A geek at the peak, in a world at the peak
The NYTimes has an interesting article in the opinion section suggesting that Alzheimer’s could be a form of diet-induced diabetes (‘type 3 diabetes’, they call it). It’s far from definitive at this point, but what IS clear is that eating sugars and carbs has more downsides than upsides. Really no upsides, actually, just downsides! But that’s a subject I’ll be covering more in this blog in the coming weeks and months.
In the meantime, you can read more over at the New York Times.
Scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have managed to vastly decrease the time required to analyze DNA samples, by accelerating the process whereby samples are amplified for analysis. This is expected to lead to a 5-10 minute DNA test cycle, which is a huge improvement over the hours or days it takes now.
So how will this affect you? The example in the article at phys.org says it best, so I’ll just quote it here:
Picture this: You’ve brought your sick child to the doctor’s office. After checking her pulse and blood pressure, he takes a nasal or throat swab and inserts it into a mysterious black box. Before the doctor finishes his examination, the black box beeps, indicating that the pathogen that’s making your child sick has been identified.
(via Phys.org)
Imagine a world where tooth decay was a thing of the past, without having to resort to extreme levels of brushing and flossing. We’re close to that point. A new molecule has been discovered that kills the bacteria responsible for causing tooth decay. This could potentially be added to chewing gum, candy, anything really. Human trials are starting soon, and under a best-case scenario, this could be on the market in a little more than a year.
Read more over at smartplanet.com.
The first human genome to be sequenced took about thirteen years, and cost a few billion dollars. A new product from Life Technologies has dramatically improved upon that, offering sequencing of an entire human genome sequence in under a day and at a cost under $1000! The machine itself costs around $150k, so would pay for itself pretty quickly (current costs for sequencing a genome are around $10k+). We’re entering a new era of medical care enabled by information like this, and it’ll be exciting to watch how these technologies are used (such as in preventative care, also with targeting medications).
(via Core77)
Despite numerous scientific studies involving health concerns with the chemical BPA, the FDA announced that they’ll basically be doing nothing about it – business as usual for now, though they’ll keep monitoring it. So, we continue to lag behind the rest of the civilized world when it comes to food safety, but that’s really no surprise. It’s also worth noting that this announcement from the FDA was in response to a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council forty one months ago! Not only is the FDA ignoring this health concern, but they’re dragging their heals and stalling as long as possible (the FDA’s announcement was in response to a lawsuit forcing a response).
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