Category Archives: Medicine and health

The Slow Earthquake in Medicine

In The Patient Will See You Now, Dr. Eric Topol describes a tsunami approaching health care, brought about by the convergence of smart phones, data, and predictive analytics. As the Director of Scripps Institute for Research, Editor in Chief of … Continue reading

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Gawande on Aging, Mortality, and What Matters

Atul Gawande’s father died a few years ago, and his book (Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End) may have been an attempt to come to grips with the experience. He begins with The Death of Ivan Ilyich, … Continue reading

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Grandin, Pinker, Vinge, and more – talks online

Presentations from the Oct 13-14 Singularity Summit are online. I recommend the presentations by Steven Pinker, Temple Grandin, Jaan Tallin, Vernor Vinge, John Wilbanks, Melanie Mitchell, and Linda Avey. Go to the post to see links to each talk, and others at the conference. Continue reading

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The Human Microbiome

We are on the verge of a step forward in our symbiosis with bacteria that will make the discovery and use of antibiotics seem barbaric. It will change the practice of medicine as surely as the discovery of anesthetics, blood types, or the stethoscope. Continue reading

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Bioelectronics and the e-Body

Topics which seemed like science fiction a few years ago (such as integrating devices into the body) are now outlined in respectable 1,000-page textbooks. Research proceeds apace on the details of the possibility of merging human and machine… Continue reading

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The Virtual Patient

“There will be no blood, no need for a scalpel or other medical instruments, and afterwards she will be able to place the organs back in the body, reattach the bones and blood vessels, and put the skin back on.” Continue reading

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Craig Venter, Synthetic Bio, Biomech, and Bugs

Venter may well precipitate world-shaking change through an unshakable belief in oneself and the power to make things happen by force of will. Continue reading

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