Category: Humans

Tardigrades: Nature’s Resilient Heroes

In the microscopic world, there exists a creature that defies the odds—a true survivor. Meet the Tardigrade, a tiny, seemingly unremarkable animal that possesses extraordinary resilience. These minuscule beings can withstand extreme conditions that would spell doom for most other organisms. But what makes Tardigrades so tough, and how might their secrets benefit us humans?

The Unassuming Water Bear

Discovery: Tardigrades were first described by German naturalist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. Their peculiar gait earned them the nickname “little water bears.”

Appearance: Imagine a cross between a woodlouse and a caterpillar, shrunken down to microscopic proportions.

Ubiquity: You can find Tardigrades in damp environments—wet moss, lichen, or even a patch of dew-kissed grass.

Survival Superpowers

Extreme Temperatures: Tardigrades can endure being frozen to a degree above absolute zero (that’s -272°C or -458°F). Conversely, they can withstand boiling temperatures.

Vacuum of Space: Scientists have flown Tardigrades through the vacuum of space. These hardy travelers survived the harsh cosmic environment.

Dehydration Resistance: When water is scarce, Tardigrades enter a cryptobiotic state—a sort of suspended animation. They can lose up to 99% of their body water and still revive when conditions improve.

Radiation Tolerance: Tardigrades shrug off ionizing radiation that would harm most living organisms.

Mysterious Protein Shield: A protein called Dsup (damage suppressor) found only in Tardigrades binds to DNA, potentially shielding it from reactive oxygen. Could this protein hold the key to human survival in space?

Applications for Humans

Space Colonization: Emulating Tardigrades could help us colonize outer space. Their resilience might protect astronauts from radiation and extreme conditions.

Medicine and Biotechnology: Scientists hope to unlock Tardigrade secrets to create new medicines or enhance human cell toughness. Imagine fortifying our cells against stress, disease, or environmental challenges.

Conclusion

Tardigrades, the unassuming water bears, teach us resilience. As we gaze at the stars, we might find inspiration in these tiny survivors. Perhaps one day, their secrets will help us thrive beyond our blue planet.

Remember, even in our vulnerability, we carry the spirit of the Tardigrade—a tenacity to endure, adapt, and explore the unknown.

Microplastics Inside Humans: A Silent Threat to Our Arteries

In the quiet corridors of our circulatory system, an insidious invader lurks: microplastics. These minuscule particles, invisible to the naked eye, have found their way into our bodies, embedding themselves within the very arteries that sustain us. Recent research has unveiled a disturbing connection between these synthetic intruders and cardiovascular health, raising alarm among scientists and medical professionals alike.

The Unseen Culprits

Microplastics, fragments of plastic less than a thousandth of a millimeter in size, are ubiquitous in our environment. From remote corners of Antarctica to bustling city streets, they pervade the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we consume. But it’s their presence within our bodies that has become a cause for concern.

Researchers from the University of Campania in Naples delved into the depths of human arteries, examining fatty plaques extracted from patients with arterial disease. Their findings were startling: more than half of these plaques harbored deposits contaminated with tiny particles of polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride (PVC)—common plastics used in everyday products. These microplastics had infiltrated the very vessels responsible for supplying blood to every part of our body.

The Silent Saboteurs

What do these microscopic invaders mean for our health? The implications are grave. Individuals with plaques containing microplastics or nanoplastics faced a nearly fivefold increased risk of suffering a stroke, heart attack, or death from any cause over the subsequent 34 months. While this correlation doesn’t definitively prove causation, animal studies and cell research suggest that these plastic particles may indeed play a role in cardiovascular damage.

Dr. Raffaele Marfella, lead author of the study, emphasizes the urgency of addressing plastic pollution. “Our data will dramatically impact cardiovascular health if confirmed,” he warns. “We are defenseless against plastic pollution.” Plastic particles, once introduced into our bodies, weave themselves into the fabric of our arteries, triggering inflammation and potentially compromising blood flow. The consequences are dire: strokes, heart attacks, and premature death.

A Global Challenge

Plastic pollution knows no borders. Even if we were to miraculously reduce plastic production overnight, the cleanup’s health benefits would take years to manifest. Our best defense lies in prevention—curbing plastic use, recycling conscientiously, and advocating for sustainable alternatives. Plastic’s omnipresence demands collective action, from policymakers to individuals.

As we sip from plastic water bottles, unwrap convenience foods, and discard single-use containers, we unwittingly contribute to this silent crisis. It’s time to recognize that the health of our arteries is intricately linked to the fate of our planet. Let us heed the warning signs, for within our veins, microplastics weave a tale of danger—one that calls for immediate action.

In the battle against these unseen saboteurs, our greatest weapon lies not in surgical instruments or pharmaceuticals, but in our choices. Let us choose wisely—for our hearts, our arteries, and the fragile world we inhabit.

How AI is helping people cope with the loss of their loved ones

Losing a loved one is one of the most painful experiences that anyone can go through. The grief and longing can last for years, and sometimes it feels like there is no closure or comfort. But what if you could still talk to your deceased relative, hear their voice, and see their face? Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), this is becoming a reality for some people.

AI is a broad term that refers to any technology that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing images, and generating content. In recent years, AI has been used to create realistic and interactive avatars of people who have passed away, using a combination of tools such as chatbots, image generators, and speech synthesizers.

One of the companies that offers this service is HereAfter AI, a California-based startup that creates “Life Story Avatars” of the deceased. The process involves interviewing the person while they are still alive, or their family and friends after they die, and recording their life stories and memories. Then, using a chatbot powered by ChatGPT, an AI model that can generate natural and coherent conversations, the company creates a digital replica of the person that can answer questions and chat with the users. The avatar can also speak in the recorded voice of the person, and show their face using an image generator called Midjourney.

The company’s goal is to let the living communicate with the dead, and preserve their legacy and memory. According to the company’s website, the Life Story Avatar can help users “reconnect with their loved ones, learn from their wisdom, and celebrate their lives”. The company claims that the technology can provide comfort and closure to the grieving, and help them cope with their loss.

Another example of using AI to recreate the deceased is Deep Nostalgia, a tool developed by MyHeritage, an online genealogy platform. The tool allows users to animate old family photos, and make them move and smile. The tool uses a deep learning algorithm called DeepFaceLab, which can manipulate facial expressions and movements. The tool is intended to bring old photos to life, and make them more engaging and emotional.

The tool has been widely popular, with millions of users uploading their photos and sharing the results on social media. Some users have used the tool to animate photos of their dead relatives, and see them in a new light. According to the company’s blog, the tool can help users “experience your family history like never before”.

However, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of using AI to create versions of their dead relatives. Some critics argue that the technology is unethical, creepy, or disrespectful to the dead. They also warn that the technology could have negative psychological effects on the users, such as prolonging their grief, creating false memories, or losing touch with reality. They also question the accuracy and authenticity of the AI-generated avatars, and whether they truly represent the personality and identity of the deceased.

Moreover, some people may not have given their consent to be recreated by AI, or may not have been aware of the implications of doing so. This raises ethical and legal issues, such as who owns the data and the rights to the digital replicas, and how they can be used or abused by others.

Therefore, using AI to create versions of their dead relatives is a controversial and complex topic, that involves both technological and human factors. While some people may find it helpful and healing, others may find it disturbing and harmful. Ultimately, it depends on the individual’s preferences, beliefs, and values, and how they choose to use the technology. As AI becomes more advanced and accessible, it is important to be aware of the benefits and risks of using it, and to respect the wishes and dignity of the dead and the living.

Smoking and Brain Damage

It’s long been known that the effects of smoking can be very harmful to your health. People who smoke cigarettes are at a higher risk of developing cancers, particularly lung cancer, but now scientists have also added dementia and Alzheimer’s disease to the long list of ailments.

“It is known that there are associations between smoking behavior and lower total brain volume and gray and white matter volumes,” reports the study in the Biological Psychiatry journal. “However, a significant question remains about whether these associations represent predisposing features for the risk of developing cigarette smoking or are consequences of cigarette smoking.”

As a result of analyzing data on brain scans and genetic risk factors they concluded that daily smoking led to smaller brains, and that the decrease in brain matter loss is directly related to the volume of smoking – i.e. heavy smokers had greater brain matter loss. And worse still – the more years someone smokes the more brain volume is lost forever.

“You can’t undo the damage that has already been done, but you can avoid causing further damage,” said Yoonhoo Chang, one of the authors of the study. “Smoking is a modifiable risk factor. There’s one thing you can change to stop aging your brain and putting yourself at increased risk of dementia, and that’s to quit smoking.”

When you add in the fact that brains naturally shrink over time, a smoker’s brain prematurely ages, increasing the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. After looking at the data, the researchers of the paper estimate that a massive 14% of all global Alzheimer’s cases could be caused by cigarette smoking.

This research supports the evidence by a group of geneticists in Denmark’s Aarhus University who found clear data that smoking actually lead to mental disorders. What had been unclear up to then was whether smoking caused the mental illness or whether people smoked because they already had a mental illness.

However, the Danish researchers also suggested an additional piece of information. Most of the smokers they looked at carried a “smoking-related gene” which seems to make certain people more predisposed to smoking, who then also develop mental illness. Meaning, some people are genetically more likely to smoke than others.

“The people in the data set who carried the smoking-related genes but did not smoke were less likely to develop mental disorders compared to those who carried the genes and smoked. Because the genetic variants also seem to be linked with the risk of mental illness, this used to be a bit blurry. But in this study, we demonstrate that it’s probable that the risk of starting to smoke causes the risk of developing mental disorders to increase due to the ‘smoking-related genes.’”

Whatever the reason to start smoking, there are many more reasons to stop smoking as soon as possible.

Humanoid Robot Factory

A factory that aims to create 10,000 robots per year that can walk and work for companies like Amazon will soon be opening in the Pacific Northwest. Agility Robotics plans to move from its current factory in Oregon to a new, much larger, plant in Salem. Dubbed the “RoboFab” plant, Agility Robotics will become one of the largest producers of robotics in the United States.

“We’ve placed a very high priority on just getting robots out there as fast as possible,” Agility Robotics CEO Damion Shelton explained. “Our big plan is that we want to get to general-purpose humanoids as soon as we can.”

Amazon is currently testing Agility Robotics “Digit” model in its factories. Agility is part of the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and has been developing Digit for several years. Digit is a human-centric, multi purpose robot created for logistics work. It can handle items and is similar in size to its human colleagues. Initially its role will be to complete the monotonous and highly repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes, and not (currently) to replace the Amazon workforce.

“Digit’s size and shape are well-suited for buildings that are designed for humans, and we believe that there is a big opportunity to scale a mobile manipulator solution,” said Emily Vetterick, Amazon Director of Engineering. “Collaborative robotics solutions like Digit support workplace safety and help Amazon deliver to customers faster, while creating new opportunities and career paths for our employees.”

To date, Agility has only produced 100 robots, but the move to the new RoboFab plant will enable the company to fill the growing backlog for Digit and scale up production dramatically.

Where this will leave human workers as the development of humanoids increases, we don’t know, although Amazon has attempted to comfort workers by claiming that the 750,000 robots it uses, generated 700 new jobs for humans.

On the other side of the world China is also encouraging its private sector to rapidly increase facilities and output of humanoid robots to become the world leader by 2027. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the following statement asking the manufacturing sector to “establish a humanoid robot innovation system, make breakthroughs in several key technologies and ensure the safe and effective supply of core components by 2025, and to become the global leader in the tech by 2027.”

In addition it requested development of the “brain,” “cerebellum,” and “limbs” of humanoid robots aided by Artificial Intelligence capabilities, that could be used in “harsh” or dangerous conditions, not just as support in factories.

The mass production of humanoids is bringing the age of the robot closer, and as their uses become more obvious in areas outside of the factory, could the human race eventually become unemployed? Could it become threatened by a humanoid military, particularly if AI is built into it?

Leprosy: The Return

When you mention the medical condition Leprosy your mind will naturally think back in time to a period in history when living conditions were poor and life expectancy was limited. Leprosy is a bacterial infection than damages nerves, lungs, skin and eyes, and is well known by the dramatic loss of fingers, arms or legs through uncontrolled infection and wounds. Leprosy still occurs globally, with India accounting for more than half of the diagnosed cases. In some areas of India, China, Thailand, and parts of Africa, Leper colonies are still used to restrict movement and contain Leprosy. Fortunately most people are cured of Leprosy today through drug therapy, and interestingly there are also groups of people who are genetically less likely to contract the infection even if exposed to it.

The social spread and mortality was greatest during the Middle Ages, resulting in segregation and leper asylums. Even as recent as 1983 the Indian government introduced the National Leprosy Elimination Programme to tackle the problem. Until 2019, an Indian could even petition for divorce based on a spouse’s diagnosis.

The last place you might expect to hear of Leprosy cases surging is in Florida. Leprosy has now been classed as Endemic in the state, meaning it’s consistently present but limited to that specific area, just like Malaria is. Florida now accounts for 81% of all Leprosy cases in the US.

“Several cases in central Florida demonstrate no clear evidence of zoonotic exposure or traditionally known risk factors,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote in their report, adding that data suggests that “leprosy has become an endemic disease process in Florida.”

The south east region of America has seen the number of cases double over the last decade, and according to the CDC it appears that people are not catching the bacterial infection through the normal routes of exposure to disease carrying animals or travelers. Conclusions from the CDC seem to suggest that the cases they’ve looked into tend to be occurring in patients who are spending long periods of time outdoors and think there may be a link to “environmental reservoirs” as a potential source of the bacteria, which can be found in soil, water and vegetation.

But why now? Could the increasing global temperatures or the reintroduction of bacteria once frozen in the thawing Siberian permafrost, be contributing factors?