FutureVigil (tm) » trend analysis

Sergey Brin’s Search For a Parkinson’s Cure

Jeffrey Newman — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:58:48 +0000

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/science-as-sear/

This WIRED article, about Sergey Brin’s use of data-mining and social networking for the advancement of medical science is really worth reading for so many reasons. It explores the interface between data mining and medicine; the slowness of present medical research under traditional paradigms and connects social networking to medical research and more. Brin, co-founder of Google is married to a genetic researcher who founded 23andme http:www.23andme.com a unique DNA profiling company which gathers information from millions of volunteers via created social networks. They send out kits and surveys and the DNA and data sent back is entered into a massive databank from which computer data analysis programs are used to find correlations and trends which might help scientists save time in their work. The work, while rudimentary now, opens up enormous potential for understanding the mechanism of action of various disorders and the genetic basis and potential environmental and lifestyle mitigators for individuals. It’s short term benefits might be most useful to translational medicine experts, whose function is to advance medicine from the lab to the patient, speeding the time frame for actual therapeutics. People in this field create bridges from theory to practice and are attuned to the benefits of trend analysis and thinking in non-traditional ways. The data-mining may also be of benefit to basic science and understanding of cell function and growth, which itself should not be diminished as basic science and traditional medical research and translational medicine are all necessary components to disease cure. However, the WIRED article uses aspirin an excellent example in demonstrating how many major advances in medicine are discovered by accident. Invented in the early 20th century, aspirin was mainly a pain reliever and it was used for decades before its benefits for heart attack prevention were discovered by mistake in the 1960’s and early 70’s. Now, it is a key part of the medical arsenal against cardiovascular disease. There are many such examples and Brin’s thought is that by using data-mining for swift analysis of connections and trends in the medical histories, responses to drugs, urine and sputum samples and surveys of hundreds of thousands of volunteers, we can truncate the time within which such discoveries are made. The surface is just being scratched. I have a good friend who is a scientist and researcher with his own lab. I sent him the article and asked his thoughts. Stay tuned.

What happens if political gridlock kills healthcare

Jeffrey Newman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:13:12 +0000

Few have projected the details of what will occur if the current healthcare initiatives are stalemated in Washington. There has been some general talk of costly overruns for Medicare and a significant increase in interest rates as well as a depressed stock market but these hallmarks really don’t mean much. I would like someone to run an extrapolation as to when the costly healthcare system will begin to depress the economy and the details of what specifically will happen with Medicare. This shouldn’t that hard to do for the Office of The General Budget or the Auditor. If The American Public could see the numbers in black and white and if they were presented with a realistic healthcare proposal with the specifics on how it will be paid for–all set forth in understandable detail, I don’t think there would be as much opposition to a plan as here is now. Of course, I could be wrong.

China Dispatch-A desire to know Americans

Jeffrey Newman — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:32:52 +0000

Yesterday, my wife and I were heading to the Shanghai Museum and on the way in a young Chinese woman in her early 20’s and her male friend came over and offered to take our photo. Her friend was a childhood buddy from their hometown a couple of hours a way and they both proceeded ask us questions about America and our interests and our films and books and also told us about themselves. They were so curious and wanting to show off their english (which is excellent), I found them refreshing and a delight to be around. They suggested that instead of seeing the museum, we should come with them to a nearby teahouse, which we did. Three hours later, we left the teahouse after an interesting discussion with them about everything under the sun. The young man was one year out of college and working with his father at his wig factory until he could figure out what he wanted to do. His interests are varied including an avid love for American films, lately Avatar, which he loved but also older films such as Titanic which he saw ten times. His hobbies are singing American songs in a kind of Kareoke experience in the evening with his friends, video games, reading science fiction (which he says is a growing trends in China), traveling to other countries and being with old friends. Both wanted to tell me the respect the Chinese have for Obama and the tough job they know he has. They are hoping for more integration between the Chinese people and Americans and how they feel that Americans would like their culture and history of which they are so proud. I was amazed at their facility with the English language and obvious their love of speaking it. I felt the fool for know so little Mandarin. That afternoon, they were heading fr the circus and afterwards to be with friends. The energy and love for life was so obvious and fun to experience. Now I mention this couple for a reason. First, they engaged us and really wanted to learn from speaking to us. They wanted is to know how the average Chinese citizen wants to learn from Americans and that there is an information void notwithstanding the internet. I felt like they were a kind of window into the future and when I left them felt more optimistic for some reason. China is such a dynamic place–not just the fact of growth and expansion here but a need to learn and grow and yearning for integration with individuals from other parts of the world. I know many of the problems of the Chinese leadership–the human rights violations, lack of rule of law, piracy of intellectual property etc. but all of that seems a glitch in the future of things as it relates to the incredible people i have met here. I now feel a desire to learn the language (my daughter is fluent) in order to better understand the people and their culture here. With al the problems in the world, there are none which cannot be overcome with a unified worldwide convergence of intellect and effort. This can and will occur. I am more convinced than ever before.

Dispatch from China–Many Loved Children

Jeffrey Newman — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:12:39 +0000

I am in the Shanghai airport traveling to Kunming after three glorious days of the Chinese New Year in Shanghai. The world dynamic aside for the time being, the Chinese mothers and fathers and grandparents I see here hold and kiss their children as if they will not see them for many years. They dote on them and talk to them and show them the world in with constant attention that every child should have. Xin Yen Quai Leu, one of the few expressions I have learned (Happy New Year), results in immediate response of smiles and delight from parents and the children themselves. We visit the former home of Sun Yat-Sen, which is in the French Quarter and is now a museum.This Chinese intellectual wrote some advanced books in his time, early 1920’s and set up the Military Government of the Republic of China in Guangzhou. The stately home, with relics and images of this Chinese leader was visited by many when we were there and we were the only Americans. One older Chinese woman came over and tapped me on the arm showing me a framed inscription written by Chairman Mao. She read each letter with glee explaining (translated by my daughter) that Chairman Mao wrote this with her own hand. She wanted me to know. We attended the gardens in Shanghai, which was teeming with people taking time off work to celebrate the new year. The food, cooked in stalls in the open filled the air with a thousands wonderful smells. The children wanted their picture taken with my daughter, who is fluent in their language. Perhaps the mood of the people was joyous for the New Year but I also think there is a lot happening here and that can be felt by watching the people here. I would, of course, know a lot more by learning the language and living here. Another thing–they LOVE basketball here! There are pro teams popping up everywhere and american players and teams visit here a lot. Here is my projection–over time, there will be escalating trade and tourism between China and the US like nothing ever expected. There are so many things in common–despite differences that cannot be ignored.

Top Potential Medical Breakthrough Gamechangers for 2010

Jeffrey Newman — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:53:06 +0000

1. HIV Vaccine: Researchers have deciphered two antibodies produced by some HIV patients which have neutralized many HIV strains. These are far more potents than the four previously discovered and may be specific to the developing world where 95% of the new cases happen. The current focus is on creating a vaccine active ingredient to produce antibodies. 2. Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Oncologists are now prescribing exercise for their patients as it boosts survival and lowers recurrence rates. Brisk walking 3 hours a week lowered breast and colon cancer mortality by 50%. 3. Alzheimer’s treatment: Researchers at West Virginia have developed a test and treatment for Alzheimer’s disease relating to a defectuve ezyme involved in memory function. Low doses of the chemo drug bryostatin reactivated these defective enzymes restoring memory. Human clinical trials are starting this year. 4. Heart Attack Prevention: A prescription drug Lovaza is FDA approved to treat high triglycerides and has 3-4 more EPA and DHA forms of Omega 3 as usually found in fish oils.

THE HACK ATTACK ON GOOGLE-WE SEE THE FUTURE

Jeffrey Newman — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:36:55 +0000

The hackers which penetrated Google’s defenses recently demonstrated a level of sophistication which paints a frightening picture of just how vulnerable the internet is. The hackers used a combination of encryption, stealth programing and found an unknown hole in internet Explorer. A dozen or more pieces of malware and numerous lawyers of encryption allowed the hackers to bore deeply into company networks and hide their presence as stealthy aliens. The hackers stole intellectual property and gained access to the Gmail accounts of human rights activists and the attacks originated from China. The attacks which targeted 34 companies in the technology, financial and defense sectors was dubbed “Operation Aurora” as this was the name the hackers used for their mission and the name was on the computer of one of the hackers. The initial piece of code was shell code encrypted three times and then was activatedt to penetrate. One malicious code opened a remote backdoor to the computer established by an encrypted secret shannel hiding as an SSL connection to avoid detection. This allowed ongoing access to a computer which afforded the hackers entry to other parts of the network in order to search for login credentials and other data.

THE MOBILE DEVICE INVENTION I’D LIKE TO SEE IN 2010

Jeffrey Newman — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:12:26 +0000

There is one invention concerning mobile devices that I’d like to see advanced next year, for the safety of the American public and my sanity. I would estimate that over half of the drivers in America text while driving. This estimate is entirely anecdotal, based on my own observation of accidents, near misses and crazy driving during texting/emailing. It drives me insane (excuse the pun). I realize that the temptation to do so is enormous, given the pace of business and the obsession to stay connected , but the fact of doing it is aburd. I can’t really understand why a device has not been developed to allow a person to respond to an email via voice recognition. I envision it working this way. An email comes in and a voice says to you, “you have an email from Donald Cramer, would you like to respond to it?” “Yes,” you say. “Ok. Donald says, ‘hi. Can we meet at at 2 today?’”
“Sure Donald,” you respond and the device translates this and types a response to Donald via email. Now it is my understanding that technology such as this already exists on the shelf. If it does, not only should this device be embraced, the government should create a tax credit for individuals to use it, as it might prevent people from texting while driving, a phenominon which I am sure is costing thousands of lives and even more injuries now. So all of you inventors and techies, please help to launch this product. I thank you in advance. Jeff

SOCIAL MEDIA TO PREVENT MURDERS AND SUICIDES?

Jeffrey Newman — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:49:57 +0000

This tidbit of creative thinking was found on the site of Jonathan Nguyen, who works in PR andcrises management. He saw a news story about George Sodini, who murdered three and wounded nine others in a Pennsylvania gym before killing himself. Sodini had talked about his plans on his blog, as have many others. Now, there are social media monitoring tools such as Radian6 which can read and listen to conversations on the web, including the blogosphere via an heuristic analysis engine. It is used sometimes to protect brands from disparagement and to guage sentiment on products. The questions raised is whether it could be modified to watch for potential homicidal or suicidal acts? Outstanding lateral thinking Jonathan! Present uses of social media are rudimentary and limited.

SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2010

Jeffrey Newman — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:48:32 +0000

Social media has become the subject of a lot of writing and discussion and its hard for someone not in the field to get a sense of the realistic trends for the coming year in this arena. Here is what I have come up with for social media predictions (probable trends) for 2010; 1) New kinds of searching on the internet will evolve. Instead of going to sites like Google, users will receive customized search results in the context of what they are currently doing (similar to Amazon only more broadly applied). So, if you are researching travel plans, you will be sent links and summaries rirectly related to the topic. If you are researching an illness, you will be sent articles and summaries of studies closely on point, automatically; 2) Social media interaction on mobile devices will skyrocket, especially as tablets come on the market next year; 3) Augmented reality will continue to emerge in the form of applications on mobile phones and tablets which superimpose computer-generated info like instructions or labels or pricing over real world data; 4) Facebook will continue to grow in popularity and will come into greater use as a business networking device like Linkedin, only with more flexibility and less rigidity. In addition, Facebook will become a repository of directory information to find stuff; 5) Twitter will also continue to expand, as will the development of more uses for it including the immediate distribution of critical news and information to users on a highly customized format. Twitter will evolve quickly from its present use as a fun tool to an essential one.

MIT MAKING CLOTHES FOR ABUSED WOMEN

Jeffrey Newman — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:54:38 +0000

Once in a while, an idea so resonates that it is impossible to ignore as its uniqueness and relevance is clear. This is the case, even though the technological bases for the idea may not be that new. Often times, it is a concept which creates a new and valuable use for existing technology. Such is the case with a group of MIT researchers who are working on creating sensor embedded women’s clothing which would record assaults upon them and store the data in a computer. While it would not protect women from abuse, it could help to prove that the abuse occurred. Yoda Patta, a doctoral student in materials engineering born and raised in Indonesia, says she got sick of reading about acid attacks against women and girls in such countries as afghanistan and Pakistan, as reported by Nick Kristoff in The New York Times. Patta recruited hima nd his wife writer Sheryl WuDunn to create a program at MIT to find ways to stop violence against women. Patta believes that the proliferation of the internet in countrie with repressive regimes will spread the word about women’s conditions in order to help rally international opinion. If only they could embed digital cameras in the clothing to catch the perpetrators in the act. Much should be said about this lateral thinking. It is sure the wave of the future as technology in and of itself is devoid and without meaning, until relevance and meaning is recognized by individuals like Yoda Patta at MIT.