Tag: medicine

There are greater inventions than the Internet or AI

What is the greatest invention since the 19th century? If you’re someone like Om Malik, you might say the Internet. Others might say the personal computer, or computers. AI might be the choice of others.

While these are all great inventions, I’d nominate two others: medical technology and farm machinery.

 

Medical tech like vaccines and blood transfusions alone have saved billions of lives since they were created. And that’s two out of the many medical inventions that have increased our life expectancy according to this. It’s why we now can expect to live to be 80 as opposed to 40.

If that technology allows us to live longer, farm machinery enables us to do more than work the land in order to survive. Tech like tractors and the McCormick Reaper make it possible to harvest more food than ever before with much less effort. Other inventions like fertilizer enable us to get much more out of our harvests.

The Internet and other IT are grand inventions that help us in many ways. But I don’t think any IT can hold a candle to the benefits brought to us by medical and farm technology.

P.S. For more on farm technology, go here.

On the ethics of the pig heart transplant

David Bennett Sr. has died, two months after receiving a genetically modified pig’s heart. Like any transplant operation, there were ethical decisions to make. If you are an animal rights activist, you have even more ethical decisions to think about. But this particular transplant brings in even a broader range of ethical considerations, which is obvious once you read this: The ethics of a second chance: Pig heart transplant recipient stabbed a man seven times years ago.

I generally have faith in medical professionals to make the right ethical choices when it comes to transplants.  I think he should have received the transplant and a transplant from a pig is acceptable. But read about it yourself and see what you think.

 

On ASA, Tylenol and Advil

Aspirin
If you take any of these meds then you really should read this: Should you take Tylenol, Advil, or aspirin for pain? Here’s what the evidence says. – Vox

I was surprised by what they said about Tylenol.  You might be surprised by what’s in here as well.

As for me, I have found when I have had a sore back, ASA was the best thing to relieve the pain.

Like any medicine, consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking. You should especially consult with them if you are taking such medicine on a regular basis.

(Image from bayer.com)

Should you take St John’s wort for depression, and other advice on supplements

This is a wonderful interactive chart that shows you how worthwhile (or worthless) certain supplements are, based on evidence (as opposed to anecdote or worse): Snake Oil Supplements from Information is Beautiful.

If you are a fan of a certain supplement, you can use this chart to discover what it is good for. And if you have a certain health concern, you can use the chart to determine what may work and what’s a waste of money.

If you like this, check out more of the charts on the information is beautiful site. They have lots of good charts.

Technology that matters: Andrew Bastawrous’s Visionary App

Andrew Bastawrous has developed Portable Eye Examination Kit, or PEEK, a combination of app and clip-on hardware that allows a smartphone to become a portable optical clinic. How significant is this? To do this type of procedure from a state-of-the-art hospital, you need $160,000 plus skilled staff to run it. PEEK costs about $500 and needs one eye specialist in the field with some training.

It’s a great invention. You can read more about it here:  Andrew Bastawrous’s Visionary App | Rising Stars | OZY