Americans living longer, healthier lives

13th September 2013Americans living longer, healthier lives
Overall, Americans today are living longer and more healthily than the previous generation, according to one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind. There was a 3.8 year increase in average life expectancy during the last two decades, with quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) also increasing. However, there was a notable rise in anxiety among young and middle-aged people, beginning in 2001.

Thanks to medical advances, better treatments and new drugs not available a generation ago, the average American born today can expect to live 3.8 years longer than a person born two decades ago. Despite all these new technologies, however, is our increased life expectancy actually providing more active and healthy years of life? That question has remained largely unanswered – until now. In a first-of-its-kind study, the University of Massachusetts Medical School has found that the average 25-year-old American today can look forward to 2.4 more years of healthy life than 20 years ago while a 65-year-old today has gained 1.7 years.
Synthesising data from multiple government-sponsored health surveys conducted over the last 21 years, the researchers were able, for the first time, to measure how the quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) of all Americans has changed over time. The study’s findings are described in a paper published yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health
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“QALE tells us more than how long a person can expect to live,” said Dr. Allison Rosen, associate professor of quantitative health sciences. “It tells us what the relative qualities of those added years are in terms of physical, emotional and mental well-being. Though many studies have measured this in different ways, this is really the first time we’ve been able to capture this type of information across the whole U.S. population over an extended period.”
Overall, the data shows that Americans are living longer, reporting fewer symptoms of disease, have more energy and show less impairment in everyday tasks than a generation ago. According to the study, a 25-year-old person today can expect to live 6 percent or 2.4 quality years longer than their 1987 counterpart. Meanwhile, a 65-year-old person will gain 1.7 quality years, a 14 percent increase from a generation ago.
Thanks to improvements in health care, many conditions are far more treatable today than 25 years ago, Rosen said. Heart disease, for instance, was potentially much more debilitating a generation ago and patients often suffered a decline in quality of life as a result. “Today, it is far less likely that a patient recovering from a heart attack will become institutionalised or need around-the-clock care the way they once might have,” Rosen said.

Today, Americans are more likely to see quality of life declines related to chronic, degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, while younger Americans appear to be experiencing problems related to a sedentary lifestyle. The authors also identified some troubling health trends. Among these was an increase in anxiety among young and middle-aged people, beginning in 2001. They also found that health gains made as a result of smoking cessation programs were being off-set, in part, by increases in obesity.
In the past, researchers have had a difficult time measuring population health beyond simple life expectancy because quality of life incorporates so many variables – physical well-being, mental health, pain, vitality, energy, emotional state – that it’s difficult to bring all these things together cohesively into a single number. Making it even more challenging, surveys measuring quality of life are rarely consistent with each other as they all define health and life quality differently.
Using multiple national surveys that asked Americans about their health in various ways over the last 21 years, Rosen and her colleagues solved this problem by identifying areas where the studies overlapped – allowing them to build a single, large data set that covered the entire adult population over more than two decades.
“Comprehensive measures of the overall health of the nation are practically non-existent,” said Rosen. “This study shows how existing national data can be used to systematically measure whether the population is getting healthier – not just living longer.”
As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) goes into effect from 2014–2020, the value of a single, consistent way of measuring improvements in health over a large population will be invaluable in assessing the impact of these pending changes, according to the authors.
“Having a consistent measure of population health represents a major advance in our ability to measure the impact of health care reform on the health – not just the health care use – of all Americans,” said Rosen. “The bottom line in assessing the success of the ACA is whether or not we are getting the most health from our investment of increasingly limited resources. Are we getting the most health bang for our bucks?”
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New NIH awards focus on nanopore technology for DNA sequencing

11th September 2013New NIH awards focus on nanopore technology for DNA sequencing
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded grants of $17 million to eight research teams, with a focus on nanopore technology aimed at more accurate and efficient DNA sequencing.

These grants are the latest awarded through the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)’s Advanced DNA Sequencing Technology program, which was launched in 2004. NHGRI is part of NIH.
“Nanopore technology shows great promise, but is still a new area of science. We have much to learn about how nanopores can work effectively as a DNA sequencing technology, which is why five of the program’s eight grants are exploring this approach,” said Jeffery A. Schloss, Ph.D., program director for NHGRI’s Advanced DNA Sequencing Technology program and director of the Division of Genome Sciences.
Nanopore-based DNA sequencing involves threading single DNA strands through tiny pores. The individual base pairs – chemical letters of DNA – are then read one at a time as they pass through the nanopore. The bases are identified by measuring the difference in their effect on current flowing through the pore. For perspective, a human hair is 100,000 nanometres in diameter; a strand of DNA is only 2 nanometres in diameter.
This technology offers many potential advantages over current sequencing methods, e.g. real-time sequencing of single DNA molecules at low cost and the ability for the same molecule to be reassessed over and over again. Current systems involve isolating DNA and chemically labelling and copying it. DNA has to be broken up, and small segments are sequenced many times. Only the first step of isolating DNA would be necessary with nanopore technology.
Innovation is crucial in these, as well as the other (non-nanopore) genome studies being funded. For example, one team eventually hopes to use light to sequence DNA on a smartphone chip for under $100.
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Microrobots for cell and drug delivery in the human body

17th September 2013

Microrobots for cell and drug delivery in the human body

A team of researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed a novel type of magnetic "micro-robot" capable of transporting cells and delivering drugs to specific locations inside the body. This new technology has the potential to revolutionise minimally invasive medical treatment such as targeted therapy and tissue regeneration.

The development of microrobots requires interdisciplinary knowledge including mechatronics, materials science, biology, computing and automation. These tiny devices have the potential to work in very small and confined spaces and thus have broad applications in many fields, but particularly in minimally invasive medical treatment.

Prof. Zhang Li, from CUHK's Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, collaborated with Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in Korea, and ETH Zurich. Together, they innovated a new microrobot capable of transporting the appropriate amount of cells and therapeutic drugs to specific areas of the body. The team used laser lithography to construct porous 3D scaffolds which were coated with a thin layer of magnetic material (nickel) and biocompatible material (titanium). This allowed remote manipulation of the devices using external magnetic fields to guide them, while causing no harm to living cells.

Prof. Zhang commented: "Our microrobots have enormous potential in on-demand, minimally invasive medical treatments. They allow accurate cell and drug delivery and reduce risk of complications arising from more invasive treatment methods. The low-strength magnetic fields are biologically harmless to living cells and tissues, and are therefore safe to use in the human body. This innovation is a great leap forward in the development of wirelessly-controlled medical microrobots."

One lab test involved cultivating human kidney cells in the microbot model, which grew and interacted with the model, Zhang said. This confirmed that the model could interoperate with the kidney cells, he said, adding that tests were currently conducted on rabbits and mice. This technology could lead to targeted treatment of various diseases such as cancer, cerebral infarction and retinal degeneration.

Professor Zhang is now leading the CUHK research team to improve the performance, intelligence and design of these micro-devices by paying close attention to their locomotion and dynamic properties in fluid. At present, they are just over 100 micrometres (µm) in length. However, as technology improves, they will become even smaller and more sophisticated. Experts believe that nano-scale robots may be possible by 2025 – able to repair individual cells and even work directly inside them. Further into the future, these machines could become a permanent part of our physiology.

The research results of this latest study will be featured as the cover story in a forthcoming issue of Advanced Materials.

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Robots taking over the economy: sudden rise of interacting machines trading at speeds too fast for humans

11th September 2013

Robots taking over the economy: sudden rise of interacting machines trading at speeds too fast for humans

Researchers have discovered a "global ecology" of interacting machines that trade on the global markets at speeds too fast for humans, causing periodic outages. These high frequency trading algorithms could lead to increasingly large crashes, as the volume of data in the world continues to grow exponentially.

Recently, the global financial market experienced a series of computer glitches that abruptly brought operations to a halt. This was so serious that – on one day – it resulted in a third fewer shares being traded in the USA. One reason for these "flash freezes" may be the sudden emergence of mobs of ultrafast robots, which trade on the global markets and operate at speeds beyond human capability, thus overwhelming the system. The appearance of this "ultrafast machine ecology" is documented in a new study published today in Nature Scientific Reports.

The findings suggest that for time scales less than one second, the financial world makes a sudden transition into a cyber jungle inhabited by packs of aggressive trading algorithms. "These algorithms can operate so fast that humans are unable to participate in real time, and instead, an ultrafast ecology of robots rises up to take control," explains Neil Johnson, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami (UM).

"Our findings show that, in this new world of ultrafast robot algorithms, the behaviour of the market undergoes a fundamental and abrupt transition to another world where conventional market theories no longer apply," Johnson says.

Society's push for ever faster systems that outpace competitors has led to algorithms capable of operating faster than the response time for a human. For instance, the quickest a person can react to potential danger is about one second. Even a chess grandmaster takes around 650 milliseconds to realise that he is in trouble – yet microchips for trading can operate in a fraction of a millisecond (1 millisecond is 0.001 seconds).

In this study, the researchers assembled and analysed a high-throughput millisecond-resolution price stream of multiple stocks and exchanges. From January 2006, through to February 2011, they found 18,520 extreme events lasting less than 1.5 seconds, including both crashes and spikes.

The team realised that as the duration of these ultrafast extreme events fell below human response times, the number of crashes and spikes increased dramatically. They created a model to understand the behaviour and concluded that the events were the product of ultrafast computer trading and not attributable to other factors, such as regulations or mistaken trades. Johnson, who is head of the inter-disciplinary research group on complexity at UM, compares the situation to an ecological environment.

"As long as you have the normal combination of prey and predators, everything is in balance, but if you introduce predators that are too fast, they create extreme events," Johnson says. "What we see with the new ultrafast computer algorithms is predatory trading. In this case, the predator acts before the prey even knows it's there."

Johnson explains that in order to regulate these ultrafast computer algorithms, we need to understand their collective behaviour. This is a daunting task, but is made easier by the fact that the algorithms that operate below human response times are relatively simple, because simplicity allows faster processing.

"There are relatively few things that an ultrafast algorithm will do," Johnson says. "This means that they are more likely to start adopting the same behaviour, and hence form a cyber crowd or cyber mob which attacks a certain part of the market. This is what gives rise to the extreme events that we observe," he says. "Our math model is able to capture this collective behaviour by modelling how these cyber mobs behave."

In fact, Johnson believes this new understanding of cyber-mobs may have other important applications outside of finance – such as dealing with cyber-attacks and cyber-warfare.

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Giant aquifers discovered in drought-prone Kenya

14th September 2013

Giant aquifers discovered in drought-prone Kenya

Massive new reserves of groundwater have been found in Turkana County, northern Kenya – enough to supply the entire country for 70 years.

Huge underground water reserves have been found in Turkana, one of Kenya’s driest and poorest regions. The discoveries were made by Radar Technologies International (RTI), a natural resources exploration firm, during a survey conducted for the Kenyan Government on behalf of the UN. The aquifers were detected using the WATEX System – a state-of-the-art, space-based exploration technology.

Both shallow and deep aquifers were surveyed across northern and central Turkana County in an effort to identify supplies to combat drought and water scarcity for the 2 million people living in the region. It was found that Turkana hosts a minimum reserve of 250 billion cubic metres of water, replenished mainly by rainfall in the Kenyan and Ugandan highlands at a rate of 3.4 billion cubic metres per year. This new wealth of water represents nearly double the amount that Kenyans consume today. It could dramatically improve the livelihoods of Turkana's people, most of whom live in poverty and have limited access to basic services and clean water.

Kenya, and the location of Turkana County, including the disputed Elemi Triangle (light green). Credit: Mandingoesque / Nairobi123

Two major aquifers were recorded and proven by drilling. The Lotikipi Basin Aquifer is estimated to store 207 billion cubic metres of water, the same volume of nearby Lake Turkana. About the size of the US state of Rhode Island, this aquifer replenishes at a rate of 1.2 billion cubic metres a year. This paleo lake could be part of the “Land of Marvels”, the ancient sources of the Nile that were explored by Egyptian Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut some 3,500 years ago.

The Lodwar Basin Aquifer is situated within a short distance of Lodwar town and Turkana’s oil reserves. It is fed by the perennial Turkwel River and has an estimated reserve of 10 billion cubic metres. RTI recorded three other large structures – Gatome, Kachoda and Nakalale – which may prove to store a combined 30 billion cubic metres if confirmed by drilling.

In addition to deep reserves, RTI also mapped 2 billion cubic meters of water passing only a few metres under the ground and easy to reach, significantly raising the prospect for local agriculture activities.

Looking ahead, RTI has recommended that all measures be taken to ensure the sustainability and viability of these newly discovered resources. Their work also establishes a new basis upon which future investigations and mapping in Kenya can be based.

The WATEX System detects water with its unique method of processing and interpreting remote sensing, oil industry and conventional data. The WATEX maps have a 6.25-metre surface accuracy and have been proven to locate underground water with over 94% certainty in most areas. Known for its rapid and large-scale mapping capabilities, WATEX has been utilised in a number of countries to find water for international aid agencies and foreign governments – most recently in Ethiopia, Angola, Chad, Darfur and Afghanistan. During the Darfur Crisis, RTI used the WATEX to find water for thousands of Sudanese refugees. Its partners have used WATEX groundwater maps to drill over 1,500 wells to help alleviate the crisis in Darfur.

Announcing these latest findings at the opening session of UNESCO's Strategic and High-Level Meeting on Water Security and Cooperation, Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary, said the results were a critical scientific breakthrough for Kenya: “The news about these water reserves comes at a time when reliable water supplies are highly needed. This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole. We must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations.”

Stressing Kenya’s vulnerability and water insecurity caused by erratic rainfall patterns and the influence of climate change, Judi Wakhungu said more research and investment were now needed to identify and understand groundwater aquifers and improve capacity for monitoring and assessment of these resources.

“UNESCO is proud to be a part of this important finding, which clearly demonstrates how science and technology can contribute to industrialisation and economic growth, and to resolving real societal issues like access to water,” said the Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, Gretchen Kalonji. “It is indeed in line with UNESCO’s vision for science for sustainable development and we will continue to support Africa, to unlock the full potential of its invisible water wealth.”

Gallery: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/multimedia/photos/kenya-groundwater-survey/

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