A More Human Way to Train AI

Xiang, A., Andrews, J.T.A., Bourke, R.L. et al. Fair human-centric image dataset for ethical AI benchmarking. Nature, November 2025

A new study introduces FHIBE, the Fair Human-Centric Image Benchmark, the first large-scale, publicly available image dataset designed with ethical AI development in mind. Unlike most existing computer-vision datasets, which are often scraped from the internet without consent, FHIBE contains more than 10,000 images from nearly 2,000 volunteers across 81 countries, all collected with informed consent, privacy protection, and fair compensation.

FHIBE stands out for its global diversity and its exceptionally rich, self-reported demographic details, including age, pronouns, ancestry, and skin tone. Each image is also paired with detailed pixel-level annotations, environmental conditions, and camera metadata. This makes FHIBE the most comprehensive tool to date for evaluating bias in human-focused AI systems—from face detection and pose estimation to visual question answering.

When researchers tested popular computer-vision models on FHIBE, they uncovered both well-known and newly identified biases. For example, models tended to perform better on younger, lighter-skinned individuals and struggled with older adults, darker skin tones, baldness, and even hairstyle variability. These insights show why ethically sourced, diverse datasets are essential: they allow scientists to detect subtle biases that would otherwise remain hidden. FHIBE not only raises the bar for fairness benchmarks but also offers a practical roadmap for how to responsibly build the next generation of AI datasets.

A New Way to Sense Smell—Without Smelling at All

Halina B. Stanley et al. Substitution of human olfaction by the trigeminal system. Sci. Adv., November 2025

Scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind device that helps people who have lost their sense of smell “sense” odors again, without actually restoring real smell. The device works by pairing an electronic nose (a sensor that detects odor molecules in the air) with a tiny electrical stimulator placed inside the nose.

Instead of activating the damaged olfactory system, the device stimulates the trigeminal nerve, another nerve inside the nose that normally senses tingling, irritation, or temperature from things like menthol or chili peppers. The question was: Can the brain learn to use these trigeminal signals as a substitute for smell?

Across four experiments with over 60 volunteers (including people with complete and partial smell loss), the researchers found that participants could reliably detect when an odor was present based on the electrical stimulation pattern. Some could also tell the difference between different stimulation patterns, though this was harder and improved when participants were trained first. The ability to detect the signal did not depend on having a working sense of smell, meaning even anosmic individuals could use the system.

The device does not recreate real smells. But it shows, for the first time, that it may be possible to give patients a practical way to recognize odor categories, like food vs. danger odors, through another nerve pathway. This could be an early step toward a future “smell prosthesis” for people living with permanent smell loss.

Can Positive Memories Help Heal the Brain?

Steve Ramirez. Memories change. But can we change them on purpose? Science Friday, November 2025.

Neuroscientist Dr. Steve Ramirez explains that memories are not fixed snapshots of the past; they are dynamic reconstructions that change slightly each time we recall them. Instead of functioning like recordings, memories behave more like malleable building blocks, which the brain continually updates. This flexibility may even help us imagine the future by combining elements of past experiences.

New research shows that scientists can activate specific memories in mice by stimulating the exact brain cells involved in those experiences. In mice that show depression-like behavior, artificially turning on their positive memories can lift their mood and reduce symptoms, sometimes even long-term. This suggests that memory manipulation could one day support new treatments for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Humans already experience a natural form of this effect. Simply recalling a joyful or painful memory can change our biology within seconds, altering mood, heart rate, stress hormones, and attention. This natural responsiveness points to the possibility of developing therapies that intentionally harness positive memories.

Future treatments could also target traumatic memories. Instead of erasing them, scientists may be able to reduce their emotional weight, offering new hope for people living with PTSD while preserving the factual memory.

Looking ahead, the field is moving toward a deeper map of memory in the brain, identifying the specific cells involved in certain memories and finding ways to support or restore them. Such work could eventually help treat memory loss in disorders like Alzheimer’s.

During a serene Californian summer retreat, I overheard a captivating conversation between two physicists. In the calm of the setting, their words, filled with passion, seemed to transcend the usual concerns of the world. Unable to resist, I found myself making a “quantum” leap, much like an electron excited to a higher state. Dr. Serdar was enthusiastically discussing proton therapy in cancer treatment, explaining how the proton beam’s properties are carefully coordinated between physicians and physicists during treatment. His words resonated deeply as he reflected on the progress humanity has made in science and the importance of their work. He even joked that if cancer were cured, he would happily switch careers and become a chef.

I enjoyed the conversation and later reflected on how important protons are, despite their small size, and the significant roles they play in serving humanity. In our daily lives, we seldom think of them and “confine” them to the “borders” of a nucleus. Yet, they offer so much more. The more we understand their nature and get to know them, the more they reveal their secrets. Interestingly, to coax them into whispering the codes of their mysterious world, they must be smashed, banged, and subjected to high and low potentials. Harsh as it may sound, aren’t we humans a lot like them? What we do to them, we also face in life. We carry innate positivity within us, yet it often lies dormant, like a seed. Life challenges us with its ups and downs, leading to plenty of “oops” moments. Through these experiences, we uncover new depths, subtle details, and greater discoveries, exploring more of ourselves and the world around us.

Inspired by the discussion, I wanted to dedicate this essay to protons as a tribute to their service, obedience to the laws of their Creator, and the rigor they demonstrate before our eyes. While our tiny titans, protons, constantly make history, let’s take a brief look at their discovery. How they are continually created is, of course, a much larger question – one that goes beyond the scope of this article. The discovery of protons itself spanned over a century. In 1917, Ernest Rutherford discovered the proton by bombarding nitrogen gas with alpha particles. The ejected hydrogen nuclei confirmed the presence of the proton, a fundamental particle in all atomic nuclei. In 1920, he officially named it the “proton,” solidifying its place in atomic theory.

While protons continue to guard their secrets and draw countless researchers with their allure, I was reminded of Said Nursi’s words about creation. In his book The Words, he says, “For sure, ‘to make one thing everything, and everything one thing’ is a sign, a mark, peculiar to the Creator of all things, the One Powerful over all things” (Eighth Word). This “one thing” could refer to anything—an entity or even a particle. Yet, the fact that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, with its nucleus consisting of a single proton, sparked my thoughts once again. It is awe-inspiring to reflect on how the All-Mighty Creator uses the smallest things to bring about indescribable and incomprehensible complexity—complexity that allows us to perceive order amidst the layers of chaos that weave through creation.

Yes, it is small—tiny, even—yet we still have much to learn about protons, as they carry information about the entire creation. I recently watched a fascinating documentary about an artist collaborating with physicists to produce a visual rendering of a proton. The challenges they faced were narrated with remarkable precision and astonishment, highlighting how delicate and complex the structure of a proton is. The work of visualizing such a fundamental particle speaks to the depth of its mystery, and how much more there is to discover. It underscores the power of collaboration between art and

science in shedding light on the unseen world of subatomic particles, revealing the intricate connections that hold protons together in a stable structure.

The proton: Unveiling the mystery of matter

The proton, an electrically positively charged particle at the heart of the atom, is far more complex than it first appears, resisting simple characterization. Its behavior and structure change depending on how it is probed, revealing a layer of complexity that challenges our understanding at every turn.

In 1967, experiments at SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) revealed that protons are composed of point-like particles known as quarks—two “up” quarks and one “down” quark—each with distinct electrical charges. Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) advanced our understanding further, revealing that the proton is not just made of quarks but also hosts a “sea” of transient quarks, antiquarks, and gluons. These fleeting particles interact continuously, contributing to the proton’s mass, spin, and stability. This makes the proton’s internal structure one of the most enigmatic puzzles in modern physics. While it would be fascinating to elaborate more on these features, let’s keep our focus and continue exploring their significance. Despite decades of study, the proton continues to surprise us. It’s not just a fundamental building block of matter, but a window into deeper truths about the universe.

The many roles of protons: From medicine to technology

Protons are not just essential in medicine; they are the essence of an element’s identity. Think of them as an ID, SSN, or passport number—defining the diversity of materials and elements in the universe. The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus, or atomic number, uniquely identifies an element on the periodic table. This fundamental role underscores their significance, extending beyond applications like proton therapy, where their unique properties are utilized for precise cancer treatments.

First of all, protons are positively charged particles with significant mass compared to electrons. This allows precise control over their path in a magnetic or electric field. Medical physicists can more easily control their path, direct them to the targeted tissues, and obtain more effective results in their use. Protons deliver the majority of their energy at a specific depth in tissue, known as the “Bragg peak.” This characteristic allows protons to release their maximum energy at the tumor site while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. This property makes them safer to use compared to gamma or X-rays. Protons scatter less as they travel through tissues, which enhances their precision and reduces the dose to non-targeted areas. Protons ionize atoms in their path, effectively damaging cancer cell DNA and inhibiting replication, which is crucial for stopping tumor growth.

Protons were first employed in medical treatment in 1946 (Wilson, 1946), and today, proton therapy is a widely recognized method for cancer treatment. Compared to traditional x-ray radiotherapy, proton therapy offers a significant advantage by reducing the risk of secondary cancers. This is due to its ability to precisely deliver radiation to the tumor site while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The proton beam’s interactions with matter allow for a concentration of radiation in areas where it is most needed, either in the tumor or healthy tissues, depending on the depth of the proton path (Newhauser and Zhang, 2015). Protons, though small in scale, are powerful tools in treating humans, demonstrating how even the tiniest elements can have a profound impact on healing. Indeed, the Creator, The Healer, has made the universe akin to a vast pharmacy, full of treatments, medicines, and chemicals—inviting us to explore, fueled by curiosity, and to deepen our understanding of His creation.

Expanding frontiers: Protons in everyday life

Protons have a wide range of important uses beyond their role in medicine. In electronics, proton implantation in silicon carbide semiconductors enhances the reliability and efficiency of devices, benefiting sectors like transportation and renewable energy. They are also crucial in space missions, testing electronics for reliability in harsh radiation environments, and in self-driving cars and medical devices. Protons are key in energy production through proton exchange membrane fuel cells, scientific research in particle accelerators, and even in food preservation by sterilization. Their versatile applications continue to advance both cutting-edge technologies and everyday innovations.

Despite their smallness, protons shoulder immense responsibilities, obeying the laws set by their Creator. They pave the way for new discoveries, sparking human curiosity and unlocking pathways to a deeper understanding of ever-smaller particles and their interactions with the universe. From the tiniest particles to the vastest structures, everything in creation is crafted with meticulous planning, calculation, and preordained precision. Though we cannot perceive it all with our naked eye, the Creator has bestowed upon us the mind, eyes, and tools to glimpse His infinite power—shaping boundless complexity from the smallest things. As stated in the Quran, “Not ‘even’ an atom’s weight is hidden from Him in the heavens or the earth; nor anything smaller or larger than that, but is ‘written’ in a perfect record.” (Al-Saba 34:3) Indeed, “We have created everything, perfectly preordained.” (Al-Qamar 54:49).

References and Resources Used

National Institutes of Health. Proton Therapy: A Summary of Current Research and Clinical Applications. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4407514/

EurekaAlert. Proton Implantation and Its Role in Enhancing Semiconductor Reliability. Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/972656#

NASA Technical Report on Proton Uses in Instrument Calibration:

NASA. Proton Uses in Instrument Calibration for Space Exploration. Retrieved from https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170011270/downloads/20170011270.pdf

GeeksforGeeks Article on Everyday Uses of Protons: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/uses-of-protons-in-everyday-life/

Documentary on the Visualization of Protons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2FrALuacZ4

Introduction

Do you remember when smartphones seemed like the greatest invention of our time and when social media promised to connect us all in ways never before possible? We embraced these technological marvels with open arms, but did we forget to consider the price we might pay and have we ever stopped to wonder if this digital revolution is really the best thing that has happened to us? What about the downsides? Have we thought about how our constant connectivity might be affecting us? As we scroll through endless feeds and jump from one notification to the next, have we paused to ask: Is this actually making our lives better? Can we even imagine a day without checking our phones? And most importantly – what is this constant digital immersion doing to our minds, especially those of our youth?

These are not just philosophical questions anymore. We are witnessing an unprecedented rise in youth mental health issues, a phenomenon that many experts are linking directly to our hyperconnected world. The concept of “brain rot” – the gradual deterioration of our ability to focus, think deeply, and engage meaningfully with the world around us – has moved from marginal concern to mainstream discussion. As renowned social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues in his latest work, we are seeing nothing less than a “great rewiring” of childhood itself, with consequences that should alarm us all.

But this is not just another doom-and-gloom story about technology. In this article, we will explore the real impacts of our digital dependence, from the mental health crisis affecting our youth to the ways our brains are being rewired by constant connectivity. We will explore the need for mental renewal, shaking the mind and detoxification. Most importantly, we will discover practical ways to break free from these digital chains and reclaim our mental well-being in an increasingly connected world, showing that it is possible to enjoy the benefits of technology without becoming enslaved to it.

The rising tide: A global youth mental health crisis

The numbers are alarming: youth mental health is in crisis worldwide. Since the early 2010s, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide attempts among young people have surged. Major medical organizations declared this an emergency in 2021. Girls have been particularly affected, and Black youth have seen steep increases in mental health challenges.

Experts highlight a combination of factors behind this crisis, with social media as a primary culprit. A 2024 survey of mental health professionals identified social media as the leading driver of youth mental health issues. Other contributing factors include climate anxiety, political instability, and social isolation. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, in his 2024 book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, argues that a “phone-based” childhood, combined with overprotective parenting, has disrupted adolescent social and neurological development. This has led to increased social anxiety, fragmented attention spans, sleep deprivation, and digital addiction.

This crisis is not a result of increased sensitivity among young people. The pressures they face—from social media comparison to concerns about an uncertain future—are real. Shifting definitions and awareness of mental health may also contribute to rising reported rates.

Brain rot: When digital consumption dulls our minds

The term “brain rot” – Oxford University Press’s 2024 word of the year – describes mental decline from excessive digital consumption. Its usage spiked by 230% as people struggled to articulate the effects of prolonged exposure to trivial online content. Symptoms include mental fog, reduced attention spans, and difficulty engaging with complex ideas.

Interestingly, the concept isn’t new. The term was first coined by Henry David Thoreau in “Walden,” where he criticized society’s tendency to prioritize simplistic ideas over complex thinking. “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot,” he wrote, “will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?” His words, written over a century ago, seem scary oracular in our age of endless scrolling and constant digital distraction. Today, healthcare providers recognize it as a legitimate concern, with social media’s short-form content providing quick dopamine hits at the expense of meaningful engagement.

Generation Z and Alpha acknowledge their digital dependence with irony, using the term “brain rot” while continuing to consume the content that causes it. The paradox is clear: unlimited access to information has not led to deeper engagement but to cognitive overload and distraction.

Rewiring childhood: A generation shaped by screens

Jonathan Haidt’s research pinpoints 2010 as the turning point when youth mental health declined sharply, coinciding with the widespread adoption of smartphones. This trend primarily affects those under 18, spanning across developed nations.

Haidt identifies four key harms:

• social deprivation,
• sleep deprivation,
• attention fragmentation, and
•  

Since 2010, teens spend less time with friends in person, sleep fewer hours, and report fewer close friendships, with girls affected most.

The 2021 Facebook leak revealed that Meta was aware of Instagram’s negative effects on teenage mental health, particularly among girls, yet prioritized engagement over user well-being. Haidt also links the crisis to “safetyism,” where overprotective parenting limits children’s ability to develop resilience. Traditional play once built coping skills, but with increased screen time and parental caution, such experiences are diminishing.

Solutions include phone-free school policies, delayed smartphone access (e.g., the “Wait Until 8th” pledge), and regulatory oversight from governments and tech companies. However, implementing these changes remains a challenge due to resistance from related parties.

Real-world evidence: What happens when phones are banned?

A 2024 study at The Stanway School in Colchester provided real-world evidence of the impact of smartphone restrictions. Conducted by the University of York, the study followed year 8 students who gave up their smartphones for 21 days. The results were striking.

Students fell asleep 20 minutes faster and gained an extra hour of sleep per night. Their bedtime shifted from 11:02 PM to 10:12 PM. Sleep-tracking devices confirmed these changes. Mental well-being also improved, with depression-related feelings dropping by 17% and anxiety decreasing by 18%. Even heart rate data showed signs of improved well-being.

Cognitive improvements were pronounced less. Working memory increased by only 3%, and sustained attention saw no notable change, suggesting that longer-term interventions may be needed to see full cognitive benefits.

This study aligns with Haidt’s findings about the impact of smartphones on youth while demonstrating that the negative effects are reversible. Countries are now considering stricter regulations, such as Australia’s proposed ban on social media for under 16s. The research provides concrete data to support informed policy decisions, showing that even partial phone restrictions can yield significant benefits.

The art of mental renewal in a digital age

In our search for solutions to digital overwhelm, we find wisdom concepts of “mental renewal,” “shaking the mind” or “mental detoxification.” This powerful concept offers a fresh perspective on how we might reclaim our mental clarity in an age of information overload.

Think of your mind as a vast library, constantly receiving and archiving information through various channels of consciousness. Just as a library needs regular maintenance and careful curation, our minds require intentional clearing and reorganization. In today’s digital landscape, this mental maintenance has become more crucial than ever.

This concept acknowledges a fundamental truth: our minds often become cluttered with digital debris – fragmented information, misleading content, and endless streams of superficial digital interactions. Like a house that becomes uninhabitable when filled with years of accumulated clutter, our minds can become bogged down by the constant influx of unfiltered digital content.

What makes this mental clutter particularly insidious is its subtle influence on our thinking patterns. Just as we unconsciously absorb the speaking styles and expressions of people we admire, we can unknowingly internalize the scattered thinking patterns encouraged by social media and rapid-fire digital content. Our thoughts begin to mirror the fragmentary nature of our digital consumption – jumping from topic to topic, unable to maintain deep focus or meaningful engagement.

The claim is not about complete digital isolation. Rather, it is about developing a more conscious relationship with the information we consume. It involves regularly “shaking out” unnecessary mental clutter and carefully filtering what we allow into our mental space. This process is particularly vital in our current era, where the volume of information we encounter daily far exceeds our capacity to meaningfully process it.

But how do we actually “shake our minds”?

• The process begins with recognition – acknowledging that our mental space has become cluttered with digital waste.
• The next step involves conscious filtering: evaluating our information sources, questioning the value of our digital consumption, and deliberately choosing what deserves space in our mental library.
• This might mean
  • unfollowing accounts that do not serve our well-being,
  • setting boundaries around social media use, or
  • creating dedicated time for deeper, more meaningful engagement with ideas.

The goal is not to achieve perfect mental clarity, which is neither possible nor necessary. Instead, it encourages us to develop a practice of regular mental renewal, much like the physical cleaning we do in our homes. This ongoing process of mental maintenance helps prevent the accumulation of digital debris that can cloud our judgment and fragment our attention.

Moving forward: Balancing technology and well-being

In facing these challenges, we must acknowledge a fundamental reality: technology and social media are now integral parts of our lives. The solution is not to abandon these tools entirely, but rather to transform our relationship with them and reshape how they serve our society.

The path forward requires action on multiple fronts. Primarily, we need to recognize that the quality of our digital landscape is shaped by the collective choices we make. When we engage with, share, and promote meaningful content while actively reporting and rejecting harmful material, we contribute to a healthier online environment. This power of collective action should not be underestimated, the basic principle of supply and demand means that content creators and platforms will ultimately respond to what users truly value and engage with.

Education plays a crucial role in this transformation. We need comprehensive digital literacy programs that go beyond basic technical skills to include critical thinking, content evaluation, and healthy usage habits. Young people, in particular, need to be equipped with tools to navigate the digital world mindfully, understanding both its potential benefits and pitfalls.

Regulatory frameworks must also evolve to match the pace of technological change. This is not just about government oversight, it requires cooperation between tech companies, educational institutions, mental health professionals, and community organizations. Together, these stakeholders can create and enforce guidelines that protect users while preserving the benefits of digital connectivity.

Perhaps most importantly, we need to shift our cultural narrative around technology use. Instead of viewing digital devices and social media as either entirely good or entirely bad, we should promote a more nuanced understanding of how these tools can be used intentionally for learning, growth, and meaningful connection.

The journey to digital wellness is not about restriction, it is about empowerment. By understanding the impacts of our digital habits, practicing regular mental renewal through concepts like shaking the mind and mental detoxification, and making conscious choices about our technology use, we can create a healthier relationship with our digital world. The goal is not to use technology less, but to use it better.

As we move forward, let’s remember that technology should serve us, not control us. We can work toward a future where technology enhances rather than diminishes our human experience by taking active steps to protect our mental well-being while embracing the positive potential of digital innovation.

References

• Youth Mental Health Crisis, https://shorturl.at/yqB0w
• Rahimi, R. Oxford’s word of the year is a modern condition familiar to most of us, https://shorturl.at/mzHhk
• Haidt, J. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Penguin Press, 2024
• School smartphone ban results in better sleep and improved mood, https://shorturl.at/FCCLE Posted on 11 December 2024
• Documentary: Swiped: The School that Banned Smartphones, hosted by Matt and Emma Willis 
• Gülen, M. Fethullah “Zihinler Silkelenmeli,” https://shorturl.at/XAH3H

The origins of deep learning (DL), a cornerstone of modern artificial intelligence (AI), can be traced back to the 1940s. This era marked the proposal of the artificial neuron by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts—a mathematical construct inspired by the biological neurons in the brain. The perceptron, developed in the 1950s, marked an early milestone, followed by the introduction of backpropagation in the 1980s by Rumelhart, Hinton, and Williams. This algorithm was pivotal in training multi-layered neural networks more efficiently, paving the way for deeper architectures. During the 1980s, Yann LeCun’s research on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) proved critical for tasks in image recognition. The 1990s saw the development of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) by Sepp Hochreiter and Jurgen Schmidhuber, which enhanced the model’s ability to process sequential data.

Despite these theoretical advancements, progress was impeded in the 1990s and early 2000s due to computational limitations and the scarcity of large datasets. The advent of powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) in the late 2000s, however, provided the necessary boost for training complex deep learning models. The 2010s were characterized by a deep learning explosion, with CNNs achieving remarkable performance in image recognition tasks, such as the ImageNet competition, and RNNs driving progress in natural language processing (NLP) and speech recognition. Today, the field of deep learning is continuously evolving as researchers explore novel architectures, training methodologies, and applications in diverse domains such as healthcare, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.

Training in machine learning

Training deep learning models requires vast datasets containing millions, or even billions, of data points. This scale allows the models to recognize complex patterns and generalize effectively to new, unseen data. A common practice is to pre-train models on large, generic datasets, such as extensive image or text corpora, and then fine-tune them on specific tasks. This strategy benefits from the features learned during the pre-training phase, thereby speeding up the training process for the final task. Given the size and complexity of these models, training typically involves distributing the workload across multiple GPUs or Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which significantly improves the speed of the process.

Training durations can vary widely—from days or weeks for smaller models to months for the largest and most complex models. Nevertheless, continual advancements in hardware and training techniques are extending the boundaries of what is possible, enabling the development of larger and more sophisticated neural networks.

Focusing on large language models (LLMs), these are trained on vast text corpora, often exceeding 1000 GB—which is roughly equivalent to 1 million 500-page books. The models used for such training have billions of parameters and require substantial infrastructure, typically involving multiple GPUs. For instance, training a model like GPT-3 would take approximately 290 years on a single NVIDIA V100 GPU. Consequently, LLMs are generally trained on thousands of GPUs in parallel. Google, for example, trained a model with 540 billion parameters using 6,144 TPU v4 chips. The immense scale and cost of this infrastructure make it prohibitive for most organizations, compelling even OpenAI to utilize Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform for training.

Training LLMs requires precise coding, careful configuration, and meticulous implementation to ensure accurate and efficient execution. The process is iterative and often involves numerous parallel computing strategies. These are adjusted after experimenting with various configurations to tailor training runs to the specific needs of the model and the available hardware. Selecting an appropriate LLM architecture, such as one with residual connections and transformer architecture with self-attention, is crucial. This choice directly impacts the training complexity and optimizes the balance between computational resources and the model’s complexity. Identifying the functional needs of the model—whether for generative modeling, bi-directional/masked language modeling, multi-task learning, or multi-modal analysis—is also vital for successful implementation.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in the field of deep learning, is the result of the immense dedication and collaborative efforts of tens of thousands of researchers worldwide. Currently, Google’s DeepMind boasts approximately 3,400 employees, while OpenAI has around 1,900 staff members. In terms of financial commitment, DeepMind’s CEO Demis Hassabis revealed in 2024 that Google’s investment in AI might ultimately surpass $100 billion. Furthermore, a 2022 report by Statista indicated that global corporate AI investment amounted to $91.9 billion, with Goldman Sachs projecting that it could escalate to nearly $200 billion by 2025.

The human brain as a foundation for AI

The human brain, a marvel of biological intricacy, is foundational to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL). This complex organ functions much like a central processing unit, managing a broad spectrum of critical tasks essential for survival and environmental interaction. It processes sensory inputs—such as vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—via the nervous system. These inputs are then synthesized by the brain to form our subjective perception of the world.

Additionally, the brain expertly orchestrates motor functions, facilitating actions like walking, speaking, and manipulating objects. It also meticulously regulates vital physiological operations, including breathing, heart rate, digestion, and body temperature, through a sophisticated coordination of neural and hormonal systems.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the human brain is its exceptional plasticity. This feature is crucial as it allows us to learn new information and retain it as long-term memories. This adaptability is fundamental in how we gather life experiences and continuously expand our understanding of the world. Through this capability, the brain supports not only our basic survival instincts but also powers the complex thought processes that machines in the realms of AI and deep learning attempt to mimic.

Emotions and feelings are also governed by the brain, heavily influencing how we think, make decisions, and interact with others. It is the brain’s sophisticated system that enables us to understand and use language, whether it’s spoken out loud or written down, and to formulate our thoughts into words. Furthermore, the brain manages complex mental functions such as critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, and self-awareness. These skills are essential for us to manage complex challenges and make plans for the future.

It’s important to understand that these varied functions do not operate in isolation. Instead, they involve the cooperative and dynamic interaction of different areas of the brain. For example, playing a musical instrument beautifully illustrates this as it requires coordinated motor control, auditory feedback, and emotional engagement.

Neuroscience, the study of the brain, is continually revealing new insights about this incredible organ. We are consistently learning more about its structure, capabilities, and the ways it develops and adapts throughout our lives. It’s estimated that the human brain contains about 86 billion neurons, which are specialized cells that communicate with each other using electrical and chemical signals. These neurons are linked by approximately 100 trillion synapses, which are the tiny gaps over which these signals are transmitted. This extensive network of connections allows for the complex processing of information and the learning capabilities that characterize the human brain.

Human intelligence (HI) vs artificial intelligence (AI)

The human brain, equipped with necessary hardware and software, must operate in harmony for optimal functionality. Without the software component, the brain is merely soft tissue composed of gray and white matter. Conversely, without the physical structure of the brain, no software—no matter how sophisticated—can function, demonstrating that the brain with its 86 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses is perfectly designed to run these complex programs.

Consider the question: “Why can’t the current chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, beat a computer at chess?” This is especially intriguing given that the last known victory of a human under standard tournament conditions was Ponomariov’s win against Fritz in 2005. This question can be likened to asking why a human can’t carry loads like a truck, achieve speeds like a Ferrari, calculate the cube root of large prime numbers as quickly as a computer, or why even the combined efforts of math professors from top research universities can’t manually compute the inverse of a 10,000 x 10,000 matrix as swiftly as Python on a capable CPU. The answer is simple: the human brain is not designed for these specific functions. Machines may excel in specialized tasks but lack the broader adaptive capabilities of humans. A truck cannot think, a Ferrari cannot cultivate civilization, and a computer does not manage a living body. Similarly, software capable of rapid calculations cannot replicate the nuanced teaching and innovative theoretical work of university professors.

Evidently, the human brain is intricately tailored to navigate the complexities of life. It equips individuals with the ability to make critical decisions, from ethical dilemmas to everyday choices such as providing for one’s family, achieving societal status, or engaging in personal relationships like marriage. Despite the remarkable advancements in artificial intelligence, its limitations are evident in practical applications, such as autonomous vehicles. Major automotive manufacturers have invested heavily in this technology: Ford invested $1 billion in the self-driving startup Argo AI in 2017, with Volkswagen later contributing an additional $2.6 billion, aiming to compete with tech giants like Uber, Tesla, and Google. At its peak, Argo AI was valued at $12.4 billion. However, by 2022, the venture was discontinued. Ford acknowledged that it failed to attract further investment and that profitability was still far from reach, highlighting the challenges in aligning AI capabilities with complex real-world applications.

The fact of creation in intelligence

From early childhood, humans embark on an extensive and continuous learning journey, adapting to and mastering the complexities of the surrounding environment. While artificial intelligence (AI) excels at specific tasks like chess and Go, it still falls short of the extraordinary capabilities demonstrated in nature, such as the peregrine falcon’s high-speed dive or the human body’s intricate coordination of 30 trillion cells every millisecond.

Even if AI can be engineered to mimic many daily functions of living beings, this comparison starkly underscores the superior capabilities inherent in life itself, pointing unmistakably to the power revealed in creation.

Our individual brains, alongside the broader universe, serve as unparalleled platforms for continuous learning. Yet, our understanding of the brain’s basic features remains rudimentary, and the depth of its operations is still largely uncharted. Current technological applications, such as large language models for language learning and neural networks for image processing, demonstrate our attempts to replicate natural processes. However, these artificial systems require significant resources for tasks that the human brain handles effortlessly and cost-free.

Reflecting on these distinctions, it becomes clear that the intricate intelligence and processes governing life are not the products of an unconscious entity like “mother nature.” Instead, they suggest the design of a deliberate and intelligent Creator. This realization invites us to acknowledge the intricate purpose embedded within the human brain and body, pointing us toward the Creator, whose magnificent capabilities and actions are evident in the very fabric of our existence.

We are enjoying the most advanced technology the world history has ever seen – at least in the history as we know it. With the help of this technology, we can surf – online and offline – throughout the globe as we can easily make plans for a trip thousands of miles away. Technology is good, but only when it works. As marvelous as it is to have access to everything at our fingertips, many incidents have shown how vulnerable our globally integrated systems can be and the significant consequences that vulnerability can cause. One faulty software can lead to thousands of flight cancellations, freeze banking transactions, etc. One cannot help but ask if there is a way to protect the world from such threats. Perhaps, we will still have to figure out how to do that in terms of cyber security, but we know our planet is protected from other threats like solar winds, thanks to its magnetic jacket. Dr. Cakir writes in this issue that by now we know for sure that outer space is “not entirely empty or inactive.” The strong winds of particles fly out from the Sun in the form of “solar winds” of high-energy charged particles that travels at 500,000 km per second, and “can be highly harmful.” Dr. Cakir explains how our earth is saved from these winds with a defensive tool as a result of its magnetic field. One can only hope we had a similar “jacket” to defend our world from cyber storms, too!

Moving forward with outer space, Dr. Oztunc writes on how we can obtain information about planets many light years away from us. As a veteran math scholar, Dr. Oztunc praises mathematical logic for its role in helping us see what lies beyond our perceptions.

Another vulnerability we cover in this issue is anomie and alienation. Based on his personal search to discover the illustrious origins of timeless, universal search for self-knowledge, Fred McIlmoyle writes how people feel a loss of their place in society especially since the industrial revolution. This “loss” has reached a new level with social media, which “is anything but social,” says McIlmoyle, “often judging individuals by its own superficial cult-driven stereotypes, verbally attacking those deemed to have fallen short of its distorted standards.” The result is a “homeless mind,” the title of he gave to his piece, perhaps to draw our attention to the rather difficult human condition today.

As vulnerable and alienated we may be, one major path to stay afloat is the sense of hope. “The essence of hope plays a vital role in the journey of healing, offering individuals a clear path toward recovery by reshaping their thinking and bolstering their emotional strength,” writes Dr. Lyndsey Eksili in this issue.

You will also find interesting to read in the following pages how alcohol consumption by the father affects birth defects. Finally, Rashi Pant writes that idling is not always a bad thing: the reactivation of neural patterns while idling has been shown to be crucial to learning.

From remarkably accurate phone predictions to self-navigating robot vacuums, artificial intelligence (AI) subtly weaves itself into the fabric of our daily lives. Yet, amidst the buzz and intrigue, a crucial paradox emerges: Is AI a torch illuminating the path of progress, or a looming shadow threatening our future? Is it all sunshine and rainbows, or should we fear it is on the path to world domination?

The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere between these fantastical narratives and dystopian anxieties. Unlike the villains of fiction, AI itself is not inherently dangerous. It is a powerful tool, like any technology, whose impact depends on the hands that manipulate it. AI can be considered as a super-intelligent student, constantly learning, and evolving. This potential unleashes a world of possibilities including but not limited to self-driving cars navigating roads with unparalleled safety, or AI doctors analyzing medical scans with superhuman accuracy. However, like any student, AI can make mistakes. Some worry about potential biases leading to unfair decisions, while others express concerns about job displacement by automated systems. These are valid anxieties, highlighting the critical need for open discourse and responsible development.

This can be a journey into the fascinating world of AI, seeking not just to uncover its exciting possibilities, but also to confront the challenges it presents. By understanding the core of AI and its capabilities, we can all become active participants in shaping its future, ensuring it benefits everyone, not just a select few. This can be achieved together, dispelling misconceptions, and charting a course for a responsible and ethical future with AI.

Shaping the future responsibly: ethical concerns

It is natural to have concerns, especially when something sounds as powerful as AI. While the potential of AI and computer technology to revolutionize our world is undeniable, it is crucial to acknowledge the potential pitfalls that accompany this progress. This section delves into the ethical concerns voiced by prominent thinkers and experts, exploring the challenges facing AI and computing and examining solutions for navigating them responsibly.

Weapons of “math destruction”: inequalities

Cathy O’Neil, Ph.D., is the CEO of ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company, and a member of the Public Interest Tech Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School [1]. Cathy O’Neil’s 2016 book, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy [2], critically examines the impact of big data algorithms on society, particularly their role in exacerbating existing inequalities across various sectors like insurance, advertising, education, and law enforcement. The work, which was a contender for the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction but did not make the final cut, has received widespread acclaim, and secured the Euler Book Prize [3]. O’Neil, leveraging her expertise in mathematics, delves into how these algorithms, despite their neutral appearance, often result in outcomes that disadvantage the economically challenged and racially marginalized, effectively reinforcing systemic biases.

She highlights the detrimental impact of discriminatory algorithms, illustrating how they can deny opportunities to the underprivileged, such as a poor student being denied a loan due to perceived risks associated with their address or residence. This perpetuates a cycle of poverty, undermining democratic values by favoring the privileged and disadvantaging the less fortunate. O’Neil argues these algorithms, which she terms Weapons of Math Destruction, are opaque, unregulated, and challenging to oppose, and their scalability means biases are magnified, affecting larger segments of the population and entrenching discrimination.

Algorithms of oppression: how search engines reinforce racism

Safiya Umoja Noble is a notable figure in this domain as the Director of the Center on Race and Digital Justice and Co-Director of the Minderoo Initiative on Tech and Power at the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry. Dr. Noble is also a board member of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, serving those vulnerable to online harassment, and provides expertise to a number of civil and human rights organizations. [4].

Professor Noble is the author of the best-selling book on racist and sexist algorithmic harm in commercial search engines, entitled Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (NYU Press) [5], which has been widely reviewed in scholarly and popular publications [4]. She delves into the impact of search engine algorithms within the realms of information science, machine learning, and human-computer interaction. Noble’s journey to this work began after observing biased search results while studying sociology and later pursuing a master’s in library and information science. The book, inspired by the problematic search results related to “black girls,” critiques the racist and sexist biases embedded in search engines. Noble, who transitioned into academia, further explored these themes, culminating in the publication of this critical analysis in 2018 [6].

For six years, Dr. Noble dove into the world of Google search, uncovering a disturbing truth: Search results can be biased! Her book argues that these algorithms mirror and amplify racism in society, harming women of color in particular. She compares the search results of “Black girls” and “white girls.” She shows how the algorithm favors whiteness, linking it with positive terms. This bias leads to negative consequences like unfair profiling and economic disadvantages for marginalized groups. Examining race and gender together is a unique approach in the book. Her approach emphasizes how different women experience oppression in unusual ways. The book suggests that this bias is not limited to search engines but exists in other technologies such as facial recognition.

While many recent technologies claim to be unbiased, Dr. Noble argues they often “repeat the problems they’re supposed to solve.“ Her work reminds us to be critical of the technology we use and fight against the biases it may hold. Only then can we create a truly fair and just digital world.

Automating inequality

Virginia Eubanks is an American political scientist, professor, and author studying technology and social justice. Previously Eubanks was a Fellow at New America researching digital privacy, economic inequality, and data-based discrimination [7].

Eubanks has written and co-edited multiple award-winning books, the most well-known being Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor [8]. Her book uncovers the harm generated by computer algorithms to replace human decisions and how they negatively impact the financially disadvantaged. She clearly depicts how automated systems in public services disproportionately affect the poor and working class. By coining the term “digital poorhouse,” she criticizes the automation of welfare and other services, calling for a humane approach to technology policy that prioritizes social responsibility.

Coded bias

Coded Bias [9] is a documentary by Shalini Kantayya displayed at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. This thought breaking documentary explores the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all featuring insights from notable researchers on the biases in facial recognition technology and its societal implications. Kantayya’s journey from discovering algorithms through O’Neil’s book Weapons of Math Destruction [2] to exploring Joy Buolamwini’s research underscores the critical need for awareness and action against biased AI [10].

This documentary explores the troubling reality of bias embedded within artificial intelligence (AI). It all began with MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery: facial recognition systems could not recognize her face. Driven to understand this failure, she unraveled a deeply concerning truth – these systems were biased, malfunctioning specifically with darker skin tones [9], [10].

Coded Bias goes beyond this unsettling revelation, uncovering the broader impact of AI bias on marginalized communities. From housing discrimination to unfair hiring practices, the film exposes how algorithms can perpetuate inequalities in crucial areas like healthcare, credit scoring, education, and the legal system. The lack of legal frameworks for AI as the documentary argues, allows such human rights violations to occur unchecked [9], [10].

Algorithmic Justice League

Fueled by her findings, Buolamwini did not just raise awareness; she took action. Testifying before Congress and founding the Algorithmic Justice League (AJL) in 2016 [11]. She became a powerful voice fighting for responsible AI development and a fairer digital future for all. Through research, art, and advocacy, the AJL is dedicated to challenging biases in AI and aims to foster a more equitable digital world, recognized by Fast Company in 2021 as one of the most innovative AI organizations globally [11].

Navigating the ethical landscape of AI

We have all seen the cool AI stuff in movies: robots doing chores, computers reading minds, maybe even flying cars. However, there has been a lot of buzz about the dark side of AI as mentioned above, like biased algorithms making unfair decisions or even robots taking our jobs. So, should we be in love with AI or scared?

The answer is: IT DEPENDS! AI is a powerful tool, like a fancy new hammer. In the wrong hands, it could cause damage. But in the right hands, it can build amazing things. The key is making sure those hands are responsible and ethical.

Where are the gaps?

The sources mentioned paint a clear picture and awareness that AI’s potential pitfalls are growing, but the solutions remain in their embryonic stages. Acknowledging the issues is one thing; the real challenge lies in translating that awareness into action. Humanity is still figuring out how to use this hammer responsibly. AI itself is not inherently dangerous. The danger lies in the intent behind its development and deployment. Just as fire, nuclear energy, and biological research hold immense potential for both good and harm, ethical considerations and responsible use are paramount. The emphasis should be on the emergency of action, urging sensible, compassionate, and conscious people to step forward and contribute to shaping a beneficial future for humanity. This call resonates deeply for all of us. To ensure AI serves as a force for good, we must actively participate in shaping its development and implementation, starting with the actions outlined here.

Here is where we can step in:

Deeper training of the builders: The teams behind the AI systems are the key to a better future. Equipping developers with cultural sensitivity and fostering diverse teams who understand various cultures and backgrounds are crucial steps towards mitigating unintentional biases. This helps them avoid accidentally building biases into their products, just like learning carpentry helps you avoid hammering your thumb!

Diversity and inclusivity of the data: AI is like textbooks that only tell one side of the story when AI uses limited data. We need to include different perspectives and continuously update the information, just like keeping the applications of smart phones or devices up to date. Expanding educational datasets to encompass various perspectives and regularly incorporating feedback from diverse groups will help ensure inclusivity and avoid perpetuating censorship.

Being transparent and opening the black box: Imagine a magic trick where you cannot see how the illusion works. That is how some AI systems feel. Making them more transparent, like explaining how they make decisions, and demystifying decision-making algorithms through transparency leads to trust and allows for scrutiny which is critical for addressing potential injustices.

Broadening governance and sharing the power: If only some privileged entities have the power to decide the rules of a game, it is not fair. Unfortunately, we can observe the same unfairness for the rules of AI. Diverse groups must be involved in making decisions, not just a few powerful companies or countries. Moving away from unilateral control towards multi-stakeholder involvement in regulations will ensure diverse perspectives are considered and prevent undue influence by specific entities.

Final Words

The discussion around AI ethics will undoubtedly continue to evolve. By actively engaging in these conversations, supporting initiatives that align with our values, and holding developers and regulators accountable, we can work towards a future where AI empowers and uplifts, not divides and harms.

AI is not bad in itself. It is like fire – it can cook your dinner or burn down your house, depending on how you use it. The important thing is to be aware of the risks and work together to make sure AI benefits everyone, not just a few privileged classes.

So, let’s roll up our sleeves, grab that metaphorical AI hammer, and build a future where this technology works for us, not against us. It is up to all of us to make sure AI becomes a force for good, not a sci-fi nightmare.

Remember, the power lies in collective action. We can definitely build the future we want, together.

References

1. https://cathyoneil.org
2. O’Neil, C. (2017). Weapons of Math Destruction. Harlow, England: Penguin Books.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Math_Destruction
4. https://safiyaunoble.com/
5. Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism.New York University Press.
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithms_of_Oppression
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Eubanks
8. Eubanks, V. (2018). Automating inequality: how high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor. First edition. New York, NY, St. Martin’s Press.
9. https://www.codedbias.com/
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coded_Bias
11. https://www.ajl.org/

More Evidence that the Moon Came from the Earth

Will et al. Indigenous noble gases in the Moon’s interior. Science Advances, Aug 2022.

Humankind has always been fascinated with the Moon and studying it for nearly five centuries since Galileo. A recent discovery now adds new evidence to the currently favored “Giant Impact” theory which hypothesizes that the Moon was formed by a massive collision between Earth and another Mars-sized celestial body around 4.5 billion years ago. A group of researchers examined six samples of lunar meteorites collected in Antarctica using an exceptionally sensitive mass spectrometer and found that the meteorites contained noble gases like Neon and Helium, consistent with those found in the Earth’s mantle. Researchers proposed two possible scenarios for how the noble gases became trapped in the Moon’s interior. In the first scenario, impactors got mixed with the lunar mantle during cooling of the magma oceans to solidify over few million years of the Moon’s formation. In the second scenario, the Moon has been formed from a debris field surrounding the Earth where noble gases were directly mixed into the Moon’s interior mass. Discovery of noble gases on the moon may also inform us about its water content, too. If these gases are still there, then water could also been present in the Moon’s interior. Such water resources could be an invaluable resource for future human missions. More broadly, this study suggests that a wide variety of life-forming material can survive giant impacts early in a planet’s life. We now could make more reliable models of how planets and solar systems form and even how life is originated on the Earth.

Restoring cell functions after death?

Andrijevic et al. Cellular recovery after prolonged warm ischaemia of the whole body. Nature, August 2022.

Organ transplantation is an extremely complicated medical process. There is a massive shortage of donor organs. Waiting lists are long. Even if a patient is lucky to match with a donor organ, getting that organ before it dies through cell damage has been a big challenge. A new technology may offer a solution to extend the time that donor organs survive. A group of researchers has recently developed a technology called OrganEx, which can restore cellular activity even after death. Very shortly after the death of an organism, all cells start to die and organs begin to fail. The researchers worked with one hundred pigs to see whether cellular structures could be saved, or cell damage could be reversed, when OrganEx is applied after death. OrganEx has two major components. First is a device that simulates the heart and lung function by pushing a mix of blood and a drug cocktail to the organs. Second is the drug cocktail made of 13 chemical compounds. One hour after death, the pigs were hooked up to the OrganEx machine which pumped the cocktail to the animal’s organs for six hours. The results were striking; OrganEx could restore critical cell functions after death. While this is a huge step for organ preservation, researchers still have to make more tweaks for the technology to be used in humans. Once fully developed, OrganEx is expected to keep organs outside the body for long-term or transported longer distances.

Sweat-powered wearable electronic devices

Liu et al. Microbial biofilms for electricity generation from water evaporation and power to wearables. Nature Communications, July 2022.

Researchers have developed a biofilm that sticks to the skin like a Band-Aid to harness sweat for electricity that could power wearable devices. The biofilm is made using a type of bacteria called “geobacter sulfurreducens” known for its ability to produce electricity. In this biofilm design, bacteria convert energy from evaporation into electricity by using the moisture on a person’s skin. Most strikingly, researchers found that the biofilm bacteria do not need to be fed because they are dead! They do not need to be alive to produce electricity. The biofilm consists of thin sheets of bacteria colonies (thickness less than 0.1 millimeter) that is sandwiched between two mesh electrodes and sealed with a soft, sticky biopolymer to enable it to grip to the skin. Sticking this biofilm on your skin is like plugging in a battery. This technology has potential to revolutionize wearable electronics by solving the major problem of power supply. Moreover, this is a real green energy-driven device made naturally by the microbes and devoid of any unsustainably produced materials and toxic waste byproducts. The current version of the biofilm can produce enough energy to power small devices such as medical sensors or personal electronics, but the researchers hope to explore larger films that can power even more sophisticated devices.

FLASH radiotherapy is a brand-new model of radiation therapy that may be administered to a cancer patient in as little as a single, complete treatment. The therapy lasts much less than one second and has a duration of up to six weeks. Comparatively, conventional radiation therapy takes several minutes to administer the same dose.

Introduction

Radiotherapy is one of the predominant scientific remedies for tumors. The goals of radiotherapy are twofold; the first of which lies in successfully killing tumor cells with ionizing radiation, and the second is, at the same time, minimizing regular tissue damage that negatively influences the affected person’s care and quality of life. It is estimated that up to 65% of tumor patients go through radiotherapy at one point during their treatment. The first thing to do to reach these goals is to deposit a high amount of powerful ionizing radiation onto a tumor while at the same time avoiding irradiating regular tissue. Recent decades have seen a rise of new, superior technology consisting of intensity-modulated radiotherapy, stereotactic body radiotherapy, proton, and carbon particle radiotherapy. These new devices and techniques have converted radiotherapy into a particular and effective therapy routine for most cancer sufferers with the aid of using enhanced spatial dose administration. Nevertheless, the therapy of radiation-resistant tumors continues to be confined with the aid of using dose-proscribing regular tissue complications.

The second thing to do to achieve successful radiation is to grow the differential reaction among regular tissue and tumors to ionize radiation with the aid of using, for instance, a hyper-fractionated therapy strategy. Conventional radiotherapy (CONV-RT) contains fractions of two Gy (or “gray”; a measurement used for radiation) per day for five days (Monday to Friday) every week for numerous weeks, permitting regular tissues to get over radiation-precipitated damaging results to an extra quantity than tumors, whose radiation reaction is dictated with the aid of using the whole dose introduced as opposed to with the aid of using the dose given at every fraction. Recently, a third method to for precise aiming, known as FLASH-RT, emerged as a promising new device in presenting temporal administration of a single dose of high dose rate ionizing radiation.

What is new in Radiation Therapy?

Conventional RT has developed significantly over time. However, the harm precipitated to healthy tissues at some point of the radiation therapy continues to be a vital task for traditional RT.

FLASH RT represents an entire archetypal shift as opposed to an improvement upon the present era of radiotherapy technology. The variety of research is continuously growing to an accumulation of promising outcomes. FLASH RT is perhaps one of the most promising technologies for tumor therapy, imparting vital views for preclinical studies.

Advantages of Flash radiation therapy compared to conventional radiation therapy

FLASH RT complements the differential impact among tumors and healthy tissues. FLASH RT provides doses in an extraordinarily brief irradiation time as a quick “flash” of radiation. FLASH RT is iso-powerful whilst in comparison to standard dose rate RT, thus decreasing regular tissue toxicity and side effects.

Conventional radiotherapy (RT) is significantly confined by radiation-precipitated toxicities. If those could be decreased, an extra dose of radiation might be given thus facilitating a higher tumor reaction.

The ultra-speedy administration of radiation therapy (i.e., electrons, photons/x-rays, and protons) at dose rates numerous orders-of-importance extra than the ones presently utilized in scientific exercise reduces radiation-precipitated toxicities. This permits regular tissue tolerance stages to be substantially exceeded, thereby growing the healing index over traditional radiation administration.

In traditional external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), the affected person is irradiated for 1-2 minutes, 5-days/wk, for 1-2 months. In FLASH-RT, the affected person might be irradiated in < 0.1 second for 1 to four days thus substantially decreasing side-effects, regular tissue toxicity, and cost.

Tissue toxicity

It was first discovered in the 1960’s that non-cancerous cells that were subjected to ultra-high dose rates of radiotherapy had been much more likely to be viable than the ones subjected to standard dose rates. This has been currently supported with the aid of using research in mice, and was validated that there was much less harm in the lungs of mice treated with FLASH-RT in comparison to the ones treated with CONV-RT. In every other examination, mice subjected to complete brain irradiation at traditional dose rates were worse in recognition checks in comparison to the ones treated at ultra-high dose rates. Radiation-precipitated pores and skin reactions can encompass reddening and breakdown and have been proven to be greatly decreased in rodents being treated with FLASH-RT in comparison to CONV-RT. FLASH-RT additionally compared favorably in a single examine evaluating the pores and skin response of a mini-pig to distinctive dose rates of radiotherapy. Another examination related to the therapy of nasal cancers in cats with FLASH-RT confirmed the entire remission of tumors with minimum trauma to surrounding tissues. Researching the FLASH impact is of importance to set up how it could be utilized in a scientific situation to deal with most cancer patients.

Many research studies show that further to decreasing tissue toxicity, FLASH-RT additionally produces an identical tumor reaction as CONV-RT.

Influencing elements

There is an array of elements that could have an effect on the efficacy of FLASH treatment which includes dose rate, general dose, pulse rate, fractionation, and modality of radiation. The dose rate used for the FLASH impact may additionally range relying upon the affected tissue and the administration approach. Many studies vary in the general dose of radiation used, or use doses inconceivable in scientific scenarios, which complicate the findings. The supply of radiation is likewise an aspect because FLASH impact has been primarily discovered by using electron linear accelerators. More currently, the success of FLASH treatment has additionally been visible following usage of proton and X-ray radiation. Pulsing the radiation at a high frequency can result in FLASH therapy at an appropriate dose-in line with-pulse. Furthermore, the examination is wanted to verify the important parameters for inducing the FLASH impact, as there are a wide variety of variables at work.

Oxygen depletion

Exactly why the FLASH impact happens is not absolutely understood but has been hypothesized. Hypoxic tissues (tissues which might be disadvantaged of oxygen) are greatly immune to radiation (and are consequently much less likely to be damaged) than well-oxygenated tissues. It is therefore conceptualized that the distinction in tissue toxicity among FLASH-RT and CONV-RT can be because of the extent of hypoxia at ultra-high dose rates and ensuing radioresistance transferred to irradiated tissue.

Changes in immunity

Another proposed idea for FLASH treatment to have a greater impact is a changed immune reaction. Since it utilizes a shorter therapy time, much fewer lymphocytes (white blood cells concerned within the immune gadget) suffer from the radiation. One examination mentioned much less immune gadget activation in mice following FLASH-RT in comparison to CONV-RT. It has to be referred to that it’s far doubtful if any immune reaction following FLASH-RT is contributing to the FLASH impact or because of it. Other organic responses consisting of DNA harm and infection can also be contributing, and greater research is needed for clarification.

Conclusion

FLASH-RT provides a single burst of high dosage rate ionizing radiation in milliseconds and achieves near perfect tumor control and, at the same time, spares regular tissues from extreme aspect results. The result is the presentation of fascinating imaginative and prescient of enhancing scientific results for tumor sufferers with the aid of using the use of dose-rate modulation of radiotherapy. The FLASH impact gives advanced tissue safety in comparison to CONV-RT without compromising on tumor therapy. It has been studied throughout numerous species and now a single human case has been documented. While its mechanism of motion is likely to contain oxygen depletion, it isn’t always absolutely understood and consequently calls for similar examination. The doses required to acquire the FLASH impact make it unsuitable for many patient studies. Furthermore, the provision of radiation sources to generating appropriate beams for the therapy of each superficial and deep tumor is a proscribing aspect in scientific trials. If future studies yield greater know-how of the organic mechanisms of the FLASH impact, it will be viable to acquire it at decreased doses, growing its scientific viability.

References

1. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/18/6492
2. Jonathan R. Hughes and Jason L. Parsons.: “FLASH Radiotherapy: Current Knowledge and Future Insights Using Proton-Beam Therapy”. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(18), 6492; Cancer Research Centre, Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, 200 London Road, Liverpool L3 9TA, UK And  Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Clatterbridge Road, Bebington CH63 4JY, UK.
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S26665557203000833 4. Guangming Zhou. : Mechanisms underlying FLASH radiotherapy, a novel way to enlarge the differential responses to ionizing radiation between normal and tumor tissues. Radiation Medicine and Protection. Volume 1, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 35-40
4. https://isensors.net/flash-rt/5.
5. https://researchoutreach.org/articles/flash-radiotherapy-what-how-why/#:
6. J. D. Wilson, E. M. Hammond, G. S. Higgins, K. Petersson (2020) Ultra-High Dose Rate (FLASH) Radiotherapy: Silver Bullet or Fool’s Gold? Frontiers in Oncology 9, 1563.

How excessive cell phone usage can cripple a child’s mental development

The scene of a quiet child tapping away at a phone or tablet with glee is an image that, by now, most people are familiar with. It may seem cute at first, however a sinister reality lurks beneath this scenario. Overwhelming research now shows that excessive cell phone usage in infants and adolescents can slow down, or even permanently alter, various parts of their extremely sensitive and still growing brains. Social skills, cognitive abilities, and emotional awareness can all be affected. This technology is often incredibly addicting because of its constant bombardment of lights, colors, and rewarding sounds that can thus inhibit a child’s ability to focus, learn how to properly socialize with other humans, and develop an interest in other activities. We as a society should be more aware of the effects that our phones have on our children so that we do not end up altering the biology of an entire generation. It should be our utmost goal as a society that we stay technologically literate so that we make our technology supplement our lives and work for us as opposed to being dependent on it to survive.

How much time is too much time?

Smart phones have positive benefits for children when used in small amounts, however there are dangerous consequences if their usage is excessive and left unchecked. For the sake of clarity, “excessive phone usage” will refer to the American Academy of Pediatric’s (AAP) 2018 suggested screen time limits.

“Avoid digital media for toddlers younger than 18 to 24 months other than video chatting. For children 18 to 24 months, watch digital media with them because they learn from watching and talking with you. Limit screen use for preschool children, ages 2 to 5, to just 1 hour a day of high-quality programming” [1].

Cell phones can permanently stunt a child’s neural development

Scientists have identified the first three years of a child’s life to be their “critical years,” a time when their brains are undergoing the most development and are the most sensitive to new information. It is imperative that children constantly interact with their parents via face to face communication, problem solving, and play in order to begin experiencing life while establishing the literal building blocks that will enable them to perceive and interact with the world around them for the rest of their lives. Children’s minds are akin to soft clay that can be easily molded, and both positive and negative experiences can have lasting effects on them. Excessive screen time can cause permanent damage to the brain and can inhibit “the ability to focus, to concentrate, to lend attention, to sense other people’s attitudes and communicate with them, (and) to build a large vocabulary….”

The short term, immediate gratification responses that phones constantly give usually train our brains to become addicted to always expecting quick responses from tasks that we engage in. This can make completing longer tasks that require more focus such as reading, paying attention in class, doing homework, or holding a conversation more difficult and can have lasting ramifications on a child’s performance in school and in social settings [2].

Excessive usage can make children socially awkward and anxious

As most teens and adults learn the hard way, the best way to grow socially is by directly engaging in the social behaviors that we often dread the most. Making new friends, talking to the opposite gender, and public speaking all become easier the more a person partakes in the activity despite how nerve-wracking they may initially be. This is especially true for children, who are socially clean slates that learn how to socialize by interacting with other children, their parents, and through play. Cell phone usage promotes a sedentary lifestyle, and a child can rarely grow socially by being sedentary. Playing with other kids teaches cooperation, empathy, and compassion. These are very human traits that cell phones cannot teach a child. Failing to develop strong social skills can lead to social anxiety, which has a host of its own problems, since a child may be ill-prepared to deal with social scenarios such as these ones.

The AAP recommends interacting with your child by asking them questions and encouraging a response while they use phones instead of just leaving them to their own devices. This way, they are interacting with their parents, as is necessary for their growth, and having the phone supplement their learning in the way that it is supposed to.

Prolonged usage can easily lead to addiction and dependence

Our brains have a built-in reward system that awards us when we achieve something of value. The chemical most commonly associated with this system, and most well-known by society, is dopamine. Normally, our brains receive dopamine in reasonable and completely safe doses as we go about our day whenever we feel we should be rewarded for something. This can include finishing an assignment, sending a difficult email to an even more difficult colleague, or when eating sweets. It makes us feel good and relaxed but can be addicting in large amounts. Cell phones can cause an overproduction of dopamine that has been compared, though to a lesser extent, to the excessive amount of dopamine produced as a result of abusing hard drugs, such as cocaine. Have you ever caught yourself reaching for your phone, without even thinking about it, as soon you hear a text message notification go off? That’s dopamine at work. It’s the rush that we get when something satisfactory happens, and it is all too easy to trigger with phones. Dopamine can easily become addictive, and the brain can become dependent on receiving a certain amount of dopamine every once in a while if it receives too much too quickly. This may be one reason why we may sometimes glance at our phones even if we know there is nothing new to look at.

In children whose brains are still developing, this dependence on dopamine can be catastrophic towards their growth. Their brains are much more susceptible to dopamine addictions than teens or adults are, though this is not to imply that older populations are safe. This is why a child may seem impossibly glued to a phone and will throw a tantrum once they are told to put it down. A proven method to help rid addictions, including cell phone addictions, is to replace the addictive behavior with a similar, healthier, but equally satisfying behavior. Phones can be replaced with Legos, or other interactive toys, in order to teach a child that there are ways to have fun besides phones. Going cold on an addiction rarely works as it does not sate the brain’s hunger for dopamine.

It is entirely possible for us to regain control

Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions that families can utilize in order to make sure that phones do not dominate their lives. Professional organizations such as the AAP and Mayo Clinic stress the importance of unstructured playtime for the minds of young children. In general, psychologists have realized that unstructured play is actually vital for the growth of children’s brains since it encourages creativity, imagination, and problem solving. Their brains are encountering problems, and thus creating solutions that lead to growth and understanding, while they play. Cell phones, on the other hand, tend to do the work for them instead and do not allow the brain to learn. This is especially true for videos that tell children everything that they need to know and do not give them time to problem-solve on their own.

The AAP encourages parents to establish a Family Media Plan that clearly outlines when and where family members can use their technology. Parents may consider forbidding technology at certain places, such as the dinner table, or doing activities, such as weekly board game nights, without technology either in order to remove the barriers that technology so often puts between us. A strong family is one where all family members have firm trust, understanding, and respect in between one another. Less face-to-face interaction, and an obsession with screens from both parents and children, can very much damage these bonds. You can make a Digital Media Plan for your family at www.HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan.

Technology is awesome when used properly and in reasonable amounts!

Virtually every person can name at least one technological medium that brings them joy and can bring them closer to the people that they care about. For some, this may be gathering around the couch and watching a movie or TV show. Others may prefer interactive video games that can bring the family together and can promote bonding in ways similar to board games. The internet also possesses an infinite treasure trove of resources that can greatly enhance education and our general quality of life. This technology mainly becomes problematic once we fail to monitor it properly and allow it to spiral out of control. But in moderation and under control, these innovations are a series of mind-blowing inventions that dazzle the mind and can very much aid our personal and family goals.

There are organizations out there that are constantly raising awareness and promoting online safety

In recent years, parents have realized how destructive cell phones can be to their families and have decided to do something about it. “Wait Until 8^th” is a grassroots movement that encourages parents across the country to take a pledge that they will not give their children a smart device until they are at least 8 years old. It was started by Brooke Shannon and a few other parents in Austin, Texas, and works to empower parents and communities about the dangers of cell phones for kids. You can learn more about the pledge at www.waituntil8th.org.

There is also a wealth of resources for parents that are concerned about their children’s online safety. The National Cyber Security Alliance, Project Safe Childhood, and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children all help spread awareness about internet safety and the consequences of careless internet surfing. It should be a goal of every parent to stay technologically literate and up to date about which websites their children are visiting and the apps that they use.

Make technology work for you, as opposed to working for it

Our world is changing faster than we can adapt to it, and smart phones are no exception. New technology always presents new challenges, especially when it can take so long to thoroughly research the effects that this technology can have on our minds and bodies. It is important to always stay technologically literate so that we may provide the best quality of life that we can for our families. Technology, above all else, is a double-edged sword.

References

1. “Children and Media Tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics.” org, 1 May 2018, www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/Pages/Children-and-Media-Tips.aspx.
2. “What Screen Time Can Really Do to Kids’ Brains.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/behind-online-behavior/201604/what-screen-time-can-really-do-kids-brains.

A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach to translate brain waves into speech

Akbari et al. Towards reconstructing intelligible speech from the human auditory cortex. Scientific Reports January, 2019.

In a recent study, researchers demonstrated that brain signals from the human auditory cortex can be reconstructed into intelligible speech with a high rate of success. In the study, the brain signals from the auditory cortexes of five participants (suffering from epilepsy) were recorded while they were listening to stories and numbers being read. Researchers specifically chose epilepsy patients as they were already undergoing a clinical procedure involving the placement of electrodes into the temporal lobe of their brains. This procedure is called invasive electrocorticography. The researchers then spoke 10 numbers into the ears of the test subjects: zero to nine. Each number produced a unique response in the brain. The sound produced by the vocoder in response to those brain signals was analyzed and cleaned up by neural networks, a type of artificial intelligence that mimics the structure of neurons in the biological brain. Remarkably, the robotic translations were successfully understood by 75% of people enlisted to test the technology. These results suggest a hopeful future for the Brain-Computer Interface. In particular, this new technology has great potential at giving a voice to people who are paralyzed or severely injured. Despite the potential, the path for a practical device is still long. To go beyond simple numbers and access the thoughts that go with speaking, the researchers will have to probe a different part of the brain known as the Broca area. It is found in the frontal lobe and linked to speech production and language processing.

Milky Way is warped and twisted, not flat

Chen, et al. An intuitive 3D map of the Galactic warp’s precession traced by classical Cepheids. Nature Astronomy February, 2019.

Astronomers have been studying the Earth’s home galaxy, the Milky Way, for centuries in efforts to get a better understanding of its size, structure, and place in the universe. While modern instruments have provided invaluable details about our galaxy and others, a truly accurate model of our galaxy has been missing. Researchers have recently built, for the first time, an accurate 3D map of the Milky Way. We often think of spiral galaxies as a flat thin disk of stars that orbit around a central region, where billions of stars provide the massive gravitational force to hold everything together. However, a new study showed that the Milky Way’s gas disk is no longer confined to a thin plane, but is instead organized in an S-like, warped appearance. The researchers determined the Milky Way’s exact shape at high accuracy by measuring the distances to so-called Cepheid variable stars. Cepheids are young stars that can be up to 20 times as massive and 100,000 times as bright as our Sun. These high stellar masses live fast and die young, sometimes after only a few million years. They also show day-to month-long pulsations, which are observed as changes in their brightness. Combined with a Cepheid’s observed brightness, its pulsation period can be used to obtain highly reliable distances.  By using the data of 1,339 Cepheid stars as benchmarks, researchers were able to map out accurate distances between objects in the Milky Way. Interestingly, in the Milky Way’s outer regions, they found that the S-like stellar disk is warped in a progressively twisted spiral pattern. Researchers suggested that the Milky Way’s warped spiral pattern is most likely caused as a result of rotational forcing or “torques” by the massive inner disk. The further stars are from the center of the galaxy, the weaker their gravitational pull is. This new morphology is expected to provide a crucial updated map of our galaxy’s stellar motions and the origins of the Milky Way’s galaxy.

Smart fabric self-cools or self-insulates depending on conditions

Zhang et al. Dynamic gating of infrared radiation in a textile. Science, February 2019

Decades of innovation in fabrics have yielded high-tech materials that react to hot and cold conditions, allowing them to keep marathon runners cool or alpine hikers warm. However, there was never a material that could change the insulating properties of fabric in response to the environment. A recently developed fabric is the first to automatically warm wearers up or cool them down as needed. Infrared radiation is the primary way the body releases heat and is the focus of this new technology. When the condition is warm or moist, like when a body sweats, the fabric allows the infrared radiations to pass through. Conversely, in cool and dry conditions, the fabric traps the surrounding heat that escapes. The fibers are made of two different synthetic materials coated in carbon nanotubes – one absorbs water, and the other repels it. When the material gets hot and wet during sweating, the strands twist and warp. This distortion brings the strands of yarn closer together, which opens the pores in the fabric to allow heat to escape. When a wearer is too cool, this mechanism is blocked, trapping heat close to the skin. The reaction takes place almost instantly. The garment cools people down before they realize that they are getting hot. Athletes perhaps will be the first people to wear clothes made from the material, but it could be useful for infants, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Researchers say it could be in production within months as the base material is easily available and the carbon coating can be effortlessly added during the standard dying process.