Even with physicians "in-the-loop," in this case experienced specialists, adversarial AI increased the harmful decision rate from 2 to 49%. A randomized assessment of case scenarios, not actual patients, but indicative of the limitation of oversight. preprint

A seminal paper on aging of our immune system was just published. From study of over 12 million single-cells in 8 cohorts, >2,600 individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 98. Yielding a practical blood test. And much more. A Tale of Two T cells In the new Ground Truths

Engineering T cells for immunotherapy vs cancer had already had marked success in certain types. But there's a next generation in the hopper, as reviewed today @Cancer_Cell, that ought to help take the field much further into solid tumors

When genome editing got going, the ability to trace a mammalian embryo's development to organ generation in exquisite detail was not envisioned. Now it's been accomplished by 2 independent groups. A big week in developmental biology @JShendure @ScienceMagazine @jonathanweisman @CellCellPress @nature @ewencallaway

A seminal paper on aging of our immune system was just published. From study of over 12 million single-cells in 8 cohorts, >2,600 individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 98. Yielding a practical blood test. And much more. A Tale of Two T cells In the new Ground Truths

On AI threats to doom and our safety: hardware vs software engineers point of view, by @stephenwitt, on @JensenHuang 'It reminds one of the viral image “The Dress,” where some people saw blue and black, and some people saw white and gold.' No, on best case scenario: "Maybe I will live to be 205." gift link

No, they can't measure blood pressure accurately. American Heart Statement: "currently available devices may be inappropriate for clinical use." and "using these devices to guide treatment could lead to inappropriate care and may pose safety risks to patients." @American_Heart open-access gift link

This week in epigenetic and aging insights: 1. the oldest land animal, 194 years 2. why small dogs live longer than big ones 3. Why commercial epigenetic ("biological") clocks are problematic 4. What epigenetic clocks are actually measuring

Real-world AI goes to the urgent care setting. A prospective feasibility assessment of patient-facing conversational Al held up very well according to patients and physicians for accuracy of diagnosis, among many other metrics Just published @TheLancet @AdamRodmanMD @PeterBrodeurMD @alan_karthi @GoogleDeepMind

Why do small dogs live longer than large dog species, and what is the biologic basis of differences in lifespan and healthspan? Epigenetics. There's a lot in the methylation pattern of dogs to explain this @ScienceMagazine

Wow, this is a pretty striking result for my Strong Epigenetic Theory of Aging: transplant an old heart into a young animal and the heart is rejuvenated. But transplant a young heart into an old animal, and it quickly ages to match the recipient. This shows that biological age is not simply something an organ accumulates locally as irreversible “wear and tear.” Instead, to a large degree, it is a state imposed by the organism-wide environment. The authors saw bidirectional remodeling of both DNA methylation and gene expression, with old hearts in young hosts moving toward youthful programs and young hearts in old hosts moving toward aged ones. That is exactly what you’d expect to see if aging is a regulated, system-level state where the epigenome is acting as the writable control layer that tissues continuously adjust to the organism’s age.

AI is changing medical practice, as @RBMD1982 points out @nytopinion But there are certainly concerns regarding deskilling and never-skilling among younger physicians, trainees, and students (w/@AdamRodmanMD) "Now, the chatbot in my pocket reassures me that I will always know enough, or have access to the cloud-based intelligence that generally does."