“Telescope design, whether for space or land-based, manufacture, launch and maintenance, to say nothing of the scientists and engineers involved, are all very expensive,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“If sub-systems in the nervous system can be created and connected with each other in meaningful ways, could a brain be created from its constituent systems?” writes Dr. William Brown.
“It sounds great to treat as early as possible, but the drug had better be not only effective, but safe and free from troublesome side effects in patients who are clinically well,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“The window for successful treatment of neurodegenerative diseases is usually well before symptoms develop, and perhaps explains why treatments employed when the first symptoms develop may be too late to prevent progression of the disease,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“Some visionaries imagine that tiny devices might be adopted for treating cancer and vascular disease,” writes Dr. William Brown. “That’s forward-thinking very much in line with Feynman’s vision for what was possible in 1984.”
“Despite so much muscle, compression of the nerve can still cause symptoms. For example, the nerve may be compressed within the sciatic notch by an enlarged piriformis muscle through which the nerve passes on its way through the notch,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“Evidence that the spinal cord is compressed is based on weakness in what’s often referred to as a ‘long-track’ distribution,” writes Dr. William Brown. “Some patients report that they feel an electric shock sensation extending from their neck and often into their trunk legs when they flex their neck, cough or step down hard on something.”
For those in the later stages of life dealing with degenerative changes, “sorting out which clinical, radiological and electrodiagnostic features best explain the symptoms can be very challenging,” writes Dr. William Brown, “and the reason why surgery to relieve symptoms related to degenerative disease so often fails to relieve symptoms.”
“Interfering with signalling in the peripheral and central nervous systems has serious functional consequences, the effects of which may be masked by the capacity of surviving nerve fibres and nerve cells to carry the load — up to a point,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“Looking back at the roadmap to modern humans, the evidence suggests that we are but a way station to other species in the future and as susceptible to extinction as any other hominin before us,” writes Dr. Williams Brown. “In short, if there is a God, that God lets life play out with little interference.”
“No other species, except probably the neanderthals, dwelt on the hereafter and some version of immortality in their creation stories,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“The hype surrounding AI in the last two years may have been over the top, but the future of life as we know it will become increasingly dependent on AI,” writes Dr. William Brown.
Google’s GenCast, introduced at the end of 2024, is a program designed to accurately predict weather forecast for 15 days — “a far more difficult task than 10 days,” writes Dr. William Brown, explaining how the program works and its implications for the future.
The possible transmission of H5N1, also known as bird flu, into the human population, and then from human to human, “would put us a risk for a second pandemic in less than a decade, and this time, the political climate has changed and might hobble our response to a possible pandemic,” writes Dr. Brown.
“Like the flu, COVID is now embedded in the population. That means we can expect continuing mutant versions to emerge, including more lethal versions,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“Heisenberg was right in his day — there were no methods for ‘seeing’ atoms, never mind, electrons. But these days the first fussy pictures of atoms have been seen and electrons tracked,” writes Dr. William Brown, covering two scientific objects of recent fascination for him: A giant red star and a photon of light.
“We created AI and now AI helps us understand ourselves, our world and our universe. That’s why AI, biology and physics have so much in common,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“In the sciences where teamwork often makes the difference between success and failure, Brenner and Bertozzi stand out,” writes Dr. William Brown.
“Einstein was a brilliant theorist, bold in his thinking, relentless and determined,” writes Dr. William Brown. “But he could be stubborn to the point of failing to recognize inconvenient facts derived from his own studies.”
In this week’s column from Dr. Brown, he traces the evolution of computer technology’s use in the field of scientific research, from its earlier, more elementary uses in the late 20th century, to the unfolding possibilities of today’s AI machine learning.
“Nobel committees don’t always get things right, but this time they made a spectacular, if controversial, choice,” writes Dr. Brown of this fall’s Nobel Prize wins in physics and chemistry.
“The formation of stars, galaxies and the natural elements combines the dominant themes of physics in the first half of the 20th century: General relativity … and quantum physics,” writes Dr. William Brown.
Gene editing once held “the promise of fixing mutant genes responsible for the mutant proteins that cause hundreds of other protein-related diseases,” writes Dr. Brown. “Unfortunately, transforming theory into practice is difficult.”
“With some exceptions, progress in science is usually incremental and biology, especially biochemistry,” writes Dr. Brown, analyzing how our understanding of the science behind DNA has evolved — while some central questions remain.
“Immigrants need safety and opportunity, and Western countries need their talents and energy to secure the country. It’s that simple,” writes Dr. William Brown.
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