Week of April 3, 2023
After six days (and one missed nephrology conference), I am COVID-negative. I am grateful the symptoms were mild. But even mild illness can be concerning, and at 2 AM, my understanding of physiology and clinical data is a double-edged sword. COVID-induced poor sleep combined with middle-of-the-night anxiety (fueled by the reading that goes into this writing) yields curious behaviors. Some people might meditate. I found comfort in simultaneously using two pulse oximeters (one on each index finger) even though I wasn't short of breath. One can never have too much data (right)? And I am happy to confidently report that, for now, both of my index fingers have equal and excellent blood flow.
I have since found an entire industry of coping with 2 AM catastrophe thought spirals. I note that none of these resources mention dual pulse oximeter use.
---
N.Y. Times Tracker
Case rates, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths are still in decline. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.htm
But the lagging data is not, I believe, telling the whole story. I found a U.S. national-level wastewater monitoring website. Wastewater monitoring is a LEADING indicator. The rising viral concentrations comport with anecdotal data I am hearing.
------
Data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial of an oral Galectin inhibitor (ProLectin-M) demonstrated a more rapid clearing of coronavirus and resolved most symptoms compared to placebo. This class of medications prevents viral re-entry into cells. A chewable pill for mild to moderate COVID looks promisingThe trial only included 34 participants (so more data is needed), but we could have another rapidly working oral therapy coming.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/4/731
Some interesting commentary about this class of drugs.
https://twitter.com/enemyinastate/status/1642631768451825665
More on the sherpabody protein-based COVID nasal spray from Finland.
https://scitechdaily.com/game-changer-nasal-spray-a-universal-shield-against-all-covid-19-variants/
I will sneak in a "Clean Air in Classrooms" infographic here:
https://twitter.com/joeyfox85/status/1640521963880759296/photo/1
from
https://twitter.com/joeyfox85/status/1640521963880759296?s=20
Articles with this theme would have inspired better vaccination rates a few years back, "COVID Can Cause Severe Testicular Damage – Possible Low Sex Drive and Infertility." Though the study is of hamsters, the headlines are provocative, and physiology is likely applicable to other mammals.
Coronavirus (along with other viruses) impeded fundamental immune system cell interactions that protect against fungal infections. These data MAY explain some of the reports of increased fungal infections in the last year or so. Two takeaways: 1) Yet another reason to avoid COVID and 2) the pandemic continues to yield a fantastic array of new insights into how the immune system works.
Medical Trends and Technology
Two articles from the world of neuroscience:
Though this is from a while ago, I recently found a video of Pager, a rhesus monkey, training and playing pong via a Neuralink Bluetooth brain implant.
https://twitter.com/TheRundownAI/status/1641140978030374913
After the video was released, a paralyzed man with an older brain implant attempted to challenge Pager to a brain-interfaced Pong tournament.
Sahil Bloom, an investor and someone who seems famous for being famous, does an excellent job covering the brain activity of people in back-to-back meetings all day. Those 5-10 minute breaks are essential for stress reduction.
https://twitter.com/SahilBloom/status/1641438335469240320?s=20
Microsoft's Human Factors lab collected these data from 14 people wearing EEG equipment working remotely in March 2021.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/brain-research
Infographics
What the names of countries mean when translated into English
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/literal-translation-countries.html
From
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-literal-translation-of-every-countrys-name/
Things I learned this week
Plants communicate with ultrasonic clicking noises when dehydrated or damaged. This Nature article includes the sounds of "stressed" plants "crying."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00890-9
discussion
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1641714495310397440
I may be missing many conversations - dogs with talking buttons, AI-translated whale and dolphin chatter, and now ultrasonic clicking plants.
If you have not seen the A.I.-rendered images from MidJourney, you are missing some fantastic art. A series of rendered "historical selfies" introduced me to the oddity of smiling in photographs. Smiling in pictures is an American cultural invention
https://medium.com/@socialcreature/ai-and-the-american-smile-76d23a0fbfaf
More on the new phenomenon of historical selfies:
And, thanks to the influx of realistic fake images of famous leaders and politicians, MidJourney has stopped free trials. Understanding when an image or video is actual vs. A.I. generated will get harder and harder.
Living with A.I.
The ChatGPT prompt cheat sheet
https://twitter.com/hasantoxr/status/1642079210201137155?s=42&t=cHtDhpWgAdi0UhIayqsoag
Famous tech folks are calling for a 6-month moratorium on further A.I. development - to allow for a broader consideration of ethical and moral issues.
https://twitter.com/thealexbanks/status/1641413715307429889
Bill Gates shared a very thoughtful blog post on A.I. that is worth reading
https://www.gatesnotes.com/The-Age-of-AI-Has-Begun
A.I. art of the week
"In the style of Van Gogh, a painting of a computer programmer with glasses and an a monkey playing ping pong with radio waves coming out their heads."
https://labs.openai.com/s/UfaHcl27MJXtJPpZMKmHwblb
Clean hands and sharp minds,
Adam
Comments
Post a Comment