Lifeboat Foundation

A new study finds a chemical formed when we digest a widely used sweetener is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA. The chemical is also found in trace amounts in the sweetener itself, and the finding raises questions about how the sweetener may contribute to health problems.

At issue is sucralose, a widely used artificial sweetener sold under the trade name Splenda^®. Previous work by the same research team established that several fat-soluble compounds are produced in the gut after sucralose ingestion. One of these compounds is sucralose-6-acetate.

Our new work establishes that sucralose-6-acetate is genotoxic. We also found that trace amounts of sucralose-6-acetate can be found in off-the-shelf sucralose, even before it is consumed and metabolized.

A drug that was originally developed to treat diabetes and severe overweight might also help people with nicotine dependence, concludes new research from the University of Copenhagen.

Smoking is one of the greatest threats to public health. According to new data from the Danish Health Authority, 15,920 Danes die every year because of their addiction to cigarettes.

And 75% of smokers want to quit.

Diabetes — specifically type 2 diabetes— is becoming one of the most challenging health problems of the 21st century. By 2,025,380 million people worldwide are also expected to be diagnosed with diabetes.

In a recent study published in the Open Forum Infectious Diseases, researchers assess the resistance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) over time in adults who received uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) outpatient care.

Study: Multi-drug resistance of Escherichia coli from outpatient uncomplicated urinary tract infections in a large U.S. integrated health care organization. Image Credit: 220 Selfmade studio / Shutterstock.com.

Israeli-based health tech company Cordio has developed machine learning software that can be downloaded to a smartphone and help keeps cardiac patients out of the hospital.

One day in the future.

It’s a simple daily habit that could save their life, because one day after repeating their daily refrain, their doctor might be notified that a patient is at risk of heart failure without immediate care.

Continue reading “This AI Startup Aims To Predict Heart Failure Before It Happens” »

A recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports assessed the associations between the change in total cholesterol (TC) levels after type 2 diabetes (T2D) diagnosis (relative to pre-diagnosis levels) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

CVD is the global leading cause of mortality. T2D is a gateway disease to CVD. A study revealed higher coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke risks in diabetes patients than in non-diabetic individuals. The global prevalence of T2D is expected to exceed 10% by 2030. Therefore, preventing CVD in people with diabetes could be of public health significance.

Hypercholesterolemia is a significant risk factor for CVD, and its adverse effects on CVD could be more evident in individuals with metabolic conditions, e.g., T2D. Diabetes patients may be more susceptible to hypercholesterolemia’s negative impact on CVD risk. Nonetheless, T2D diagnosis often results in positive lifestyle changes helping reduce hypercholesterolemia or CVD risk.

Billionaire Elon Musk took a dig at fellow billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates over his knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI). He insisted that Mr. Gates has a “limited” understanding of AI.

This was in response to a tweet by Sandy Kory, who praised the leadership of Mr. Gates at Microsoft and his approach toward AI. “‘I’d been meeting with the team from OpenAI since 2016…” –from Bill Gates’ essay, The Age of AI Has Begun. It’s big when someone like Gates is so bullish on AI. Also notable that MSFT has been tracking this so closely for so long,” he said.

Mr. Kory was referring to a long, 3,639-word essay the billionaire wrote on his blog titled “The Age of A.I. Has Begun”. He wrote about how humanity was waiting for another great revolution. Mr. Gates discussed the potential impact of AI on employment, health care, and education.

Founded in 2020, Moonfire Ventures has raised a $115 million second round of investment to invest in European technology and AI startups.

As reported by Reuters, a large investment fund called Moonfire Ventures has just raised $115 million to help invest in European technology and artificial intelligence (AI) startups. Founded by Atomico (a venture capital firm) co-founder Mattias Ljungman in 2020, this news will undoubtedly be welcomed by the tech industry across the continent.

Continue reading “$115 million raised by Moonfire Ventures for European AI startups” »

The recent advent of generative models, computational tools that can generate new texts or images based on the data they are trained on, opened interesting new possibilities for the creative industries. For example, they allow artists and digital content creators to easily produce realistic media content that integrates elements of different images or videos.

Inspired by these recent advances, researchers at Stanford University, UC Berkeley and Adobe Research have developed a new model that can realistically insert specific humans into different scenes, for instance showing them as they exercise in the gym, watch a sunset on the beach, and so on.

Their proposed architecture, which is based on a class of generative models known as diffusion models, was introduced in a paper pre-published on the arXiv server and set to be presented at the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2023 in Vancouver this June.