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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 7:27am

Trusted TV doctors 'deepfaked' to promote health scams on social media

Some of the UK's most recognizable TV doctors are increasingly being "deepfaked" in videos to sell scam products across social media, finds The BMJ recently. 

Trusted names including Hilary Jones, Michael Mosley and Rangan Chatterjee are being used to promote products claiming to fix high BP and diabetes, and to sell hemp gummies.

Deepfaking is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to map a digital likeness of a real-life human being onto a video of a body that isn't theirs. Reliable evidence on how convincing it is can be hard to come by, but one recent study suggests that up to half of all people shown deepfakes talking about scientific subjects cannot distinguish them from authentic videos.

The fraudsters think it's much cheaper to spend their cash on making videos than it is on doing research and coming up with new products and getting them to market in the conventional way.

The slew of questionable content on social media co-opting the likenesses of popular doctors and celebrities is an inevitable consequence of the AI revolution we're currently living through. The rapid democratization of accessible AI tools for voice cloning and avatar generation has transformed the fraud and impersonation landscape.

Feature: Deepfakes and doctors: How people are being fooled by social media scams, The BMJ (2024). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.q1319

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 7:22am

New invention makes vibrations disappear

When everything shakes, precision is usually impossible—everybody who has ever tried to take a photo with shaky hands or make handwritten notes on a bumpy bus journey knows that. With technical precision measurements, even much smaller vibrations are a major problem, for example, with high-performance microscopes or precisely aligned telescope mirrors. Even the smallest vibrations, which are not even perceptible to humans, can render the measurement result unusable.

A new type of vibration damping technology has now been invented by researchers that solves such problems in an unusual way: electropermanent magnets are used. These are magnets that, like ordinary permanent magnets, maintain their magnetism permanently without the need for a power supply, but which are also fitted with a coil so that their magnetization can be changed extremely fast using an electrical pulse. This makes it possible, for example, to actively suppress vibrations in mirrors in large telescopes and thus dramatically increase their performance.

Alexander Pechhacker et al, Integrated Electromagnetic Actuator With Adaptable Zero Power Gravity Compensation, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (2023). DOI: 10.1109/TIE.2023.3288176

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:38am

Lifelong consequences of autoantibodies: Importantly, the study found that once developed, these autoantibodies remained detectable in the blood of individuals for the rest of their lives. People with autoantibodies against type 1 interferons, even when they had developed them as far back as in 2008, were more likely to suffer from severe COVID-19 in 2020.

These autoantibodies have consequences for individuals decades later, leading to a compromised type 1 interferon system and reduced immunity against viruses.

Understanding these risk factors might lead to future diagnostic tests that can identify older individuals who are more prone to developing this deficiency, and therefore help with measures to prevent autoantibodies ever developing. Identifying individuals with autoantibodies against type 1 interferons could also help to prioritize these people for vaccines or antivirals to prevent severe viral infections.

Sonja Fernbach et al, Loss of Tolerance Precedes Triggering and Lifelong Persistence of Pathogenic Type I Interferon Autoantibodies, Journal of Experimental Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1084/jem.20240365

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:36am

Study shows autoantibodies behind lifelong risk of viral infection

A new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that about 2% of the population develop autoantibodies against type 1 interferons, mostly later in life. This makes individuals more susceptible to viral diseases like COVID-19. The study  is based on an analysis of a large collection of historical blood samples.

Virus infections trigger the cells of the immune system to release type 1 interferons. These proteins act as early messengers that warn uninfected cells and tissues that a virus is spreading. This allows cells to prepare themselves so that they are ready to fight the virus when it reaches them.

In individuals with a compromised type 1 interferon system, severe viral infections can occur because the body cannot mount a full defense. Recent research has shown that about 5 to 15% of people who are in hospital with severe COVID-19 or influenza have a deficiency in their type 1 interferon response. This is because their blood contains autoantibodies—antibodies that target a person's own structures—that bind type 1 interferons and stop the messenger from functioning.

analyzed the blood samples for the presence of autoantibodies against type 1 interferons to find out who had developed the autoantibodies, when this occurred, and how long these autoantibodies lasted in the blood.

The analysis revealed that around 2% of individuals produced autoantibodies against type 1 interferons in their lifetime and that this typically occurred between the ages of 60 to 65. This confirms prior studies that reported that the prevalence of autoantibodies against type 1 interferons might increase with age.

Next, by studying clinical data, researchers were also able to understand which factors contributed to the development of autoantibodies against type 1 interferons. The individuals who developed them appeared to be prone to also producing antibodies against other proteins formed by their own bodies. This so-called loss of self-tolerance can occur in some people as they age.

These individuals may produce antibodies against their own type 1 interferons because they are both prone to making autoantibodies and are exposed to high levels of type 1 interferons, for example, because their immune system produces interferons against other infections at the time. 

Part1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:30am

Intensive farming could raise risk of new pandemics, researchers warn

Industrialized farming is often thought to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from animals to humans) because of better control, biosecurity and separation of livestock.

A new study examines the effect of social and economic factors—which are often overlooked in traditional assessments. 

It finds that the effects of intensifying agriculture are at best uncertain and at worst may contribute to EID (emerging infectious disease) risk.

The risks of emergence and transmission depend on multiple factors, including contact between humans and animals, and how we use land.

Livestock farming plays a potentially significant role in those risks, shaping landscapes and providing hosts that can act as the source or amplifiers of emerging pathogens.

While such risks are usually assessed in terms of microbiological, ecological and veterinary sciences, the new study highlights the need to consider social, economic and political factors.

Disease is always more than a matter of pathogen transmission, contact and contagion.

The founding myth in intensive farming is that we separate livestock from wildlife and thereby shut off the risk of diseases passing between them.

"But these farms exist in the real world—so buildings and fences can get damaged, wildlife like rats or wild birds can get in, and workers move around. In short, there will always be accidents.

"Once social, economic and political factors are taken into account, the pandemic risk posed by intensive farming is concerning."

The paper highlights the expansion of intensive farming and the resulting environmental degradation as factors which can raise EID risks.

It also says intensification leads to a "mixed landscape"—with a variety of farming practices and types—which creates the "worst of all possible worlds in terms of EID risk."

On biosecurity, the paper says some farm businesses find the costs "debilitating," while regional variations also have an impact.

The researches say,' we need to reconsider the socio-cultural impacts of intensifying farm animal production on planetary health, environmental sustainability and animal welfare issues.'

Understanding the roles of economy and society in the relative risks of zoonosis emergence from livestock, Royal Society Open Science (2024). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231709. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231709

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 18, 2024 at 6:22am

Smart soil can water and feed itself

A newly engineered type of soil can capture water out of thin air to keep plants hydrated and manage controlled release of fertilizer for a constant supply of nutrients.

Underpinning this exciting smart soil system is a hydrogel material developed by researchers. In experiments, the hydrogel-infused soil led to the growth of larger, healthier plants, compared to regular soil, all while using less water and fertilizer.

This new gel technology can reduce the burden on farmers by decreasing the need for frequent irrigation and fertilization. 

The technology is also versatile enough to be adopted across a wide range of climates, from arid regions to temperate areas.

The research was published recently in ACS Materials Letters

In experiments, plants rooted in the hydrogel soil saw a 138% increase in stem length compared to a control group in regular soil. And the modified soil can achieve approximately 40% water savings, significantly reducing the need for frequent irrigation and ensuring robust crop development. This research builds on previous discoveries involving hydrogels that can pull water from the atmosphere and make farming more efficient.

Jungjoon Park et al, Self-Irrigation and Slow-Release Fertilizer Hydrogels for Sustainable Agriculture, ACS Materials Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.4c01120

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:56am

Low-cost cellphone-based Raman spectrometer system can identify unknown biological molecules within minutes

Imagine knowing what berry or mushroom is safe to eat during a hike or swiftly detecting pathogens in a hospital setting that would traditionally require days to identify.

Identification and detection of drugs, chemicals and biological molecules invisible to the human eye can be made possible through the combined technology of a cellphone camera and a Raman spectrometer—a powerful laser chemical analysis method.

This new invention allows the user to make non-invasive identifications of potentially harmful chemicals or materials in the field, especially in remote areas where laboratory spectrometers cannot be used due to their size and power needs.

This new Raman spectrometer system integrates lenses, a diode laser and a diffraction grating—a small thin square-shaped surface that scatters light for analysis—in combination with a camera from a cellphone to record the Raman spectrum. Peaks in the spectrum provide detailed data about the chemical composition and molecular structure of a substance, depending on their intensities and positions.

To use the device, a cellphone is placed behind the transmission grating with the camera facing the grating, ready to record the Raman spectrum. A laser shoots a beam into a sample of unknown material, such as a bacterium, on a slide. The camera records the spectrum, and when paired with an appropriate cellphone application/database, this handheld instrument can enable rapid materials identification on site.

https://today.tamu.edu/2024/07/16/pocket-sized-invention-revolution...)%20for%20further%20analysis.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:47am

Producing heat energy from captured carbon

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:14am

Researchers found that where apparel was sold is not necessarily where plastic waste leaks into the environment. For apparel originally sold in high-income countries like the United States, Japan and many others, most of the resulting pollution happened in lower-income countries where these pieces of clothing might be sold in the secondary market.

This finding points to a major concern with how people in higher-income countries consume apparel.

Anna Kounina et al, The global apparel industry is a significant yet overlooked source of plastic leakage, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49441-4

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 17, 2024 at 10:13am

Apparel industry leaks millions of tons of plastic into environment each year, study finds

A study has found that waste from the global apparel industry is leaking millions of tons of plastic into the environment each year—an overlooked pollution source which may be getting worse over time.

The findings are detailed in a recent study by researchers, which found that global apparel consumption resulted in over 20 million tons of plastic waste in 2019. Around 40% of that waste may have been improperly managed and become environmental pollution, a process known as "plastic leakage."

Textile waste was divided between two sources; clothing made from synthetic materials like polyester, nylon and acrylic, and clothing made from cotton and other natural fibers. Researchers looked at plastic waste generated across an apparel product's "value chain," which refers to the entire lifecycle of a product—including, for example, not only the piece of apparel itself, but the plastics used to wrap it.

Much of the plastic waste that leaks into the environment comes from clothes that are thrown away, especially synthetic apparel. There is also waste from manufacturing, packaging and even from tire abrasion during transport, as well as microplastics which get pulled into the water when we wash our clothes.

Researchers found that synthetic apparel was by far the largest source of plastic waste. 

As opposed to the end-of-life plastic waste created by discarded synthetic apparel, plastic waste from cotton and other fibers came almost entirely from the plastic used in packaging.

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