Lifeboat Foundation

This article reports a highly integrated watch for noninvasive continual blood glucose monitoring. The watch employs a Nafion-coated flexible electrochemical sensor patch fixed on the watchband to obtain interstitial fluid (ISF) transdermally at the wrist. This reverse iontophoresis-based extraction method eliminates the pain and inconvenience that traditional fingerstick blood tests pose in diabetic patients’ lives, making continual blood glucose monitoring practical and easy. All electronic modules, including a rechargeable power source and other modules for signal processing and wireless transmission, are integrated onto a watch face-sized printed circuit board (PCB), enabling comfortable wearing of this continual glucose monitor. Real-time blood glucose levels are displayed on the LED screen of the watch and can also be checked with the smartphone user interface.

Year 2021 face_with_colon_three

While the Apple Watch has evolved from a fashionable phone accessory to a high-tech health monitor—capable of scanning for heart conditions and calling for help after injuries—future generations may tap into a deeper set of features to track the body’s inner workings.

This could include long-rumored blood sugar readings, from the wrist-worn gadget, plus blood pressure measurements, hydration levels and more, following newly divulged arrangements with the sensor maker Rockley Photonics.

Continue reading “Apple Watch could gain long-sought glucose tracking with Rockley Photonics deal: report” »

In this Review, Savitz and Cox consider the evidence for a model of cell-based therapy referred to as the bioreactor hypothesis, in which exogenous cells migrate to peripheral organs and reprogramme host immune cells to generate an anti-inflammatory, regenerative environment.

The neuroscience of perception has recently been revolutionized with an integrative modeling approach in which computation, brain function, and behavior are linked across many datasets and many computational models. By revealing trends across models, this approach yields novel insights into cognitive and neural mechanisms in the target domain. We here present a systematic study taking this approach to higher-level cognition: human language processing, our species’ signature cognitive skill. We find that the most powerful “transformer” models predict nearly 100% of explainable variance in neural responses to sentences and generalize across different datasets and imaging modalities (functional MRI and electrocorticography). Models’ neural fits (“brain score”) and fits to behavioral responses are both strongly correlated with model accuracy on the next-word prediction task (but not other language tasks). Model architecture appears to substantially contribute to neural fit. These results provide computationally explicit evidence that predictive processing fundamentally shapes the language comprehension mechanisms in the human brain.

NEW DELHI: Among all the protests that have erupted across China following the strict quarantine measures enforced by the government for Covid-19, one form that has stood out is the display of a physics equation.

In images widely being circulated on social media, students of Beijing’s Tsinghua University can be seen holding sheets on which is written one of the Friedmann equations.

What these equations have to do with the subject of the protests is open to speculation. Many on social media have suggested that it is a play on the words “free man”. Another view is that it symbolises a free and “open” China, because the Friedmann equations describe an “open” (expanding) universe.

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A team of engineers at UC Santa Cruz has developed a new method for remote automation of the growth of cerebral organoids—miniature, three-dimensional models of brain tissue grown from stem cells. Cerebral organoids allow researchers to study and engineer key functions of the human brain with a level of accuracy not possible with other models. This has implications for understanding brain development and the effects of pharmaceutical drugs for treating cancer or other diseases.

In a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the UCSC Braingeneers group detail their automated, internet-connected microfluidics system, called “Autoculture.” The system precisely delivers feeding liquid to individual cerebral organoids in order to optimize their growth without the need for human interference with the tissue culture.

Cerebral organoids require a high level of expertise and consistency to maintain the precise conditions for cell growth over weeks or months. Using an automated system, as demonstrated in this study, can eliminate disturbance to cell culture growth caused by human interference or error, provide more robust results, and allow more scientists access to opportunities to conduct research with human brain models.

Thousands of viruses appear to have stolen the gene-cutting mechanism from bacteria.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death, with a five-year survival rate of only 10–20% in most countries. Early diagnosis is key to improving survival rates, but only 16% of lung cancers are diagnosed at an early stage. New results from a large multicentre, multinational study show that early detection of lung cancer using low-dose CT screening dramatically improves long-term survival.

“While screening doesn’t prevent cancers from occurring, it is an important tool in identifying lung cancers in their early stage when they can be surgically removed,” explains lead author Claudia Henschke from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who presented the findings this week at RSNA 2022, the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. “Symptoms occur mainly in late-stage lung cancer. Thus, the best way to find early-stage lung cancer is by enrolling in an annual screening programme.”

The lung cancer screening study began back in 1992 with the creation of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP), which has enrolled over 87,000 participants from over 80 institutions to date.

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Technology — An investigation into the advancements in digital technology unique to the gaming industry. They can either enhance our lives and make the world a better place to live, or we may find ourselves in a dystopian future where we are ruled and controlled by the very technologies we rely on.

End Game — Technology (2021)
Director: J. Michael Long.
Writers: O.H. Krill.
Stars: Paul Jamison, Razor Keeves.
Genre: Documentary.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Release Date: 2021 (USA)

Continue reading “End Game” »