Think Forward.

The Coolest Team-Up: AI and Venom Research

Anas Bedraoui, 6 mon.
Picture this: you’re at a barbecue, and instead of the usual chat about sports or the weather, someone drops into the conversation that they work with snake venom and AI. It might sound like they’re pulling your leg, but actually, they’re on to something groundbreaking. Welcome to the Future: Where AI Meets Venom Toxinology and venomics aren’t just cool words to impress your friends; they’re fields where scientists study toxins and venoms from creatures like snakes and spiders. Now, mix in some AI, and you’ve got a dynamic duo that’s changing the game. With AI’s smart algorithms, researchers can sift through massive amounts of data to uncover secrets about venom that could lead to medical breakthroughs. It’s like having a detective with a magnifying glass, except this one’s scouring genetic codes instead of crime scenes. Why We Should Care Venoms are nature’s way of saying, “Don’t mess with me.” But beyond their bite or sting, they’re packed with potential for new medicines. Understanding venom better can help us find new ways to treat diseases, from blood disorders to chronic pain. And AI is the super-efficient helper making these discoveries at lightning speed. The Nitty-Gritty: How AI Works Its Magic Imagine AI as the Sherlock Holmes of science, able to analyze venom components, predict their effects, and uncover new ones that could be game-changers in medicine. For instance, if there’s a venom that can thin blood without harmful side effects, AI can help pinpoint how to use it for people at risk of blood clots. Or if another venom targets pain receptors in a unique way, AI could help in crafting painkillers that don’t come with the baggage of current drugs. From the Lab to Real Life There are some standout AI tools like TOXIFY and Deep-STP that are making waves in venom research. These tools can figure out which parts of venom are worth a closer look for drug development. It’s like having a filter that only lets through the most promising candidates for new medicines. Looking Ahead With AI’s touch, the potential for venom in medicine is just starting to unfold. We’re talking about new treatments for everything from heart disease to chronic pain, and as AI tech advances, who knows what else we’ll find? The Fine Print As exciting as this all sounds, there are hurdles. Getting the right data is crucial because AI is only as good as the information it’s given. Plus, we need to consider the ethical side of things, ensuring our curiosity doesn’t harm the creatures we study or the environments they live in. In Summary: It’s a Big Deal The combo of AI and venom research is turning heads for a reason. It’s not just about finding the next big thing in medicine; it’s about opening doors to treatments we’ve hardly imagined. And it’s a reminder that even the most feared creatures can offer something invaluable to humanity. So, the next time someone mentions using snake venom in research, you’ll know it’s not just fascinating — it could very well be the future of medicine, with AI leading the way. And that’s something worth talking about, whether you’re at a barbecue or anywhere else. Reference: Bedraoui A, Suntravat M, El Mejjad S, Enezari S, Oukkache N, Sanchez EE, et al. Therapeutic Potential of Snake Venom: Toxin Distribution and Opportunities in Deep Learning for Novel Drug Discovery. Medicine in Drug Discovery. 2023 Dec 27;100175.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl...

Learning Chemistry with Interactive Simulations: Augmented Reality as Teaching Aid

Dr. EL Mostafa Bourhim, 6 mon.
0 min read.
Augmented Reality (AR) has been identified by educational scientists as a technology with significant potential to improve emotional and cognitive learning outcomes. However, very few papers highlighted the technical process of creating AR applications reserved for education. The following paper proposes a method and framework for how to set up an AR application to teach primary school children the basic forms and shapes of atoms, molecules, and DNA. This framework uses the Unity 3D game engine (GE) with Vuforia SDK (Software Development Kit) packages combined with phone devices or tablets to create an interactive App for AR environments, to enhance the student’s vision and understanding of basic chemistry models. We also point out some difficulties in practice. As for those difficulties mentioned, a series of solutions plus further development orientation are put forth.
xrm.ma/research-publication/

Decoding Performance: The Brain of Professional Soccer Players and Stress

Simo Idrissi, 6 mon.
3 min read.
In a hypothetical narrative, considering two soccer players, each playing for a different team. Player A is part of a team with an average performance, having lost 18 games, tied 6, and won 4. Player B, on the other hand, plays for a team with a lower performance record, having lost 19 games, tied 8, and won just 1. Both players had to play 4 more games, and both teams need to win all four or risk being relegated to a lower level. The coaches of both teams have prepared overview and analysis slideshows for the players to study, enabling each player to grasp the tactics and individual performance of their opponents. These opponents exhibit high performance both tactically and physically. The characteristics of the three top teams are high speed, accurate indirect play, and individual techniques. Furthermore, the news certainly portrays these three teams as heroes that can conquer any challenge. The game statistics reveal that the three top teams have won 22 games, and the standings difference is only 1 point at the top of the list. Now, Players A and B must think, perhaps even overthink, about how to enhance their performance to counter these formidable opponents. Picture these two players in a different game location standing in line, waiting for the referee to lead them onto the pitch. In this moment, Players A and B, each in a different location and game, experience their body’s primal response, orchestrated by a fascinating interplay between three key brain regions: the amygdala, hypothalamus, and cortex. The amygdala acts like a fire alarm, but for challenges, not just threats. It constantly scans situations based on past experiences. When it detects a tough opponent, like a highly skilled soccer team, it triggers a response to prepare you for the challenge. It receives sensory information from the eyes, ears, and other senses. In response to detecting a high-pressure situation, like playing against the top three opponents, the amygdala triggers a rapid response based on past experiences. This initial response is quick and prioritizes preparing the player for action, without the deep analysis that the cortex can provide. Over time, the amygdala has established a rapid response system that plays a vital role in survival. This system helps players react instinctively in complex situations like facing top competitors. The amygdala then transmits the data to the hypothalamus, the brain's control center. Acting like a dispatcher, the hypothalamus mobilizes various bodily systems for action. It triggers a cascade of physiological changes, including increased heart rate, sweating, or heightened muscle tension, all designed to enhance performance in the face of a challenge. Additionally, the hypothalamus can also stimulate the release of hormones from other glands that can influence mental state, such as increased alertness and focus, further preparing the player for the high-pressure situation. A key hormone involved is adrenaline (epinephrine), released by the adrenal glands in response to signals from the hypothalamus. Adrenaline prepares the body for action by increasing heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension. Beyond Adrenaline and Cortisol: The presence of adrenaline in the bloodstream triggers a cascade of hormonal responses: Cortisol: As mentioned earlier, adrenaline stimulates the hypothalamus to release cortisol from the adrenal cortex. Cortisol plays a vital role in managing stress by increasing blood sugar for energy, suppressing non-essential functions like digestion, and contributing to heightened alertness. Sex Hormones: In males, short-term stress might lead to a temporary increase in testosterone levels, providing a burst of energy mobilization. However, chronic stress can have the opposite effect, causing a decrease in testosterone levels. Females might experience changes in estrogen and progesterone levels as well, depending on the situation. Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH): This hormone, released from the pituitary gland in response to signals from the hypothalamus, helps conserve water by reducing urine production during stressful situations. Overall Impact: This complex interplay of hormones, initiated by the amygdala and orchestrated by the hypothalamus, prepares the player both physically and mentally to face the challenge. But here's where things get interesting. The amygdala's initial alarm might be loud, but it doesn't have the final say. The player's prefrontal cortex (PFC), the brain's reasoning center, steps in to analyze the information it receives from the amygdala. This analysis considers past experiences and memories, the context of the situation (such as assessing the opponent's potential to outperform them) and evaluates potential solutions to maintain composure and prevent self-esteem from taking a hit. Here's where individual differences become crucial. Player A, with their well-developed emotional intelligence, might interpret these thoughts and manage their behavior differently from Player B, who might struggle to express their true emotional state. Based on this analysis, the PFC can now interpret the information received from the amygdala, considering the player's knowledge and experience (intelligence can be a broad term). If the PFC judges the competition as manageable pressure, it can signal the hypothalamus to downregulate the fight-or-flight response, effectively calming the amygdala's initial alarm. This communication process can trigger self-talk that might translate into an affirmation like: Give it my all and avoid mistakes. However, if the cortex recognizes a high-pressure situation (such as facing one of the top three teams, known for their excellent performance and currently in top form), it may not be able to completely suppress the amygdala’s alarm response. This could lead to players experiencing intense pressure, resulting in a decrease in innovation and organization during the game. They might even feel an overwhelming need to surmount these challenges, which could further intensify their reactions. The good news is that this system is adaptable. By repeatedly encountering situations that were initially perceived as high-pressure but ultimately safe (like playing against opponents similar to the top three teams who they were able to defend against), the amygdala and cortex can learn and adapt. These experiences weaken the initial fear response, making players less likely to react impulsively in similar situations in the future. These experiences weaken the initial fear response, making players feel less random to react in similar situations in the future. This is why exposure therapy (training sessions) can be effective in managing high performance, especially at elite or professional levels. Simo Idrissi

AI+Health: An Undelivered Promise

Tariq Daouda, 6 mon.
AI is everywhere, or so would it seems, but the promises made for Drug Discovery and Medicine are still yet to be fulfilled. AI seems to always spring from a Promethean impulse. The goal of creating a life beyond life, doing the work of gods by creating a new life form as Prometheus created humanity. From Techne to independent life, a life that looks life us. Something most people refer to as AGI today. This is the biggest blind spot of AI development. The big successes of AI are in a certain way always in the same domains: - Image Processing - Natural Language Processing The reason is simple, we are above all visual, talking animals. Our Umwelt, the world we inhabit is mostly a world of images and language, every human is an expert in these two fields. Interestingly, most humans are not as sound aware as they are visually aware. Very few people can separate the different tracks in a music piece, let alone identify certain frequencies or hear delicate compressions and distortions. We are not so good with sound, and it shows in the relatively less ground breaking AI tools available for sound processing. The same phenomenon explains why AI struggles to achieve in very complex domains such as Biology and Chemistry. At it's core, modern AI is nothing more than a powerful general way to automatically guess relevant mathematical functions describing a phenomenon from collected data. What statisticians call a *Model*. From this great power derives the domain chief illusion: because the tool is general, therefore the wielder of that tool can apply it to any domain. Experience shows that this thinking is flawed. Every AI model is framed between two thing: its dataset (input) and its desired output as represented by the loss function. What is important, what is good, what is bad, how should the dataset be curated, how should the model be adjusted. For all these questions and more, you need a deep knowledge of the domain, of the assumptions of the domain, of the technicalities of the domain, of the limitations that are inherent to data collection in that domain. Domain knowledge is paramount, because AI algorithms are always guided by the researchers and engineers. This I know from experience, having spent about 17 years closely working with biologists. Pairing AI specialists with domain specialist with little knowledge of AI also rarely delivers. A strategy that has been tested time and time again in the last 10 years. Communication is hard and slow, most is lost in translation. The best solution is to have AI experts that are also experts in the applied domain, or domain experts that are also AI experts. Therefore the current discrepancies we see in AI performances across domains, could be layed at the feet of universities, and there siloed structures. Universities are organized in independent departments that teach independently. AI is taught at the Computer Science department, biology at the Biochemistry department. These two rarely meet in any substantial manner. It was true went I was a student, it is still true today. This is one of the things we are changing at the Faculty of Medical Science of the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic. Students in Medicine and Pharmacy have to go through a serious AI and Data science class over a few years. They learn to code, they learn the mathematical concepts of AI, they learn to gather their own datasets, to derive their hypothesizes, and build, train and evaluate their own models using pyTorch. The goal being to produce a new generation of scientists that are intimate with their domain as well as with modern AI. One that can consistently deliver the promises of AI for Medicine and Drug Discovery.

What Happens If You Swallow Snake Venom?

Anas Bedraoui, 6 mon.
1 min read.
Imagine you're hanging out with friends, and someone randomly asks, "Would swallowing snake venom kill you?" It sounds like the start of a dare or a myth you'd want to debunk right away. Snake venom is nature's own brew of toxic substances designed for defense and catching dinner. It's filled with proteins and enzymes that can cause serious trouble if they get directly into your blood, affecting everything from your nerves to your circulatory system. But here's where it gets interesting: the method of venom entering your body makes a huge difference. And when it comes to swallowing venom, the story takes an unexpected turn. Swallowing snake venom? It might not be as deadly as you think. Our digestive system is pretty robust, breaking down proteins and peptides, which are the main components of venom. Essentially, if venom ends up in your stomach, your body starts to digest it like any other protein-rich food. However, it's not an open invitation to start a venom-tasting club. The real risk comes if there are any cuts or sores in your mouth or throat that could give venom a fast pass into your bloodstream. That's when the situation could turn dangerous. Venom's power is unleashed when it bypasses the digestive system, entering directly through a bite. This direct route to your bloodstream means venom can quickly get to work, potentially leading to severe, even life-threatening, reactions. Interestingly, the medical world sees snake venom not just as a danger but as a source of potential breakthroughs. Scientists study venom's components to develop treatments for conditions that are currently hard to manage. It's a classic example of how something potentially deadly can be turned into a lifesaver. Back to the original question: swallowing snake venom isn't something to put on your bucket list, but it's unlikely to be lethal due to the protective role of your digestive system. The real concern is venom entering directly into your bloodstream, whether through an existing wound in your mouth or a snake bite.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl...

Mustapha Guiliz: The door ajar...

Aziz Daouda, 6 mon.
"In writing this book, I aspire to a more humane form of justice, one that ensures equality between citizens, but also the right to fulfil oneself." This sentence, full of meaning and questions, is by Si Mustapha Guiliz. It is taken from the article that the newspaper "L'économiste" devoted on 3 January 2024 to the presentation of the book "les hommes de la nuit" published by Orion, whose founding president is none other than Si Abdelhak Najib. The article is followed by an edifying interview with Si Mustapha Guiliz, the author of the book. This is an author whom Bluwr readers and members have had the privilege of meeting and, above all, appreciating through his article "Education through values", which appeared in Bluwr few weeks ago. Si Mustapha GUILIZ is a teacher and writer who has already written "Le Monde d'Brahim" and "Au pays des sources". Contrary to the title of the book, which might suggest that the author is a dull, even embittered character, Si Mustapha is a pleasant person, with a youthful smile that is pleasant, fulfilled, indulgent and tender. When you come into contact with him, you realise just how far removed he is from the subjects he covers. This detachment, which is both intelligent and not at all indifferent, allows him to go into the depths of things with the objectivity that is both necessary and required. Having had an hour-long discussion with Si Mustapha one fine morning last November, I was able to gauge and appreciate his detachment and depth of philosophical analysis. "The men in my book are men with a capital M, who have made the best of life in the dark," he says. In fact, for Si Mustapha, all men deserve a name with a capital M, and not just the characters in his inspired fiction. In a world of injustice, he dreams of justice. In a world where women suffer, he dreams of ideal conditions for them all. In a world of abused power, he dreams of moderation and balanced power. In a world of despair, he dreams of fulfilment. Is he an idealist from another planet, the one on which he sails to bring his characters to life? He is the only one to know ... In any case, this sentence "Through the writing of this book, I aspire to a more humane form of justice, one that aims to ensure equality between citizens, but also the right to fulfil oneself" fits his character perfectly. We need so many people like him to reveal our reality to us, but also to open the door to hope and to urge us to break it down. I'm writing these lines to congratulate Si Mustapha, whose book is a perfect start to this new year of service to the community, and to express my pride in knowing him and publishing articles with him on Bluwr, in the hope of reading him again soon on the platform.
laverite.ma/les-hommes-de-la-nui...

El Salvador: The most important country you barely hear about

Tariq Daouda, 6 mon.
El Salvador has a significant diaspora, so much that money coming from the US is a major source of income. **Not so long ago you would have been pressed to find a Salvadorian who wanted to go back to El Salvador. Now things seems to be changing.** El Salavador, used to have one of the highest homicide rates in the Americas, now it looks relatively safe. El Salvador showed an interesting strategy. First boost the economy before handling the crime situation. Crime is indeed a part of GDP, albeit a hard one to quantify. Since it is an economic activity, it participates in exchanges and provides people with activities that supports them and their families. Drastically reducing crime has the effect of creating *'unemployed criminals'* people with a skillset that's hard to sell in a traditional economy. El Salvador probably did take a hit to its GDP, but that was compensated by the increase in economic activity and investments. Bitcoin was a big part of that. Bitcoin got a lot of bad press as a technology only used by criminals, or a crazy investment for crazy speculators. These takes failed to understand the technology and it's potential. What Bitcoin offers is a decentralized, fast and secure payment system for free. El Salvador doesn't have to maintain it, regulate it, or even monitor it. All very costly activities that a small country can do without. Bitcoin is a mathematically secure way of payment. In a country where road infrastructures are challenging, Bitcoin offers people in remote areas the possibility to pay their bills without travelling for hours. In a country that was unsafe, Bitcoin offered people the possibility to go out without the fear of being robbed. It also attracted a kind of investors that would go nowhere else. And even if these investment can appear small, for a country like El Salvador it's a big change. The Salvadorian experiment in a freer economy, crypto-friendly and smaller government, in a time of increasing inflation, has a lot of people watching. In a continent that leaned left for so long, this is a big change. My opinion is that there would be no Javier Millier hadn't there been a Nayib Bukele before. Argentina has been a bastion of the left for decades. If the libertarian policies of Millier succeed in bettering the lives of Argentinians, we might be on the brink of a major cultural shift in the Americas and then the world. Argentina is a far bigger country than El Salvador, with far more people watching.

A CROOKED TALE

Pat01Butcher, 6 mon.
This is a story about barbarians who destroyed an unusual and much loved pub in the west midlands of England. I wrote this tale some months ago for my website, www.globerunner.blog. Recent news suggest that the barbarians, as my article suggests are going to be forced to rebuild The Crooked House! Locals of a demolished pub near where I was born can take heart from the story of a demolished pub near where I live now - one which was ordered to be rebuilt ‘brick-by-brick’. Judging by calls and emails I’ve had from folks who know that I’m a Black Country boy, the news of the recent burning and demolition of the Glynne Arms, aka the Crooked House near Dudley in the English west midlands must have gone around the world. I was born a mile or so away from what we locals knew as the Siden (side-on?) House, and as our local gang of kids grew up in the 1950s and 60s, the pub was a regular curiosity for us to view as we roamed the countryside around the disused pit workings that had contributed to the Crooked House’s subsidence. Later on, I'd often run past it on one of my training stints on the disused railway track which overlooked it. My father had been born even nearer to the pub, and as I grew into drinking age, it would be on our itinerary for an occasional pint, and the traditional rolling of a ball-bearing seemingly ‘uphill’ on the bar or the window sills. It was also a must-see for anyone visiting the area. Now living in north-west London, the last time I was there was four years years ago, showing the place off to some French visitors who’d come to the family home to celebrate my mother’s 100th birthday. The story of the pub’s demise last weekend has been across the national news for days. Originally built as a farmhouse in the late 18th century, it had been a pub since the 1830s. Despite a campaign to preserve it as such, it was sold two weeks ago, apparently to be repurposed. The building then burned down last weekend in circumstances that the neighbourhood websites have universally described as SUSPICIOUS. The fire service arrived to find its way blocked by mounds of earth on the access road. The delays in getting high pressure fire hoses close enough to the blaze meant that the building had already been gutted by the time that fire was extinguished. Then, to pile anguish onto injury for the locals, bull-dozers were brought in the next day, to reduce the place to rubble. Drinkers, devotees and dignitaries across the West Midlands are up in arms, demanding explanation and restoration. They might take heart from the tale of the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale, a couple of miles from where I live now. In 2015, the Carlton, which had been rebuilt as a pub in 1921, was bought by a company who turned out to be developers. An immediate application from them to build flats was turned down by Westminster Council; and alert locals sought a Grade II listing from Historic England, to prevent further threat to the pub. But two days before the listing was to be awarded, the new bosses gave staff a day off, allegedly for stock-taking, and avoiding the inconvenience of a fire in a residential area, the bulldozers were drafted in and reduced the pub to a shell within a few hours. Cue mayhem! But, as the Guardian reported two years ago on its reopening, ‘… the Carlton’s story did not follow the usual plot, where the developer presents the fait accompli to the local authority and pays a fine before pressing ahead with the redevelopment and counting their profits.’ Over 5000 locals, including councillors had mobilised to set up a campaign entitled Rebuild The Carlton Tavern. They pressured Westminster Council, not noted for its public spirit, and not only did the council turn down the developers’ further application for flats, they ordered the company to rebuild the Carlton ‘brick by brick’. That was a pleasant surprise for James Watson, the pub protection adviser for the Campaign for Pubs, who advised the Carlton group. “I never imagined that I would see a planning inspector order a developer to put back what he’d just knocked down, to look exactly as it was. I thought the developer would get a slap on the wrist, a £6,000 fine. But I was flabbergasted – and it has set an incredibly useful precedent. Other planning inspectors will remember it, and so will developers”. With hundreds of locals descending on the site of the former Crooked House in the last two days to bemoan and complain of its passing (and to take away a souvenir brick), pressure is only going to grow around the Black Country and West Midlands for something to be done about the wanton destruction of such an unusual historic landmark.  Roger Lees, the leader of South Staffordshire council has already confirmed it is investigating planning breaches, and the over-zealous destruction of the property, which his body had not authorised. Council and aggrieved locals could do worse than study the case of the resurrected Carlton Tavern. Could the Crooked House yet rise from the ashes?
wordpress.com/post/thepatbutcher...