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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
In this informative podcast, Joan E. Nichols, Ph.D., professor, and a lead researcher, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, provides an overview of the lung, and her lab's important work developing bioengineered tissue.
The celebrated Ph.D. discusses how she settled into bioengineering for her life's work, and her motivation to study organs. She explains the incredible need for lungs and other organs, and how so many people are waiting for transplants to save their lives. Her lab hopes to be a part of this process, as their work is primarily in the area of developing bioengineered tissues.
Nichols explains why she chooses to research certain areas of science and outlines her interest in the variations within the human immune response to specific microbial pathogens. Her lab studies reaction and response of the lung after certain exposures to various pollutants, as well as respiratory pathogens. In addition, their research includes the study of disease pathogenesis, as well as inflammation, stem cell-based treatments, and more.
By utilizing adult and embryonic stem cells as well as advanced tissue engineering techniques to create human ex-vivo organoids/tissue constructs, they seek to create intricate human model systems to study disease pathogenesis and the complex human responses to pathogens. The Ph.D. explains the structure of the lung, covering topics such as gas exchange and the mechanisms of the lung.
As an Earth observation application engineer at the European Space Agency, Benjamin Koetz spends his time trying to figure out how Earth functions by tracking patterns from space that can't be seen from the ground, monitoring different environmental processes, collecting data regarding human activities, and making sure that information gathered from satellites is conflated into something that's useful for the management of natural resources.
He joins the podcast today to discuss all the details of these activities and more, including the different types of observation techniques they employ, applications for Earth observation data, the advantages of having a global view from space, the environmental trends being observed from space, food security intervention efforts informed by the data they gather, laser observation, and the resolution of satellites.
Tune in for all the details, and search the web for real-time satellite images of Earth from space.
What does dentistry have to do with epigenetics? Dr. Ted Belfor was a practicing dentist for decades before he could answer that question. In fact, when he began talking about epigenetics twenty years, no one even knew what he was talking about. Today, epigenetics is arguably the largest science of the 21st century. Dr. Belfor joins the podcast to discuss what he's learned over the years about the overlap between epigenetics, craniofacial development, and sleep disorders.
While the environment can't change our genes, it can determine how our genes are expressed. Dr. Belfor explains that, due in large part to our diets now consisting of over 60 percent processed foods, we haven't been chewing and swallowing the way we were designed to, and as a result, we aren't fully expressing our genes for facial development. Expression of these genes can be stimulated by oral appliances and breathing exercises that work to tone the airway and enhance the growth of the jaw. When craniofacial development occurs properly and airways are toned, breathing problems such as apnea and upper airway resistance during sleep simply don't exist.
In order to help people combat these problems, Dr. Belfor has created a removable oral appliance called the Homeoblock that imitates nature by putting the force back in our chew and imitating the signaling of the periodontal ligament, which he explains is crucial to proper development. He discusses a variety of other interesting topics, including the differences between sleep apnea and upper airway resistance and why one is actually significantly more detrimental than the other, how proper alignment of the jaw improves homeostatic capacity and the ability for the body to maintain a healthy state, the consequences of mouth breathing, and how to go about getting a Homeoblock for yourself. Tune in and visit http://www.facialdevelopment.com/aboutus.php to learn more.
Giuseppe Loianno, Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department as well as the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, discusses his robotics lab's work.
Loianno is a passionate professor with a deep interest in many types of applied engineering. Loianno runs the Agile Robotics and Perception Lab (ARPL), a lab that is heavily involved in fundamental and applied research as it pertains to robotics autonomy. Their work is primarily focused on the creation of agile autonomous machines that can navigate independently using nothing more than onboard sensors in unstructured, and dynamically altering environments, without GPS or motion capture, etc. The researchers seek to refine and develop further, active machines that can collaborate with humans and with each other, and perform at an optimum level in unknown environments.
Loianno discusses eye-tracking glasses and the control of drones with the eye. He explains the benefits of eye tracking, and how it can make drone use easier and smoother. He states that this technology is non-invasive and exceptionally easy to use. While this technology is early-stage, Loianno is hopeful that new computer vision algorithms will help further their development. As he explains, gesture and voice interaction can also be utilized to better control the drones and improve robotic development.
The applied engineering expert talks about some of their current trials and the new data they are gathering to further technological development. He envisions a complete framework that will incorporate multiple robots for control by a single user, then multiple users. Ultimately, these machines will be able to improve human work, in our environment and even in space, performing advance work that will inform humans about unknown environments, safety issues, and so much more.
Loianno discusses how line of sight control can be switched to camera control when drones are out of range. And he answers specific questions regarding the complexities of line of sight issues. Loianno discusses the necessary training that users will need to control the technology in various environments. As he states, one of the greatest attributes of this tech is the interaction with humans… in that, the robotic drones can perform analyses and relay the information in real time to the human partner, for various tasks.
Just a few decades ago, medicine was an entirely different animal than it is now—one in which exploratory surgeries were undergone more or less without hesitation in order to rule out differential diagnoses, palpation was one of the primary ways to diagnose appendicitis, and microbes were seen only as the enemy, as germs that were bad for us. Today, diagnostic imaging is arguably the fulcrum of medical diagnoses, and a growing body of research is indicating that the microbiome has an influential role in almost every function of our bodies, from growth and development to mate selection and behavior. But how are radiology and microbiota related?
That question is perhaps best answered by Dr. William B. Miller Jr., radiologist, evolutionary biologist, author of The Microcosm Within: Evolution and Extinction in the Hologenome, and lecturer on the emerging science of the hologenome. For him, the point at which he realized that diseases form reliably identifiable patterns on x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT) was the point at which he began to realize that individual organisms should be seen through a lens that encompasses all of the microbes that interact with it.
Dr. Miller is an endless source of interesting information, discussing a range of topics to include the influential role of the microbiome in our daily lives, how infectious diseases produce the same patterns as metastatic cancer on MRI, CT, ultrasound, and x-ray images, repeating patterns in nature, different forms of intelligence, and how to define and understand cellular self-awareness. Press play for the full conversation, visit www.themicrocosmwithin.com to learn more, and find his book on Amazon or in the stores.
Mariano Vázquez, Ph.D., co-founder, and CTO of ELEM Biotech, discusses the many possibilities for testing and advancing treatments by utilizing virtual humans.
Mariano Vázquez, Ph.D., has spent many years as a prominent researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and he has worked in tandem with many multi-disciplinary, international researchers with diverse backgrounds spanning physics, mathematics, computer sciences, and engineering. By activating the most powerful supercomputers on the planet, researchers seek to gather a more sophisticated understanding of nature by developing a computational world for their ongoing research.
Vázquez talks about their work at ELEM Biotech. Their simulations of complex systems such as the human body, open up many doors for further research and testing. Overall the company is immersed in biomedical simulations, cloud, machine learning, the cardiovascular system, and the respiratory system, advanced medical devices, etc. Vázquez explains that while ELEM Biotech is interested in many areas of study and development, they are mostly focused on the cardiovascular system. Their information states… "Imagine a virtual human, not made of flesh and bones, but bits and bytes."
As Vázquez explains, they create virtual humans with the goal of facilitating the testing of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, etc. Ultimately, virtual humans are created in a cloud infrastructure, where pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, etc. can test their products and fine-tune treatments to best-fit patients. In theory, so many devices and systems can be tested, from pacemakers to valve replacements, as well as stents and anti-arrhythmic drugs. Additionally, treatments for asthma, obstructive pulmonary diseases and so much more can be set up for study.
Vázquez talks about the future study they hope to approach. He explains the manner in which they develop their models and the relative complexity. He details how they combine systems to work in coordination. He further elaborates on their desire to link systems in a more advanced way, such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Vázquez explains also, the wonderful possibilities to test devices in relation to male versus female, for as he states a pacemaker, for example, is designed for both male and female, but the hearts are different.
Finally, Vázquez talks about the research and development they expect to delve into in the coming months and years
According to a meta-analysis study in 2015 that considered 226 studies, the practice of oral and breathing exercises lowered subjects' apnea–hypopnea index (an index of the severity of apnea based on how many times and for how long breathing ceases per hour of sleep) by 50%. So, what exactly are oral exercises? It may sound a little odd at first, but Sarah Hornsby is a myofunctional therapist who teaches people how to strengthen their tongue, throat, breathe through their nose, and keep their tongue resting at the roof rather than the bottom of their mouth through a series of exercises she leads via Skype-based appointments, video programs, and YouTube videos. Her goal is to make this knowledge and resource globally accessible to the many people who are unnecessarily suffering or unaware that there is an actual fixable problem underlying their daily fatigue.
"It really is something that actually addresses root causes, and I appreciate that so much because I feel like a lot of what we do in modern medicine and dentistry is just about treating symptoms," says Hornsby. In addition to sleep apnea, headaches, jaw pain, neck pain, teeth grinding, and chronic sinus issues are just a few of the symptoms associated with oral myofunctional and breathing problems. Ultimately, a person's overall health and well-being can be severely compromised by something that's treatable without the use of pills or bothersome devices.
Hornsby makes for an insightful and eye-opening conversation that covers everything from craniofacial development and growth in children (and how it can be altered by the position of the tongue in the mouth), why snoring shouldn't be brushed off as simply a nuisance, the importance of the respiratory disturbance index in evaluating the seriousness of a person's sleep apnea, and what an initial consultation with her would look like.
Press play to hear the full conversation, find her videos on YouTube, and visit https://myfaceology.com/ to learn more.
About two years ago, a group of highly talented senior researchers from a startup named Unanimous approached Dr. Matthew Lungren, assistant professor of pediatric radiology at Stanford University Medical Center, with an inquiry: in what ways, if any, could technology designed to harness the power of collective human intelligence benefit the world of radiology or medicine in general? A collaboration between these researchers and Dr. Lungren commenced soon after, around the time when Stanford researchers released data showing that the detection of pneumonia on x-ray could be accomplished by AI with the same level of accuracy as human radiologists. The investigative question then became whether or not collective human intelligence could outperform the independent power of both AI and human radiologists.
So, what exactly is collective or 'swarm' intelligence and how is it better than just having a conversation with colleagues about a particular problem or decision? Dr. Lungren describes it like this: "If you can imagine a puck on ice that can be slid around, and each person has a magnetic force that they can apply to that puck to pull it toward the answer they believe is correct…eventually a decision is reached…and it's fascinating to see how accurate they end up being as a group." Unlike sitting around a table with your colleagues and eventually coming to a conclusion, no one knows the identity of anyone else in the swarm, which immediately eliminates the hierarchical and sociological influences of decision-making processes that involve perceived leaders or people of power; even if subtle, the dynamics that emerge from such heterogeneous groups often play influential roles on the final decisions that are made. Swarm intelligence removes that influence, and replaces it with distributed anonymity in decision making.
The possible use cases of this technology extend far beyond the world of radiology and hold promise for a future filled with better, more accurate diagnoses and decision making in medicine, but that's not to say it's not without its challenges and drawbacks. Press play to hear the full conversation, learn more by visiting the web page of the ones who started it all (unanimous.ai) and feel free to email your questions to Dr. Lungren at mlungren@stanford.edu.
In Canada, 27 people are going to die today because of an adverse drug reaction, and in the US, ten times that number will die for the same reason. But with the right patient-specific prescribing software and enough time for thorough patient-doctor conversations prior to choosing or prescribing a new medication, many of these deaths can be prevented.
GenXys is a company that's developed software that considers every relevant aspect of an individual's health history, current health status, and current drug list before providing a comprehensive list of the drugs that could be used to treat a particular condition, along with information about risk factors, warnings, adverse drug interactions, efficacy, and more. Current drug interaction software programs are designed to send alerts only after a drug has been chosen, thereby acting as more of an afterthought warning for what's already been decided. GenXys software delivers these warnings to clinicians before they even sit down for the discussion with their patients.
"In the end, what we're trying to do is give the physician and the patient all the drug options and the information about those drugs options precisely and very, very quickly…you want to have the time in the consultation focused on the discussion, not on the software, so our aim is to make the software almost in the background, so you don't notice it as the clinician or as the patient," says Dr. Martin Dawes, MD, Co-Founder, and Chief Scientific Officer of GenXys. He brings a wealth of information to the conversation, discussing the current state of affairs in drug development and approval, the current process of deciding upon and prescribing drugs, and the importance of changing the status quo in these areas. Press play for the full conversation, and visit https://www.genxys.com/content/ to learn more.
Bacteria, yeast, and viruses inhabit our mouths, but the role they play in the overall health of our bodies is just beginning to be explored. Currently, factors contributing to sick mouths are being cross-referenced and studied with up to 57 systemic diseases—diseases that would otherwise seem unrelated to oral health, such as colorectal cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pancreatic cancer, chronic high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and even dementia.
Dr. Doug Thompson runs his own practice that's based around the mouth-body connection and aptly named Integrative Oral Medicine. "You can't separate the mouth from the body; it's absolutely integrated, and as dentists become more and more aware, they're helping patients become a lot healthier," he says. He joins the podcast to discuss the specifics of how poor oral health contributes to and indicates the presence of other diseases, and how medical doctors and dentists can collaborate to identify these connections and improve—and sometimes even save—the lives of their patients.
Dr. Thompson is also the founder of the Wellness Dentistry Network, which he uses as a platform to teach dentists how to provide better care to their patients by embracing a more holistic view of oral health and to provide resources on best practices and new methodologies in the field.
Visit https://ioralmed.com/ and https://www.wellnessdentistrynetwork.com/ to learn more.
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