Thread: Science

The relatively new discipline of evolutionary medicine is making strides in the fields of cancer treatment and antibacterial resistance.
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At age 20, Randolph Nesse was puzzled about why we grow old. He couldn't wrap his head around why natural selection had not eliminated ageing altogether. He spent months coming up with theories to explain it, but was unable to solve the riddle. Yet, this idling of his inquiring mind would lay the seeds for a whole new way of thinking about medicine.
Some years later, friends at a local natural history museum pointed Nesse towards the theory that ageing is simply a side effect of the evolutionary pressure that has selected certain genes over others. If a condition only manifests after an organism passes its reproductive peak, then there will be no selective pressure to prevent it from being passed on. As a physician, Nesse realised that while he understood how these forces could shape species, he had no clue how natural selection works inside the human body.
"I learned one half of biology. Nobody had ever talked about the relevance of evolutionary biology [in medicine]," says Nesse. "I immediately started wondering if there were similar explanations for genes that cause disease."




How Darwinism is changing medicine - BBC Future

Honestly A very very cool change to think about Bravo Zulu Randolph Nesse

Where is this found?

• a brand new Toyota Landcruiser 4WD
  
• massive concrete blocks and steel poles from construction work;
  
• a variety of furniture items included tables and chairs;
  
• dozens of shopping trolleys;
  
• small pleasure boats ;
  
• cars and motorbikes
  

Hint is the title. The bottom of Sydney harbour of course.

A surprise or two "distinctive outline of what looks like a Porsche or Audi sports car in 6.5m of water just a few metres from the edge of Pier One at Dawes Point, almost under the Harbour Bridge"

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

I was looking for the depth of the Harbour for a post in alt energy. Appreciate this could be Trivia. I think the use of the “multibeam echo sounder’’ system, valued at $750,000 and 3-D maps of the Harbour floor makes it cool science .

This was interesting. "Wearable sensors provide early detection of progression in Parkinson's disease (medicalxpress.com) Wearable sensors provide early detection of progression in Parkinson's disease

"

I know some smart watches and similar are being used to detect or warn of heart conditions as well. Along with heart rate, My running watch which can also measure swimming, bike riding and golf of you play as I do not dig any more

My watch failed to say do not bother with a 42.2km run yesterday as a calf muscle will blow up at 24Km mark - DOH Note of course reverse of 24 is 42- Spooky

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

This was interesting. "Wearable sensors provide early detection of progression in Parkinson's disease (medicalxpress.com) Wearable sensors provide early detection of progression in Parkinson's disease

"

I know some smart watches and similar are being used to detect or warn of heart conditions as well. Along with heart rate, My running watch which can also measure swimming, bike riding and golf of you play as I do not dig any more

My watch failed to say do not bother with a 42.2km run yesterday as a calf muscle will blow up at 24Km mark - DOH Note of course reverse of 24 is 42- Spooky

Maybe I'm just being paranoid but medical data is the last info I want Apple and Google - and therefore everyone who wants it and can pay - to have. Along with the massive data breach of 23 & me recently leaving millions of people having all their genetic codes, birthdates and heaps of other personal info at the mercy of anyone with the cash to buy it, how long will it be before Life Insurance or Health Insurance companies buy in and deny insurance to people - and more scary, how about future generations being excluded based on data from their parents or grandparents?

Insurance companies already offer discounts to people for allow their wearable data to be collected - of course in the name of 'Being about to assist in keeping you healthy' - That means 'Until we find a medical condition we don't like and can wipe our hands of you before it costs us a fortune'

They desperately want the health and genetic information so they can tailor plans and products to best meet the needs of the client. Does anyone or even the insurers themselves really believe this

If they did this you would only use them for a quote as a benchmark to determine your health and life expectancy. No one would buy the cover as if there was any hint of a future problem the premium would be too high and if it was cheap there was no need for it

This happens in a way at the moment. In commercial decisions I have obtained insurance quotes as a way of obtaining independent evaluation of risks and potential downside costs. How much is premium compared to potential profit? Why have they priced it like that? In conversation you can learn a lot and check off against what you have recorded and see if any gaps

Originally Posted by 3toes

They desperately want the health and genetic information so they can tailor plans and products to best meet the needs of the client. Does anyone or even the insurers themselves really believe this

If they did this you would only use them for a quote as a benchmark to determine your health and life expectancy. No one would buy the cover as if there was any hint of a future problem the premium would be too high and if it was cheap there was no need for it

This happens in a way at the moment. In commercial decisions I have obtained insurance quotes as a way of obtaining independent evaluation of risks and potential downside costs. How much is premium compared to potential profit? Why have they priced it like that? In conversation you can learn a lot and check off against what you have recorded and see if any gaps

Genetic testing is amazing and can be used to assess risk and make choices to help save lives. The Shared online Medical Record system I am NOT a part of is shared by our political types with insurance companies.

I love the idea of fully accessible health records for your health care. "My Health Records" system is not in my view a safe place for the concerns you point out

An amazing Doctor "· Dr Irmgard Irminger-Finger " I know via my bad habits investing has a simple Blood test for Ovarian, Breast, Colon and Lung Cancer which could save millions of lives IF it gets developed commercially. (NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE)

Chatter on Insurance years ago was very concerning! Its may be over blown as early treatment will save significant costs for insurance companies who may other wise be paying for expensive late stage treatments which cost a lot and are not as effective.

Genetic testing is amazing - I agree 100%, but sharing that info with Google, Apple, etc - not amazing. Health records should be private and kept that way IMO.

"No-one likes weeding, but new technology is helping farmers around the world tackle weeds in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way.Deanna Kovar from US farming equipment giant John Deere says that the company's new tractor-pulled weed sprayer can reduce herbicide use by two thirds.


The system, called See & Spray Ultimate, looks like a typical field sprayer, in that two long arms or "booms" stick out either side of the tractor, with spraying nozzles dotted along the underside of each.


What makes this sprayer far more high-tech, is that it is fitted with 36 cameras. These constantly scan the plants in front of them, instantly identifying what is a crop and what is a weed.

Controlled by an artificial intelligence (AI) software system, the connected sprinklers then only spray herbicide onto the individual weeds rather than drenching the entire field.


"Our system is capturing two million pixels per second, so it is seeing and processing a lot," says Ms Kovar, who is vice president of Production and Precision Agriculture Production Systems at John Deere.



To help the software identify the weeds, there are more than 300,000 images on a John Deere database.


The system currently works with three crops - corn, soybean and cotton - and is so far only available in the US." LINK BBC



Not here yet sadly. I wonder if lazer zapping the weeds will be next Hope so