New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Mayo Clinic scientists are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyse electroencephalogram (EEG) tests with increased speed and precision. This advancement aims to help neurologists identify early signs of dementia that are often missed in traditional analyses.

The EEG, a century-old test involving electrodes placed on the scalp to monitor brain activity, is commonly used to detect epilepsy. However, recent research published in Brain Communications by the Mayo Clinic Neurology AI Program (NAIP) reveals that AI can enhance the detection of subtle abnormal patterns in EEG data, which may indicate cognitive issues such as Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

“There’s a wealth of medical information in these brain waves,” said Dr. David T. Jones, senior author and director of NAIP. “We found that AI could accurately measure and quantify changes in EEG patterns associated with cognitive problems.”

The study involved data from over 11,000 patients who underwent EEGs at Mayo Clinic over a decade. Researchers used machine learning to distill complex brain wave patterns into six specific features, enabling the AI to focus on indicators of cognitive issues.

“It was remarkable how the technology quickly extracted EEG patterns compared to traditional methods like cognitive tests and brain imaging,” noted Dr. Wentao Li, co-first author of the study.

While EEGs may not replace other diagnostic tools like MRIs or PET scans, they offer a more accessible and economical option, especially in areas lacking advanced medical facilities. Dr. Jones emphasized the importance of early diagnosis for better treatment outcomes.

“This method could provide a cheaper way to identify early memory loss or dementia,” Dr. Jones said. The team plans further research to integrate these tools into clinical practice and expand their use beyond Mayo Clinic.

The study highlights the potential for AI-enhanced EEGs to revolutionise dementia diagnosis and treatment, offering new hope for early intervention in cognitive disorders.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Kerala is once again in the news for an extreme weather event, as its Wayanad District reels from destruction wreaked by one of the most devastating landslides triggered by incessant monsoon rains.

Experts point at reasons beyond the meteorological factors, such as climate change and unplanned development, for the catastrophic landslides.

In the wee hours of July 30, multiple landlines swept away several villages in Wayanad. The tragedy has claimed over 200 lives and left 200 people missing.

Kerala receives the second-highest monsoon rainfall in India after the northeastern states. It records an average annual rainfall of about 3,107 mm of which 75 per cent is received during the monsoon months of June-September.

Geographically, Kerala is bound by the Arabian Sea to its west and the Western Ghats to its east.

This makes it highly susceptible to heavy rains during the season, say climate experts.

Orography has a strong effect on rainfall distribution in the mountainous region of Kerala.

The rainfall potential of the region increases from the coastal belt towards the Western Ghats. It reaches maximum on the windward side of the Ghats and rapidly decreases on the leeward side.

The rainfall characteristics over Kerala are unique because of the influence of isolated steep-sloped structures separated by the wide Palghat gap.

Contrary to this climatology, the state has experienced severe floods in recent times due to intense precipitation during the monsoon season.

“Whilst rainfall in Kannur District has been 21 per cent above the average between June 1 and July 30, it is 14 per cent below the average in the neighbouring district of Wayanad, and up to 25 per cent below average in Idukki and Ernakulam districts,” said Akshay Deoras, Research Scientist, National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Britain.

“The co-occurrence of two extreme scenarios (landslides and rainfall deficit) in the same state reflect a strong spatial variability in this year’s monsoon rainfall. The expectation is that such a pattern would become more intense in the future if global warming continues,” he said.

There has been a steady rise in extreme events in the state over the last decade.

For example, Cyclone Ockhi wreaked havoc in 2017, followed by devastating floods in 2018, which were among the worst in the state’s history.

In August 2019, the state experienced another spell of extremely heavy rainfall.

According to a report, ‘Climate Change Assessment over the Indian Region’, the inter-annual variability of summer monsoon rainfall is projected to increase throughout the 21st century.

The increased frequency of localised heavy rainfall on sub-daily and daily timescales has enhanced flood risks across India.

Numerous studies have established that the rise in global average temperatures due to human-induced climate change has led to an increase in the number of extreme rainfall events associated with monsoon, thunderstorms and short-spanned local cloudbursts.

These events, ranging from a few hours to a few days, have become more frequent in the recent decades over the subcontinent.

The effects of climate change have led to changes in monsoon trends due to the weakening of synoptic activity within the Indian monsoon and the moistening of the tropical troposphere.

“The meteorological factors behind extremely heavy rainfall include climate change as it is drastically changing rainfall patterns in Wayanad. What was once a cool, humid environment with year-round drizzles and monsoon rains, is turning into one marked by drier, hotter summers and intense downpours during the monsoons.

“This change has increased the risk of landslides. Dry soils absorb less water and heavy rainfalls cause run-offs that can lead to landslides, such as the ones we’ve seen this week,” said Mariam Zachariah, Research Associate, Imperial College London.

Citing similar views, Mahesh Palawat, Vice-President, Meteorology and Climate Change, Skymet Weather, said, “Monsoon patterns have definitely changed and behave in an erratic manner.

“Earlier during the monsoon season, we used to witness uniform rains and no convective activity, but now we see rains which are more of pre-monsoon characteristics that include thundershowers.

“Kerala has not been witnessing typical monsoon rains and has been struggling to achieve its average rainfall. Despite these heavy showers, it is yet to surpass its average rainfall so far. Also, with the rise in air as well as ocean temperatures, there has been a drastic increase in the moisture.

“The Arabian Sea has been warming at a faster rate, pumping moisture into the atmosphere, making it unstable. All these factors are directly linked to global warming.”

Over 90 per cent of the global warming is absorbed by oceans, which has led to significant rise in ocean heating.

–IANS

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Chennai, July 31 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has partnered with private lender IDBI Bank to launch the IDBI-IITM Secure Systems Lab (I22SSL), a cybersecurity laboratory, here on Wednesday.

The cybersecurity laboratory will develop and deploy security solutions in crucial sectors such as healthcare, fintech and aerospace among others, IIT Madras said.

The lab will focus on creating market-ready intellectual properties (IP) in cybersecurity, productisation and commercialisation of research work, especially for mobile technologies, IIT Madras added.

The lab was inaugurated at the IIT Madras campus on Tuesday by Rakesh Sharma, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IDBI Bank in the presence of Prof V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras and other officials.

With the rapid growth of Internet connectivity and automation, many critical sectors such as Banking, Finance and Insurance, Transportation, Government, Power and Energy, Telecom, and Strategic and Public Enterprises, depend considerably on Information and Communication Technologies. This has led to an explosion of cyber-attacks on these infrastructures by hackers.

The lab would focus on cybersecurity in systems deployed in industries such as banking, automotive, power and telecommunications, among others, and undertake experimental evaluation and assessment exercises. The researchers would also develop test cases for testing, carry out vulnerability research, and help devise hardening guidelines. It would help Enterprise Systems in managing cybersecurity risks in real-time, IIT Madras said.

“This initiative is a testament to IDBI Bank’s commitment to proactively combating cyber threats and ensuring the security of data and information. We are optimistic that through such initiatives, we can together enhance our ability to anticipate, identify, and neutralize potential threats building a more secure environment for all,” Sharma said.

“The finance sector, being a critical information infrastructure that forms the foundation of the economy of our country is facing increasing number of cybersecurity challenges on a day-to-day basis. It is very important to continuously keep studying the threat landscape and come out with effective proactive protection mechanisms. This joint effort between IIT Madras and IDBI is very timely and we aspire to comprehensively address the security challenge,” Kamakoti said.

The I2SSL, IIT Madras, plans to ingeniously design systems for critical applications such as hardware firewalls, point-of-sale devices, and mobile banking. Security would be achieved using memory safe languages, tagged architectures that provide fine grained access control, memory encryption, and an indigenously developed Trusted Platform Module (TPM).

According to IIT Madras, in the area of cryptography, researchers will work towards developing hardware accelerators for crypto-primitives including symmetric and asymmetric-key cryptography as well as post-quantum cryptography.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Potent immune cells have been found near glioblastomas, typically defined as highly aggressive and typically incurable brain tumours

Researchers at the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) at the West German Tumor Center Essen have made a new discovery that could revolutionise the treatment of glioblastomas.

In the bone marrow near these tumours, they found clusters of potent immune cells that play a crucial role in the body’s defence against cancer.

Glioblastomas have a grim prognosis, with an average life expectancy of less than two years once all therapeutic options are exhausted. However, the new findings reveal that the body’s immune system mounts a localised defence against these tumours. This discovery challenges the conventional understanding of the immune system as a holistic entity that sends immune cells throughout the body as needed.

Bjorn Scheffler, a DKTK researcher at the Essen site, described the discovery as “surprising and fundamentally new.” The researchers identified highly effective immune cells, including mature cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD8 cells), in the bone marrow niches close to the tumour. These cells are vital in recognising and destroying malignant cells, suggesting a localised immune response to the glioblastoma.

This research utilised human tissue samples from untreated glioblastoma patients, establishing new methods for examining bone marrow near tumours. The presence of CD8 cells in the bone marrow and their correlation with disease progression suggest that these immune cells are actively combating the tumour.

The discovery has significant implications for current treatment strategies. Ulrich Sure, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery and a member of the Essen research team, expressed concerns that surgical procedures might inadvertently destroy these valuable immune cells. The team is exploring ways to minimise damage to local bone marrow during surgery.

The findings also reignite interest in immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitors, which aim to enhance the body’s natural cancer defences. Previous trials showed limited effectiveness against glioblastomas, but the new data suggests that targeting the localised immune cells in the bone marrow could improve outcomes.

This discovery opens the door to innovative therapies that could provide new hope for those battling glioblastomas.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) In a major advancement for tackling antibiotic resistance, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a promising new antibiotic using artificial intelligence.

The research, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, marks a significant step forward in creating safer and more effective treatments.

The research team employed a large language model (LLM), similar to the technology behind ChatGPT, to re-engineer Protegrin-1. This potent antibiotic, naturally produced by pigs, was effective in killing bacteria but was previously too toxic for human use.

By modifying Protegrin-1, the researchers aimed to preserve its antibacterial properties while eliminating its harmful effects on human cells.

To achieve this, the team generated over 7,000 variations of Protegrin-1 through a high-throughput method, allowing them to quickly identify which modifications could enhance safety. They then used the LLM to evaluate these variations for their ability to selectively target bacterial membranes, effectively kill bacteria, and avoid harming human red blood cells. This AI-guided approach led to the creation of a refined version known as bacterially selective Protegrin-1.2 (bsPG-1.2).

In preliminary animal trials, mice treated with bsPG-1.2 and infected with multidrug-resistant bacteria showed a significant reduction in bacterial levels in their organs within six hours. These promising results suggest that bsPG-1.2 could potentially advance to human trials.

Claus Wilke, a professor of integrative biology and co-senior author of the study, highlighted the transformative impact of AI on drug development.

“Large language models are revolutionising protein and peptide engineering, making it possible to develop new drugs and improve existing ones more efficiently. This technology not only identifies potential new treatments but also speeds up their path to clinical application,” Wilke said.

The breakthrough underscores how AI is being harnessed to address critical health challenges.

–IANS

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