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STEM-Talk

STEM-Talk

著者： Dawn Kernagis and Ken Ford
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 The most interesting people in the world of science and technologyFlorida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition 代替医療・補完医療 博物学 科学 自然・生態学 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • Episode 184: Ken and Dawn answer listener questions on AI, grip strength, ketamine, protein, digital twins, and more!

    Episode 184: Ken and Dawn answer listener questions on AI, grip strength, ketamine, protein, digital twins, and more!
    2025/07/10
    It’s time for another episode of Ask Me Anything. Dawn and Ken answer listener questions that range from generative AI to whether grip strength is a biomarker for longevity and the potential of ketamine as a treatment for depression. Dawn also gives a brief overview of work she is doing with the deep-sea technology company Deep. As a special treat at the end of today’s episode, Dawn plays a recording of the commencement speech that Ken recently gave at the University of West Florida. As the saying goes, you don’t want to miss it. Show notes: [00:02:18] Ken starts off the episode with a listener question about whether Dawn and Ken read print books or digital, the reason being that a listener recently came across an article that claimed digital screens are rewiring our brains. [00:05:32] A listener asks about a paper titled “Grip Strength An Indispensable Biomarker for Older Adults” which claims that the ability to hang from a bar for 60 seconds for men, and 30 seconds for women, indicates that a person is likely to live longer. The paper claims that a decline in grip strength is associated with adverse health consequences, and the listener asks Ken what advice he has for developing and maintaining grip strength. [00:10:20] A listener asks a question inspired by our recent interview with Dr. Frank Butler. The listener asks if Ken has heard about the FDA approved depression therapy, esketamine, which is a derivative of ketamine and is a long-standing therapy for depression. [00:12:37] A listener asks Ken about a 2023 paper in the journal Age and Aging titled “Higher Dietary Protein Intake is Associated with Sarcopenia in Older British Twins” [00:16:13] A listener asks Ken about “Whisper,” which is a transcription product from OpenAI. The listener explains that OpenAI disclaims that Whisper should not be used in high-risk domains. However, according to a story by the Associated Press titled “Researchers Say an AI Powered Transcription Tool Used in Hospitals Invents Things No One Ever Said,” medical centers have already begun to use the tool to transcribe physician consultations. The listener explains that, according to the article, the use of Whisper in these contexts has led to numerous ‘hallucinations’ from the AI tool and the listener asks Ken what his thoughts are on how tools like Whisper should be integrated into various industries. [00:20:21] A listener asks for Ken’s thoughts on a series of articles by Kevin Roose in The New York Times claiming that there is no reason to learn how to code and program because very soon AI will take over all coding. Mr. Roose also asserts that the time is soon approaching when we need to have discussions on what rights to grant sentient AI. [00:21:57] A listener asks Ken if he concurs with a report from the National Academy of Medicine titled “Generative Artificial Intelligence in Health and Medicine – Opportunities and Responsibilities for Transformative Innovation,” which notes that large language models (LLMs) hold huge promise for patient care and healthcare system workflows, as well as risks. The listener asks if Ken agrees with the report’s claims that two areas in which we could see near term applications of LLMs are patient education and synthesis of information of electronic medical records. [00:23:35] As a follow up question, Ken is asked about the aforementioned report’s discussion of the “digital twin” concept. A digital twin is a computational representation of a patient or disease that could be used to speed up virtual experiments or subgroup analysis of investigational agents that carry risk for real patients. [00:26:26] A listener asks for Ken’s thoughts on a paper published in the journal of Nutrition Health and Aging titled “Effects of Vitamin D3 Omega 3 Fatty Acids and a Simple Home Exercise Program on Change in Physical Activity Among Generally Healthy and Active Older Adults.” The paper claims that among generally healthy,
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    44 分
  • Episode 183: Michael Schmidt on the challenges of building a space-faring civilization

    Episode 183: Michael Schmidt on the challenges of building a space-faring civilization
    2025/06/24
    Today we have the second installment of our interview with Dr. Michael A. Schmidt, the founder, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer of Sovaris Aerospace, a company focused on assessments and solutions applied to humans in space and extreme environments on Earth. In today’s interview, we talk to Michael about NASA’s plans to send humans to Mars and build permanent colonies on the Moon and Mars. We also talk to Michael about his recent book, “Building a Space-Faring Civilization,” which addresses the challenges of civilian spaceflight and the construction of space settlements. In part one of our interview, Episode 182, we talked with Michael about his pioneering work in the field of precision medicine and how he has used it to improve the cognitive and physical performance of astronauts as well as NBA, NFL players and Special Operations forces. In addition to his work with Sovaris, Michael also is a professor of aerospace medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, one of the few programs in the U.S. that offers a medical residency in aerospace medicine. Show notes: [00:03:00] Dawn picks up our interview from where we left off in part one, discussing the Human Research Program for Civilian Spaceflight. She goes on to mention that Chris Mason at Cornell University has a biobank of 1,500 samples across 22 astronauts and seven missions, and that these samples will lead to deeper insights on the effects of spaceflight on humans. Dawn switches gears to ask Michael about the cognitive and physical challenges of spaceflight over long duration missions. [00:13:03] Following up on the cognitive challenges of long duration spaceflight, Ken mentions that the hippocampus, the primary memory center of the brain, has a relatively low radiation threshold compared to other tissues in the brain. Ken asks Michael to touch on the vulnerability of specialized brain tissues to radiation, particularly in the context of a long duration spaceflight to Mars. [00:21:53] Ken mentions that it is understood that the APOE4/4 genotype is associated with impaired cognitive performance under certain circumstances and an elevated risk of dementia. While it is currently unknown whether APOE4/4 has any correlation of increased risk associated with cognitive impact resultant from environmental exposure due to spaceflight, Ken highlights the concern with sending APOE4/4-positive astronauts on long duration spaceflights without knowing the risks. [00:29:26] Ken notes the worsened cognitive impacts resultant from medical radiation, and while therapeutic radiation is different than radiation experienced by astronauts, these results give some indication of the effects astronauts might experience. [00:33:27] Dawn mentions that we recently had planetary scientist and director of NASA’s Haughton-Mars project, Pascal Lee, on the podcast, who explained his view that since there are so many engineering and biological challenges with going to Mars, we should take a more measured approach to a Mars mission, perhaps even beginning with a roundtrip to Mars rather than landing on our first visit. Dawn asks Michael what his thoughts are on this approach. [00:37:29] Ken shifts the discussion to the subject of one of Mars’ moons, Phobos, and its potential role in a Mars mission. [00:40:30] Dawn pivots to talk about Michael’s Book “Building a Space-Faring Civilization: Advancing the Renaissance of Science, Medicine and Human Performance in Civilian Spaceflight.” Dawn asks Michael to talk about the chapter concerning the question of space radiation from the standpoint of precision medicine. [00:55:12] Dawn asks Michael to talk about the lack of appreciation people have for the fact that a Mars mission would be the most dangerous thing we’ve ever done. [00:59:06] Ken mentions that Michael has worked with a lot of organizations, including Space X, which has a program, the Space X Mars Colonization Program,
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    1 時間 35 分
  • Episode 182: Michael Schmidt discusses the application of precision medicine to human spaceflight

    Episode 182: Michael Schmidt discusses the application of precision medicine to human spaceflight
    2025/06/02
    Today we have Dr. Michael A. Schmidt, the founder, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer of Sovaris Aerospace, a company focused on assessments and solutions applied to humans in space and extreme environments on Earth. Michael is also a professor of aerospace medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, one of the few programs in the U.S. that offers a medical residency in aerospace medicine. Michael is known for his work pioneering the field of precision medicine. He uses molecular analytics, coupled with physiologic and behavioral assessments, to facilitate human performance and resilience on Earth as well as in the extreme environment of space. His work covers a spectrum from NASA, the NFL, the NBA, U.S. Olympic teams, Nike, SpaceX, Axiom Space, NASCAR, Special Operations, the Naval Submarine Medical Research Lab, the Mayo Clinic, and others. We had a long and fascinating conversation with Michael and decided to break the interview into two parts. This episode focuses on Michael’s background and the cognitive and physical challenges astronauts experience in spaceflight. We also dive into the many ways that precision medicine is facilitating human performance and resilience here on Earth. In part two of our conversation, Michael talks about his work with NASA and SpaceX on the challenges of civilian spaceflight and the future of Mars exploration, including the construction of permanent colonies on the Moon and Mars. You won’t want to miss that conversation. Show notes: [00:03:59] Dawn opens our interview mentioning that Michael grew up in Minnesota in a small farming community, asking if it’s true that he sometimes had to do chores in 20- to 30-degree weather. [00:06:50] Dawn asks if it is true that Michael fell in love with science at a young age, even building telescopes at the age of 11. [00:08:00] Dawn asks Michael what it was that led him to become so fascinated with space specifically. [00:08:58] Dawn asks if Michael ever thought about becoming an astronaut. [00:10:09] Ken asks if it is true that Michael was a big reader as a child. [00:11:21] Dawn asks Michael to talk about his childhood athletic interests. [00:11:55] Dawn asks how it was that a high school quarterback from a small town in Minnesota ended up at university in the United Kingdom. [00:13:38] Ken asks Michael what years he worked at NASA Ames Research Center. [00:14:51] Ken mentions that when Michael was at NASA Ames, he did work collecting molecular and physiologic assessments of humans using NASA’s 20-G centrifuge. Ken asks Michael to talk about the centrifuge and how he used it in his studies of hypergravity. [00:17:49] Ken comments on the fact that pieces of equipment like NASA’s 20-G centrifuge are a precious scientific resource, and when they cease functioning, unfortunately, they are unlikely to be replaced. [00:19:40] Ken and Michael discuss the fact that microgravity, despite being one of the most pressing effects on astronaut health, is the one of the least addressed problems in human spaceflight. [00:21:48] Ken explains that Michael is the founder, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of a company called Sovaris Aerospace, which is focused on assessments and solutions applied to humans in space and extreme environments on Earth. Ken asks Michael where the idea came from to found this company. [00:24:35] Dawn explains that since the human genome was first sequenced, there has been an acceleration of genome-based technologies that have made it possible to consider a person’s genetic makeup, both in healthcare and optimizing performance. Dawn asks Michael to talk about the work he does applying genomics to human spaceflight. [00:28:52] Dawn asks about Michael’s direction of the molecular profiling and precision medicine efforts for the Golden State Warriors during their record-breaking 73-9 season [00:32:57] Dawn mentions that Michael published a review in the journal Meta...
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    1 時間 15 分

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