Stream Computing
April 2, 2008
Looks like after the Cloud, we are going to get the Stream. This is, at least to my knowledge, the first time I have seem Stream Computing being used as a term.
Real time processing of a continuous stream of information has been discussed on bbgm before. Streaming information has many uses. In the life sciences these could include pharmacovigilance and infectious disease monitoring, as well as trying to find information from research streaming. Imagine a pharma company of the future, with laboratory instrumentation streaming out information, researchers with mobile platforms, lab notebooks, and in silico scientists streaming information as well. All this streamed data are a treasure trove of information that can be mined in real time for patterns and to flag interesting correlations. Of course, the compute power required to do so will be quite massive, and it’s easier to talk about this than put it into practice, but the possibilities are fun to contemplate.
Further Reading
Streambase
Technorati Tags: IBM, Stream Computing
Hacking the body - nope not what you had in mind
March 12, 2008
This is scary stuff. Apparently, a team of computer security experts has been able to gain wireless access to a combination heart defibrillator and pacemaker manufactured by Medtronic. The team was also able to access patient data by eavesdropping on signals from a tiny wireless radio embedded in the implant. The radio allows doctors monitor and adjust the device non-invasively.
The New York Times has the scoop.
The first thing I thought of was all the DIY/RFID-type stuff that some of my maker buddies are into. It’s somewhat obvious, but if we are going to become a bionic society in some future era, network security is going to take on a whole different meaning.
Technorati Tags: Medical Devices, Hacking, Network Security
PLoS Biology, TED, EOL, BIL and BioBricks
February 25, 2008
A bunch of semi-related newsitems, shoehorned into a single post.
PLoS Biology has a new Academic Editor-in-Chief, and in fellow scifoo Jonathan Eisen, they couldn’t have found a better candidate. Jonathan, who’s been an academic editor for a while, is an OA champion, a wonderful scientist, and best of all, one of the most fun people to read or meet in person.
Meanwhile, this is TED week. As anyone remotely connected to bbgm knows, TED is a favorite around these parts. Since I have already watched every video they have ever released on their wonderful website, it’s time for a new batch and voila, TED 2008 is just round the corner. Check out the list of speakers.
Speaking of TED, former TED prize winner, E. O. Wilson’s Encyclopedia of Life is supposed to finally go live this Thursday (probably to coincide with TED. Could he be one of the surprise speakers?)
Update: Looks like it’s already up
Right as TED ends, Monterrey will host BIL, the “open source” version of TED (and has been blessed by TED). I was planning to go, but other matters are going to keep me away.
At the same time, on March 1, UCSF is playing host to the BioBricks Workshop, which I blogged about earlier. I am still scheduled to attend, although that’s beginning to look a little dicey.
Technorati Tags: PLoS Biology, Jonathan Eisen, Open Access, TED, BIL, BioBricks, Encyclopedia of Life
Engineering Grand Challenges - Where’s microfluidics?
February 24, 2008
One of the Engineering Grand Challenges is Engineering the tools of science. Right up front, the question is asked; “How will engineering impact biological research?”.
They ask the right questions, but I feel that the essay really misses the mark on some of the technologies that will revolutionize discovery in some of the very areas mentioned in the challenge. Next generation sequencing, multiplexed assays that leverage nanoscale technologies, revolutions in imaging are but some of the areas that should have been called out and discussed in some detail. What really struck me was the absence of any mention of microfluidics, which, at least in my book, is going to change biological assays over the next 10-15 years. Already a number of systems in sequencing, point-of-care diagnostics etc are beginning to use microfluidics to make those reality. Just like robots revolutionized high throughput science, microfluidics will change the future of biological assays, allowing the detection of multiple analytes with small sample qualities.
Further reading
Microfluidics and HIV
Technorati Tags: Engineering Grand Challenges, Microfluidics
Engineering Grand Challenges - Engineering better medicines
February 18, 2008
The TED blog points us to the release of Grand Challenges for Engineering released by the National Academy of Engineering. In other words, not something to be taken lightly. Over the next few days, I am going to discuss some of these challenges
We start with the challenge to Engineer better medicines.
The story is not new. We all know (or are in denial) that the traditional approach to drug development, aka the blockbuster model, is not cutting it any more. What we need are new approaches to drug development and new ways to approach and understand diseases, disease prevention and disease treatment.
Where do the grand challenges lie? Well, there is a laundry list of challenges, but many are focused on the same problem; how can we leverage our increasing knowledge of human genetics and systems biology to develop more personalized treatments. The engineering challenges are correctly identified as the need to develop multiplexed assays for assessing a genetic profile and for point-of-care and other diagnostic systems, an area where nanotechnology is going to make a huge difference. Another area where nanotech is likely to play a role, but other technologies as well, is drug delivery. One of the challenges facing drug makers is getting effective drugs to their targeted regions (rather than dispersing them in the blood). Novel drug delivery systems also make some drugs, that would be discarded for solubility or other reasons, viable again.
Synthetic biology is also identified as a grand challenge, and not surprisingly so. The field combines modern biology with bioengineering with multiple applications, including those in regenerative medicine. Personally, while I worry about overzealous legislators overregulating this fledgling field, and of the dangers of overhyping, it is clear to me that synthetic biology is worth pursuing. Not only is it fascinating scientifically, but if we can apply it safely, the possibilities are endless.
The challenge does mix up engineering with aspects that most would consider scientific challenges, e.g. creating new molecules in the lab is not chemical engineering, nor is the search for novel drug candidates to fight infectious disease engineering.
The take home message is simple in a sense. Tomorrow’s healthcare will be driven by a mix of chemistry, biology, informatics and engineering, and none can be successful without the other. We need to work together and try and address these problems. Too often you see big talk, the race to publish papers, but the people willing to take the risks, develop industrial scale facilities, to commercialize innovation and bring it to the masses are few and far between. Hopefully, we will see them soon enough, cause our future health requires some of these challenges to be overcome.
Technorati Tags: Engineering Grand Challenge, Drug Development, Futurist
