a while—that […]
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How artificial intelligence can help pick the best depression treatments for you
(Mandy Oaklander/ Time) — Seeking out help for depression is hard enough. It doesn’t make things any easier that it can take weeks, months or longer of trying different treatments to find something that works. Doctors typically start patients on antidepressants, but they take at least four weeks to start working, and research has shown […]
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Rise of robot radiologists
(Sara Reardon/ Scientific American) — WHEN REGINA BARZILAY had a routine mammogram in her early 40s, the image showed a complex array of white splotches in her breast tissue. The marks could be normal, or they could be cancerous—even the best radiologists often struggle to tell the difference. Her doctors decided the spots were not […]
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AI comes to the Operating Room
(Denise Grady/ The New York Times) — Brain surgeons are bringing artificial intelligence and new imaging techniques into the operating room, to diagnose tumors as accurately as pathologists, and much faster, according to a report in the journal Nature Medicine. The new approach streamlines the standard practice of analyzing tissue samples while the patient is […]
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Scientists develop superbug-resistant, self-cleaning plastic wrap
(Amy Woodyatt/ CNN Health) — Researchers have developed a self-cleaning plastic wrap that repels bacteria — and could be used to prevent the transfer of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and other forms of dangerous bacteria. A team of scientists from Canada’s McMaster University used a combination of nano-scale surface engineering and chemistry to develop a plastic surface […]
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Scientists find caffeine, Xanax, and cough medicines in donor blood
(Tom Hale/ IFL Science) — If you receive a blood transfusion, you might also be receiving a free dose of caffeine, Xanax, and cough medicine. While the tainted blood is nothing to worry about for most people, it does give surprisingly accurate insights into the stresses and strains of 21st-century living. Researchers from Oregon State […]
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Your brain on sugar: What the science actually says
(Amy Reichelt/ The Conversation) — We love sweet treats. But too much sugar in our diets can lead to weight gain and obesity, Type 2 diabetes and dental decay. We know we shouldn’t be eating candy, ice cream, cookies, cakes and drinking sugary sodas, but sometimes they are so hard to resist. It’s as if […]
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AI can spot disease as accurately as medical professionals, study says
(Tyler MacDonald/ Inquistr) — A new study in The Lancet Digital Health reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) might be able to detect diseases from medical imaging as accurately as humans, Newsweek reports. According to the study, which reviewed 14 existing studies that compared AI and human performance between January 2012 and June 2019, deep learning […]
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French researchers build massive new scanner to tackle brain disease
(Reuters) — French researchers are developing what they say is the most powerful Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner in the world which will use a supermagnet the weight of a blue whale and should allow earlier diagnosis of diseases such as Parkinson’s. “We can potentially detect the disease in its earlier stages and, consequently, monitor […]
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