Cell phones that deliver medicine?

Cell Phones That Deliver Medicine?

Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas of Telemedicine are researching implants for cell phones that could potentially save lives, cut jobs, save money and administer medicine, all via cyber space. Currently there are applications for phones that allow people to manage their weight (i-phone apps), track their heart rates, check blood pressure and even keep a person on and track their route while jogging (Nokia N79 Active). There are even applications that allow people to compare their results with others. However, soon there will be an application that will allow people to send this information directly to their doctor by linking their phones with medical devices such as blood pressure medicine cuffs, heart rate monitors and glucose monitors all via Bluetooth. This program is called “The Health on The Go” and is now being tested on Blackberrys . These devices can send the information directly to the persons primary care physician to have the results looked over. “The Health on The Go” can potentially remind a person to check their stats and alert them when their levels are too low. “Researchers at the University of Texas are developing implantable sensors that use short-range radio chips to constantly beam vital signs to your phone.”
The current heart rate monitor/cellphone combination is called the N79 Active manufactured by Nokia. The cost for a Nokia N79 Active, according to the popular science website, runs for around $530 dollars which includes the heart rate monitor that needs to be strapped to the users chest. However, when I researched the Nokia website there was no sign of a heart rate monitor and phone package. The price of the phone with a Nokia phone care package was 338.99, just the phone alone is 289.00 which is the current sale price, the original price is 346.00. Nokia makes the cellphone and a company called Polar, out of Finland, makes the heart rate monitor. Polar has been making heart rate monitors for athletes since 1982. On January 14th 2009 Nokia announced this new cellphone (N79 Active) and that it would soon be shipping with the Polar heart rate belt called the WearLink. Not only does the WearLink measure and track ones heart rate, it measures speed, distance, altitude and route and once this information is saved onto the N79 Active it can be sent to anyone, anywhere, instantly. I found a promotional video on youtube for the product that shows it actually being used (a little dramatized obviously) but interesting none-the-less.
I found this article from the popular science website and as I stated above a team of researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas of Telemedicine is currently developing this project. I was drawn to this article because of the title, the title is “New Cellphones Monitor Your Health, And May Soon Deliver Medicine,” after reading the article I realized that I really wanted to share it because I feel that it is relevant to our times. Technology is slowly consuming our lives and we are becoming all too dependent on it. Soon this device could take jobs away from people, such as nurses, but it could potentially create jobs for the people who will to manufacture the device. This device will not be useful to everyone, it will only be useful to people with medical conditions such as diabetes or to people who like to check their stats often. Both devices are very expensive and are still being researched and improved upon. Techniques the scientists used to explain the theory were simple words and clearly stating the point of the device as well as how it works. What makes it science to me is the simple fact that researchers are creating something that will transfer information from human bodies to somewhere in cyber space and the users will have to do virtually nothing to obtain or transfer that information to their desired location whether it be their doctor, significant other or friend.



Borel, Brooke. "New Cellphones Monitor Your Health, And May Soon Deliver Medicine." Popular Science. 21 09 2009. Popular Science, Web. 13 Oct 2009. .

Nokia, "High-end handset from Nokia meets wireless heart monitor from Polar." Nokia. 14 01 2009. Nokia, Web. 14 Oct 2009. .

Nokiausa.com

Conversation, Nokia. "Nokia N79 Active Promo video with cool parkour." YouTube. 14 01 2009.YouTube,Web.14 Oct 2009. .

Not All M&Ms Are Created Equal

Links:
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-07/good-news-animal-lovers-and-folks-spinal-injuries
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/28/spinal.injury.blue.dye/index.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6729766.ece

Start stocking up on your blue M&Ms, everybody! Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered, working off studies they did five years ago, that the blue dye, BBG, in blue M&Ms and Gatorade can help cure spinal chord injuries. They haven’t tested this on humans yet, but mice injected with the dye immediately after their injuries could walk again, even though they had a bit of a limp, while the control mice, injected with water, could never walk again. The only side effect was that the mice turned temporarily blue, “leaving the white animals with bizarre blue noses, ears, paws and tails. The eyes of the albino rats turned from pink to a deep navy” (TimesOnline). The dye helps by stopping the function on P2X7, which with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), kills off healthy motor neurons (PopSci). It is also the most effective treatment because it “is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and penetrating the spinal cord” (TimesOnline). This is something that no other chemical has been able to do.

I discovered this article on the Popular Science website and also found it on CNN and TimesOnline. What first drew me to this was the picture of the blue mouse, but after I started reading the article it really held my interest because I would have never thought that the most effective cure for spinal chord injuries could be in an everyday candy. I would love to see what effect this has on humans and if we turn blue too! I think that if it even just relives the injuries a tiny bit in humans that it will still be a great breakthrough since the only spinal injuries that can really be treated right now are mild ones treated with steroids, and even that isn't effective a lot of the time (TimesOnline). I definitely think this is science because medicine is science. It is a discovery about a dye that can help benefit humans, or mice. It’s science because it is a discovery about a compound unrelated to humans that can improve our health.

Works Cited
Devlin, Hannah. “Food dye ‘may help cure spinal injuries but will turn patients blue’.” Times Online. 28 07 2009. Times Online, Web. 13 October 2009.
Jakubek, Anna Maria. “The Blue Dye in M&Ms Cures Spinal Injuries.” Popular Science. 28 07 2009. Popular Science, Web. 13 October 2009
“Same blue dye in M&Ms linked to reducing spine injury.” CNN. 28 07 2009. CNN, Web. 13 October 2009.

WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)

Article: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/15sep_ninjaastronomy.htm

NASA is responsible for the discovery of WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer). WISE is a space telescope that will scan the entire sky at infrared wavelengths enabling people to see things that we have never before. It is considered to be the most sensitive set of infrared “goggles” ever. With new wavelengths, scientists and astronomers will be able to see things such as dust clouds, dim unidentified objects, brown dust stars, and asteroids that are hazardous to Earth that previous instruments couldn’t see. WISE will help scientists and astronomers answer unsolved questions about our universe.

WISE was chosen in 2003 by NASA to study. It was then approved in 2004 to proceed into the design phase. William Irace of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the project manager of WISE. The cost of creating and launching this instrument will cost NASA approximately $208 million. It was scheduled to launch in 2008. However, damage occurred during testing and caused errors, postponing the launch. WISE is now rescheduled to launch on December 10, 2009 and will begin sending information four times a day to awaiting scientists at ground station locations.

What interested me so much about this breakthrough were the endless possibilities of WISE. If the instrument can see certain things that previous instruments couldn’t, we might find more things in the universe than anyone imagined. WISE makes me wonder if we will make new discoveries about life on other planets that surround us. Also, I wonder if there are other kinds of light that would enable us to find out more about the universe. I feel the more information we find out about the universe, the more interesting life gets.

WISE is so important to launch because it could potentially save our Earth from some type of destruction we aren’t prepared for. Asteroids in particular have been somewhat difficult to recognize with visible-light telescopes because they are cold. These cold asteroids emit infrared wavelengths that WISE will now be able to detect. Also, visible-light telescopes can only identify asteroids with reflective surfaces. WISE will identify very dark asteroids that may have been missed in the past. The infrared information that WISE will unveil includes the size, location, quantity, and danger of these asteroids helping us prevent possible destruction.

In contrast, stars are warm bodies that emit visible light, which explains why people can see them on a clear night. When new stars are created, dusty clouds conceal them, preventing ordinary light from escaping. However, infrared light does escape enabling WISE to see what actually happens when stars are created. Also, failed stars, which are called brown dwarfs, outnumber the amount of ordinary stars in the universe. WISE will study these brown dwarfs and new stars in our Milky Way, helping scientists possibly see into the past evolution of our own galaxy.

WISE is definitely science in my opinion. It is going to revolutionize the way we look at the universe in literally a new light. Our ideas that we are covering in class definitely relate to WISE. There have been many scientific instruments invented over time, including Newton’s telescope. WISE reminds me of the leap that Isaac Newton made when he designed the reflecting telescope in the 17th century. His invention led to many discoveries about the universe, which I hope WISE will achieve. WISE will further our knowledge and insight of the unknown things in our universe today, only helping us for tomorrow and the rest of Earth’s future.

Works Cited

Barry, Patrick. "NASA - In Search of Dark Asteroids (and Other Sneaky Things)." NASA - Science@NASA. 15 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

Clavin, Whitney. "NASA's WISE Mission Arrives at Launch Site - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory." Space, Stars, Mars, Earth, Planets and More - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

"Space Spin - WISE arrives at launch site." Space Spin - robotic exploration. 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

"Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

"WISE - Multimedia Gallery: Movies." WISE: Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer. 18 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

How Mushrooms can save the world!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world.html

Paul Stamets is a mycologist who has gotten some patents for some very interesting and revolutionary inventions involving mushrooms. In this presentation Paul talks about several different uses for his inventions which include neutralizing environmental waste, restoring ecosystems and terraforming, pesticides, and protection from diseases such as the flu.

This is particularly interesting to me because I feel that every invention he talks about is important if we ever want to create a sustainable living environment here on planet Earth. I originally stumbled on this TED presentation while searching Youtube for information about Psilocybin Mushrooms.

All of the inventions that Paul talks about will have an enormous impact on our world. Pollution of our planet is a serious problem if the toxic waste coming from industries could be neutralized through new Mushroom technologies then we could be well on our way to creating a cleaner planet. On a tangent to a cleaner planet not having to use chemical pesticides because a mushroom technology that eliminates insect pests exists would also contribute to a cleaner Earth. Using certain mushroom species to combat flu strains like H1N1(swine flu) and H5N1(Bird flu) would be a strong leap for the medical industry.

Paul shows that his inventions work by doing experiments in the case of eliminating toxins and by providing real examples in the case of eliminating carpenter ants.

We can only hope that these inventions get support from venture capitalists and actually get onto the market.

-Eric Geller

Work Cited:

Stamets, Paul. "6 ways mushrooms can save the world." TED Conference. Long Beach. Mar. 2008. Lecture.

Discussions About Artificial Intelligence

Sometimes it is interesting to think about thought itself – metacognition. If one considers all the information we have about how thought works, it's even more interesting to consider that something called artificial intelligence is being discussed – if we're not entirely sure about all the details of our own, of human, thoughts, how should we know how to give such abilities to a machine? The principle is simple enough: impart on a machine the ability to think, to perceive what is around it and to adapt – to make choices that will “maximize chances of success” (Russell).

Since 1956, when the term was coined by John McCarthy (Association), artificial intelligence has been the subject of both many legitimate scientific endeavors as well as a huge number of science fiction books and movies. In the former case, progress has been made toward AI, but machines are still incapable of making procedural, dynamic choices in relation to their environment; the criteria for creating true AI is daunting, to say the least. In the latter area, artificial intelligence has been portrayed in a wide spectrum. Depending on the work, it is either the downfall of humanity or our salvation – or even somewhere in between. Many creative minds are fascinated to speculate about how thinking machines could affect our way of life. In both cases, the ability for machines to truly think is an idea of the future, an idea that becomes evermore clear due to ongoing research.

However, I want to talk about one area of artificial intelligence in particular: the ability for a machine to communicate with humans. That doesn't seem too complicated, does it? Machines are capable of communication with humans already, right? Alan Turing, an English computer scientist, speculated that, if a machine could fool a human into thinking he or she was actually corresponding with a real person, that machine could be considered intelligent (Turing). This is obviously a lot trickier than a computer spitting information back at you – this is a level of interaction that is indistinguishable from real human-to-human communication. Want to know what's the most surprising about this theory? Turing's article describing this idea was published in 1950. Archaic computers were around at this point, but the term “artificial intelligence” was still six years away.

Enough about the history of the terminology, though. What implications did Turing's ideas have on what scientists are doing today? It turns out there's actually an annual competition (which happens to offer cash prizes) for programs entered to compete in the “Turing test.” As described by Turing, this test involves a judge and two correspondents. One of the correspondents is human, and the other is a machine. None of the participants are visible to one another. The object of the test is for the judge to exchange messages (written only – think instant messaging) with each of the participants in turn for a limited period of time. At the end of the round, the judge has to identify the human entity. A machine is said to have passed the test if it can consistently fool these judges.

The aforementioned contest, known as the Loebner Prize, offers $100,000 (as well as a medal) to anyone who can create “the first computer whose responses were indistinguishable from a human's” (Loebner). If the grand prize isn't a good enough incentive, first place competitors receive $3,000 anyway (that is, if they win the competition but haven't necessarily developed a computer that can consistently fool all of the judges). Needless to say, this particular instantiation of the Turing test has drawn competitors since its inception in 1991. No one has claimed the grand prize yet, but results of the most recent contests have been recorded and the transcripts can be downloaded from Loebner's website: http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/loebner-prize.html

The implications for having a machine that can realistically converse with humans are definitely vast. You need only think about it for a moment – each computer would be able to interface with its users much more seamlessly. Further, people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between human and computer entities in social environments like chatrooms. These things don't seem all that revolutionary, do they? Consider this: a machine that could emulate human conversation would be able to adapt to behaviors. If this were to be applied to applications, it would ostensibly increase productivity by a significant amount – if the program is familiar with your workflow and habits, it would be able to genuinely help you along (and I don't mean that weird paperclip guy from the old Microsoft applications).

This raises the question I want the class to think about: If we did create a computer that was able to communicate just like a real human, will we have, as Turing predicted, discovered true artificial intelligence? Or will we merely have a huge pile of scripts and algorithms that don't really do anything dynamic, but can fake conversation well enough? Do you think that artificial intelligence will require a more revolutionary or transcendental step in computer science, or do you think it's attainable in the direction we're going now? Regardless of the overall impact AI might have on humanity, a scientific revolution (in the digital field in particular) that brings thinking machines into existence would likely have other unforeseen but magnificent effects as well. Hopefully I gave everyone a bit to think about – I look forward to a class discussion. Thanks for reading!


Works Cited:

Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Web. 07 Oct. 2009. .

"Loebner Prize for Artificial Intelligence." Hugh Loebner's Home Page. Web. 07 Oct. 2009. .

Russell, Stuart J. Artificial intelligence a modern approach. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, 2003.

Turing, Alan. "Computing Machinery and Intelligence." Mind LIX.236 (1950): 433-60. Oxford Journals. Web. 7 Oct. 2009. .

GeoEngineering... Help or Harm on a Global Scale

It is evident that our planet's environment has been progressively worsening throughout time, due to countless factors, primarily because of human involvement and destruction over the years. Although the general human population may not want to or be able to agressively prevent more harm done to our environment, it should become more widely known about simple aspects that we can try to help as much as possible, in addition to more severe scientific and environmenal measures that may be done to help benefit our climate.

GeoEngineering' refers to human-made changes to the Earth's land, seas or atmosphere that are intended to help slow climate change. However, some scientists are worried that geoengineering techniques may cause more harm than good.

http://www.2facts.com.cobalt.champlain.edu/article/s1700122

This article from ''Facts on File, Science Database" demonstrated the scientific, social, and political aspects not only in favor or in opposition of GeoEngineering, but gives reasoning as to why and how it should be considered and seriously investigated if nesessary so as to help our climate and environment. The Royal Society is the primary scientific organization of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. They issued a report September 1 titled "Geoengineering the Climate," discussing what may be referred to as 'plan B' for the environment, scientific possibilities to counteract the climatic effects of greenhouse gas emissions by GeoEngineering. This scientific report describes in depth concerning large, worldwide scale schemes to alter or affect the climate and environment if absolutely necessary.

I came upon this article when searching online journals and databases for a science article which i actually found interesting to continue reading. This piece about geoengineering stood out because I am extremely interested in environmental science, especially since our environment and climate may be in detrimental condition in the near future. I feel like environmental science should be better understood and considered by more of our general population, considering our climate and environment are our home and should be a priority to maintain as well as possible.

Geoengineering consists of significant changes to the Earth's water, land, or atmosphere with the priority of decreasing the planet's global warming and carbon emissions. This specifically is categorized as climate and environmental science which should, and will continue to be thoroughly developed with progressive technology and further education in the future.

There are many possibilities of geoengineering that should be investigated further and seriously considered when preparing for our planet's future. Scientists' creative geoengineering schemes and preparations include concepts such as "seeding vast tracts of the ocean with iron to promote algae growth to absorb carbon, simulating major volcanic eruptions to inject kilotons of sunlight-blocking sulfates into the atmosphere, launching trillions of tiny reflectors into space to reduce incoming sunlight, burying megatons of carbon deep in the ocean, launching fleets of automated vessels to spray saltwater into the atmosphere" among other such creative alternatives for our planet's future.

These possible geoengineering schemes may be extremely beneficial such as by decreasing carbon in our climate and fighting against global warming, while they may also turn out to be more harmful to our planet in the long term perspective. In particular, increasing the carbon intake into the atmosphere by fertilizing the oceans with iron may "create a rise in iron-limited phytoplankton populations, which by dying and sinking would use enough oxygen to create extensive dead zones in the oceans," which would be horribly harmful. In addition, "Global alterations of Earth's natural cycles have too many uncertainties to be viable with our current level of understanding."

Although there are possible hazards going alone with these possible scenarios, research should definitely continue and hopefully become more realistic and productive for benefitting our climate.

I hope this important scientific topic for our environment has been found interesting! Please see the links and articles relevant to geoengineering, which give more detailed analysis about the possible situations and areas of interest.

Sources:

Astrobiology Magazine. FirstGov Astrobiology Network, 8 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.

"Geoengineering: Plan B for the Planet." Today’s Science. Facts On File News Services, Sept. 2009. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.

From Petri Dish to Dinner Plate: In-Vitro Meat

Links:

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/why_in-vitro_meat_is_good_for_you/P2/

http://www.new-harvest.org/faq.htm

The article I found was a Seed Magazine interview with Jason Matheny, the co-founder and director of New Harvest, a company that is striving to develop meat that is grown in a laboratory. The goal of New Harvest is to educate people on the world’s meat addiction and to produce a meat substitute that would help create a solution to the problems associated with the production of meat. The nonprofit company was founded in 2004.

Cultured meat has the potential to completely change the way people live. According to Matheny, worldwide meat consumption will double by the year 2040. He says that meat production currently accounts for an entire fifth of the world’s carbon footprint. Additionally, he points out, meat accounts for many diseases that are transferred through the animals we raise to eat. If this is true, then we need to find ways of producing meat that are not only more humanely produced and safer to eat, but also less polluting to the environment. This is what New Harvest hopes to accomplish through their work.

In-vitro meat is created, according to the New Harvest website, by “taking a number of cells from a farm animal and proliferating them in a nutrient-rich medium. Cells are capable of multiplying so many times in culture that, in theory, a single cell could be used to produce enough meat to feed the global population for a year. After the cells are multiplied, they are attached to a sponge-like ‘scaffold’ and soaked with nutrients. They may also be mechanically stretched to increase their size and protein content. The resulting cells can then be harvested, seasoned, cooked, and consumed as a boneless, processed meat, such as sausage, hamburger, or chicken nuggets.” If researchers were able to discover a way of industrialize this process, the cost of meat could potentially be lowered. However, at the moment cultured meat is only able to occur on a small scale in a laboratory setting under observation from skilled workers. It is not yet commercially available.

Matheny also pointed out the many challenges that New Harvest faces in developing its product. He pointed out that it is extremely difficult to make in-vitro meat appealing because it is hard to get the correct textures and flavor profiles. However, if they were able to make a passable alternative to meat, it would be great for consumers. This meat is not genetically modified in any way, making it healthier. Also, instead of meat causing diseases, it could actually become better for us. Fat content could be closely controlled so, says Matheny, we could be consuming “hamburgers that prevented heart attacks rather than causing them.”

Overall this is a technology that is still being developed but has enormous potential for the future. I encourage you all to follow the links I posted and read the articles because there are a lot of points that I didn’t bring up here that will enhance the class discussion.

Sources:
Billings, Lee. "Why In-Vitro Meat is Good for You." Seed Magazine. Seed Media Group, 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .

New Harvest: Advancing Meat Substitutes. New Harvest, 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .