Archive for August, 2010

NIH PANEL: NO PREVENTION OR CURE FOR ALZHEIMERS YET

Posted on August 29, 2010 by

An article in the NYTimes highlights the conclusions of a panel of distinguished scientists appointed by The National Institute of Health that no evidence that anything exists to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/health/research/29prevent.html. For several months, I have been reporting here on Alzheimer’s research, partricularly new hypotheses on its cause and the more than hundred […]

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ALZHEIMER’S: PATTERNS IN THE DATA, ISLANDS IN THE STREAM

Posted on August 28, 2010 by

A friend pointed out a front page article in the New York Times today (Aug 13, 2010) about an unusual collabortive worldwide project concerning the study of Alzheimer’s disease, tto find its biomarkers for early detection. www.nytimes.com. It shares data gained from the use of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scans of early Alzheimer’s disease patients […]

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DIASPORA: The Open Source Anti Facebook Launches Sept 15

Posted on August 27, 2010 by

Diaspora, the open source social network and Facebook challenger launches September 15. Diaspora will allow users to download its software package and install it on their own site or web hosting service. Those who are interested can host their own Diaspora site allowing you to control all of your own social networking on your own […]

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How NUMERATE, One Machine Learning Company Designs Drugs

Posted on August 25, 2010 by

The company, Numerate Inc. applies algorithms ro create what it says are accurate predictions through developing ways to address key issues inherent in biological data. What this means exactly I don’t know and the company doesn’t say as it is proprietary. However, information from the patents suggest that the company has created a ranking system […]

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Mobile Apps for Personal Health Including Genomic Chips Coming

Posted on August 21, 2010 by

Soon, individuals will have mobile applications for their I-Phone or I-Pad which will give them genetic information they can use to stay healthy, fight disease and prevent disease. One application will hold your genome information right in your cell phone for access by your physician. This is expected to help physicians to provide more customized […]

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Data Mining Human Behavior at MIT

Posted on August 12, 2010 by

MIT researchers are using data mining and large populations of people to study human behavior and recently won Pentagon challenge and $40,000 prize as the first group to report the locations of ten red weather balloons set aloft from secret locations. Thousands of groups signed up for the contest but the winning group lead by […]

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Predictive Modeling Warns Drivers 1 Hour Before Jams

Posted on August 9, 2010 by

IBM is about to deploy a system that will predict traffic flow up to an hour before it occurs, giving travelers ample time to avoid trouble. In pilot tests in Singapore, the forecasts across 500 urban locations accurately predicted traffic colume 85 to 93 % if the time. The core of the product is predictive […]

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Why is House M.D. such a popular TV show?

Posted on August 8, 2010 by

According to various TV rating services, the show HOUSE  M.D. is the top rated television show. Why? First, I want to disclaim that I do like this show myself, so I may not be totally objective here. First, I think viewers are attracted to the unique personality of the main character who is antisocial, arrogant, […]

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Web Decision Making-Hunch.com and Caterina Fake (Flickr)

Posted on August 8, 2010 by

After exploring some recent efforts at data mining in medicine in this blog, I yeared for more info about the use of data mining in social media generally. This isn’t easy to come by if you are not in this arena. I did find some relevant writings on a fairly new site called Hunch and its co-founder Caterina Fake, who […]

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Vitamin increases fertility threefold: Experts

Posted on August 8, 2010 by

DHEA, a naturally occuring hormone secreted by the body’s adrenal gland, when given in supplement form increases a woman’s chance for conception by 23%, according to researchers in a controlled study. Fertility physicians now recommend DHEA supplements for women trying to get pregant.

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