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Once associated mostly with IV poles and standard-issue hospital gowns, health-related design has entered a new era with creative and functional products that observe, inform, soothe, and connect. A stuffed animal named Chemo Duck helps children with cancer express their emotions; new digital health records give nurses in Rwanda the tools to provide quality care and improv...
Nanobiophysics draws together the mainstays of physics, such as mechanical forces and electromagnetic fields, with the biochemical and cellular processes at the foundation of medicine. Anita Goel, a pioneer in this emerging platform, helped rocket MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant superbug, to the International Space Station so that scientists can study the influence of micro...
Technology is transforming how we provide medical care, improve diagnostics, share information, and extend the reach of public health. From disposable syringes that deliver a calibrated dose of medicine before self-destructing to 3-D printers that recreate the facial structures of combat-injured veterans, seemingly intractable problems are being met with cutting-edge solut...
The belief that the paralyzed will walk and the deaf will hear is a staple of religion, literature, and myth. Now, technology is actually making that happen. Zeen has designed a battery-free mobility device to combine the best functions of a walker and wheelchair. Wristbands created by Neosensory feed sound vibrations directly from the skin to the brain, improving the abil...
With advances in testing and technology, the world of professional sports is beginning to use data to evaluate athlete health and to predict — and ideally, prevent — injury. Experts equipped with 3D motion capture technology are now essential members of team training staffs. Are these new technologies and recovery interventions increasing player longevity? Will cost-effect...
Research that can generate transformative, high-impact biomedical and health breakthroughs, from the molecular to the societal, is gaining traction as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) gets off the ground. Launched by federal legislation in March 2022, ARPA-H will make pivotal investments to stimulate dynamic health solutions that can reshape millio...
The recent leaps of science—sequencing the human genome, advancing the world-changing technology of CRISPR, deepening knowledge of the brain—owe much to Francis Collins’s brilliant mind and steady hand. Who better, then, to talk about what transformative discoveries come next? Genomics, immunotherapy, precision medicine, new uses for mRNA technology, and other interdiscipl...
Dr. J. Craig Venter, one of the pioneers in human genome sequencing, talks about coming opportunities to use genomics, advanced technology and machine learning to custom-tailor individual care and fundamentally alter the practice of medicine.
Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Not, that is, until the spring of 2015, when biologist Jennifer Doudna called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR — a revolutionary new technology that she helped create — to make heritable changes in human embryos. The cheapes...
Technology is swiftly disrupting all the norms of health care delivery, and more radical change lies ahead. Unmanned aerial vehicles (better known as drones) are delivering supplies; health services are moving out of medical settings and into the community; telemedicine is bringing specialty care to remote areas; and “collective superintelligence” at the intersection of hu...
Dozens of physicians, health consultants and other medical experts have gone on the payroll at Apple and Google to drive research. Amazon’s secret health team – called 1492 – is exploring new platforms for electronic medical records, virtual physician visits, and health apps. Predictive analytics, automated diagnoses, and wearable sensors are other areas of digital opportu...
We often take biology for granted, rarely recognizing the incredible technological feats of an organism as it grows, heals, and self-assembles—sustainably. As our ability to read, write, and design DNA grows, this power of biology is enabling amazing new biotechnologies to impact numerous industries, from everyday products brewed by designed microbes to programmable materi...
Williams, Jordan, James, Brady. They’re among a growing class of the superstar athletes delivering career-best performances well past what's been considered peak age for their sports. As this phenomenon becomes more common, it begs the questions how and why now? How are experience and maturity winning out over inevitable, natural physical decline? Athletes in the 30s and 4...
Excelling as an elite athlete isn’t just about performance — it’s also about not getting hurt. In this session, two Stanford researchers discuss how DNA data can help athletes predict propensity for injury. From genetic tests of 100 NFL linemen and collegiate cross-country runners, the researchers are using DNA sequencing, algorithms, population data sets, and evidence of...
The technology for analyzing the genetic code of animals, including humans, has grown more sophisticated even as its cost has fallen dramatically. Increasingly, we can do a lot more than just gather genomic information – we can also edit it. The ability to splice characteristics into or out of genes has led to malaria-resistant mosquitoes and is being studied as a way to r...
Health consumers are increasingly using wearable technology to track and analyze their behavior, and social media to exchange experiences with their peers. Ready access to electronic health records and countless medical websites, some reliable and some not, add to the buckets of information within their reach. The result is that doctors no longer call every shot when it co...
Will AI bring in robot doctors? Chat GPT: “Yes, these robots can assist in various healthcare tasks, such as diagnosing illnesses, performing surgeries, or providing personalized care to patients.” How will AI be regulated? Chat GPT: “Regulatory approaches may vary between countries, but the overarching goal is to strike a balance between fostering innovation and safeguard...
The past two years have been the hottest ever recorded on Earth. Hundreds of gigatonnes of ice have been lost in Greenland and Antarctica and levels of trapped greenhouse gas have never been so high, with carbon dioxide readings above 410 parts per million. Those vital signs tell a story of a planet in trouble, threatening sea-level rise with disastrous implications for th...
The sequencing of the human genome – a complete map of the body’s three million base pairs – opened a window into disease processes, led to new diagnostic tools and personalized therapies, and heralded an age of medical discovery. A brief documentary produced by Retro Report describes the historic race to unlock the genomic code, the birth of precision medicine, the use of...
When voices rise together in song, dancers tango across the floor, or a painter takes to a canvas, they may be engaging in a hobby, a passion, or a career. Most likely, they aren’t thinking about their brain circuitry or the cascading biochemical responses being sparked by their artistic pursuits. But we now have imaging technology and wearable sensors that can capture tha...