The Velocity of Medical Knowledge

February 24, 2024

Karen Telleen-Lawtonby Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read original on Noozhawk here)

Vans of Big Data frequently cite the year 1800 as marking when the quantity of knowledge was doubling every 100 years.

The same doubling of knowledge took a mere 13 months by the early 1980s. Now data analysts estimate the velocity of knowledge-doubling is closer to 12 hours.

Is all this new knowledge good for something?
 
Scientific discoveries in medicine may be considered one benefactor of new global knowledge. National Geographic recently highlighted their take on the top science discoveries of 2023, which included improvements in healing and medicine.

One new development is an AI-based brain decoder that translates a patient’s brain activity into a continuous stream of text. Instead of a surgical implant, the interpretation of brain waves is based on evaluating functional MRI images made while the patient is viewing images or listening.

Mental privacy and ethics issues will govern its use, but the invention provides hope for people with communication impairment.

Another 2023 scientific development is an updated reference genome. The original genome project, completed in 2013, drew data mostly from a single individual of European descent. The new pan-genome was created using cells from 47 people representing a wide variety of ethnic and racial diversity.

The model continues to expand. It will eventually include about 700 people. Nat Geo’s Dina Fine Maron writes of the improved genome: “Teasing apart individual differences can reveal key insights about disease vulnerabilities and guide essential medical treatment decisions, according to the NIH [National Institute of Health].”

These findings are good news for everyone, but particularly those suffering any of the 7,000 rare diseases which afflict humans. While each rare disease is rare, nearly ten percent of Americans have at least one rare disease. Only 5 percent of rare diseases currently have a cure.

Medical doctors are trained to seek common diseases. The mantra is, “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.”

However, the hyper velocity of knowledge in science is already having a positive effect on rare diseases. The FDA recently approved a treatment for the blood cancer Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis now has a viable treatment.

In the case of the rare disease with which our family member is afflicted (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis), researchers announced at the annual PSC Partners conference that they believe a first treatment may be only 5-10 years away. In the future, thousands could keep their own livers longer; perhaps indefinitely.

Research on rare diseases often produces knowledge in the treatment of more common ailments. Comparing the functions of protein produced by mutated genes in healthy individuals versus patients with a disease presentation can help point the way to a solution.

Tecan.com, a Swiss designer of lab instruments, writes, “Researching new medicines for rare diseases has already resulted in discovering underlying causes and therefore, new treatment options for diabetes, obesity and migraine.” A byproduct of researching rare Niemann-Pick Disease, for example, was a breakthrough in treating Ebola, which could save millions of lives.
 
Feb. 29 is annual Rare Disease Day. It’s a chance to wear zebra stripes to support rare disease research. Your awareness can further increase the velocity of medical knowledge, bringing new hope to millions of people with rare – and not so rare – diseases.

Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist

Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.

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