Monday, October 6, 2014

RENIASSANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Watson is an artificially intelligent computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language, developed in IBM's DeepQA project by a research team led by principal investigator David Ferrucci. The computer system was specifically developed to answer questions on the quiz show 'Jeopardy!'. In 2011, Watson competed on 'Jeopardy!' against former winners Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings.Watson received the first place prize of $1 million. Reference. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_(computer)

Marvin Lee Minsky (born August 9, 1927) is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder ofMassachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory. Minsky published The Emotion Machine, a book that critiques many popular theories of how human minds work and suggests alternative theories, often replacing simple ideas with more complex ones. Recent drafts of the book are freely available from his webpage. He is also the 'inventor' of confocal microscopy.
Da Vinci seemed truly excited by the possibility of people  soaring through the skies like birds.  One of da Vinci’s most famous inventions, the flying machine (also known as the "ornithopter").
Technology is moving fast. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci dreamed about flying, but he didn't realize that he designed a heavy machine too heavy to fly. It was never possible to fly even if someone built it. People for a while thought it won't be possible for man to fly. Then hot air balloons came which gave way to huge helium ships. People couldn't think at that time that heavy machines can lift a man up in the air. Marvin Minsky or several other pioneers thought that it is possible to build thinking machines better than humans. For a while people, even the experts in computers, believed those geniuses like Minsky and others were just dreaming-the thinking machine concept was considered  "immature". 

The time has come! Now once again we believe it is possible to make machines which can think like humans and probable they may do it even better! The recent papers on pattern recognition, parallel processing, 'big data processing' and networks inspired by neural networking proves this is possible. (Example. Dharmendra S. Modha. Science 8 August 2014: 668-673. 2)Refer article  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_data). 

Moda et al have developed an efficient, scalable, and flexible non–von Neumann architecture that leverages contemporary silicon technology. They built a 5.4-billion-transistor chip with 4096 neurosynaptic cores interconnected via an intrachip network that integrates 1 million programmable spiking neurons and 256 million configurable synapses.The architecture is well suited to many applications that use complex neural networks in real time, for example, multiobject detection and classification. Whereas the previous chip was at a level of a worm's nervous system the latest chip is equivalent in complexity to the brain of a bee. It wont take much time for it to evolve to outpace  humans.
When future machines powered by an array of chips of this kind in combination with future "Watsons" would certainly prove better than humans in cognition. Once this is realized feelings and emotions may follow! It is possible because emotions are the result of the complex interplay of neural circuits-we suddenly may discover that 'machines start to feel'! 
Turing is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. He had committed suicide by eating a KCN apple.
On the other side, we can find a huge progress being made in undestanding brain functions (Example Dan Y. Science 8 August 2014: 660-665.) although we are still in childhood. However, it is not mandatory to know how the human brain functions to build a machine which can learn, think and may imagine better than humans! -Sanal MG

Friday, November 19, 2010

DELHI HEPATITIS DAY ON 4th DECEMBER






What is Hepatitis Day?

Viral Hepatitis can be a dangerous. To spread awareness about hepatitis fourth December is being celebrated as "Hepatitis Day" for the past one decade by the Delhi Government under the eminent leadership of Dr. Shiv Kumar Sarin, a Delhi based Hepatologist of International fame.



Hepatitis Day aims to raise awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as extend the political support for the diseases to levels seen in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The long-term objective of the Hepatitis Day campaign is to prevent new infections and to deliver real improvements in health outcomes for people living with hepatitis B and C.



VIRAL HEPATITIS A PREVENTABLE HEATH HAZARD




Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a blood borne and sexually transmitted virus which causes Hepatitis B. Rates of new infection and acute disease are highest among adults, but chronic infection is more likely to occur in persons infected as infants or young children. About 4% of Indians carry Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) with them with a total pool of 36 million carriers. There are mainly five types of viral hepatitisHepatitis A, B, C, D and E of which Hepatitis B is most common and preventable through immunization.



Hepatitis is everywhere!

The shaded areas in the map represent the spread of viral hepatitis.













Hepatitis Kills More than Hiroshima




To get an idea about the seriousness of this disease it might be interesting to make a comparison between the impacts of the nuclear holocaust at Hiroshima and Hepatitis B.

68OO died and 76000 injured following the nuclear bomb blast in Hiroshima and 38000 killed and 21000 injured in Nagasaki. But Hepatitis B alone kills 1 million world wide every year! We might not be able to prevent another nuclear war but indeed we can prevent Hepatitis B through an effective vaccine.


Professional blood donors constitute the major high risk group for HBV infection in India, with a Hepatitis Surface Antigen (HBSAg- is a protein present on the surface of hepatitis B virus) present up to 14% according to some studies. Blood transfusions represent the most important route for HBV transmission among adults.



Liver cancer resulting from Hepatitis B is an example of a preventable cancer


Viral hepatitis stands behind only to tobacco as a cause of preventable cancer. 6 million people dies of cancer round the globe and infectious diseases are responsible for 22% of cancer deaths in the developing world and 6% in the developed world and among them viral hepatitis stands first. Nearly 80% of liver cancers follow Hepatitis B. 2000 million people alive today have Hepatitis B infection at some point of their life!

A preventable hit in Childhood!



In India hepatitis B carrier pool is established in early childhood, predominantly by spread from mother to baby during pregnancy, during delivery and rarely after. Hepatitis B is the cause of 50% of the liver failures in India.



Hepatitis B is more infectious than AIDS virus


Hepatitis is at least 1000 times more infectious than HIV! 0.1ml is necessary for transmission of HIV, 0.01 ml for Hepatitis C but only 0.00001 ml for HBV! But unfortunately Hepatitis B is not getting media attention and the publicity it deserves as an immediate heath concern.





Prevention is better than cure!


This adage is very true for HBV as well. Presently Hepatitis B vaccination may cost less than Rs.100 for 3 doses.
But once chronic Hepatitis B develops there is no option other than treatment with costly drugs costing around Rs.300000 plus the risk of extensive irreversible liver damage and cancer. During 1990–2004, incidence of acute hepatitis B in the United States declined 75%. The greatest decline (94%) occurred among children and adolescents, coincident with an increase in hepatitis B vaccine coverage. Taiwan has a similar story. After universal vaccination the Hepatitis B incidence declined from 19% to 0.9%.

Unfortunately due to heavy financial burden a developing country like India cannot implement universal free vaccination of all children. In India we couldn't provide complete immunization even among the risk groups like sex workers, doctors and other health care workers, professional blood donors etc. Only about 50% of the health care workers including doctors are currently immunized against this dangerous disease.

ABC of Hepatitis facts!



Hepatitis A: An acute worry.

Rarely fatal. Usually acquired through contaminated food and water. Vaccine available but costly.


Hepatitis B: Biggest Killer world wide.


Usually transmitted through body fluids: blood transfusion, unsterile needles, unsafe sex, mother to baby. Vaccine available, effective and affordable to common man.

Hepatitis C: Cool Killer.

Hepatitis C virus causes chronic disease which leads to cirrhosis and cancer in majority. Transmission is similar to Hepatitis B. No vaccine yet available. Treatment very costly and cannot be cured in most cases.

Hepatitis D: Deadly double infection with Hepatitis B but never alone!

Transmission is similar to Hepatitis B.
Hepatitis E: Every where !

...........but easily goes away with out harm except in some pregnant women and immuno-compromised infants and adults. Transmission similar to Hepatitis A.

WHERE I CAN GET VACCINATED?WHERE I CAN CHECK WHETHER I HAVE HEPATITIS?



Please consult your doctor or visit your nearest primary health center or visit us at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.


http://www.ilbs.in/patients.html



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Common Wealth Cow-Who milk it!

For the Common Wealth from the common 'Wealth"-Corrupt Cows!

Nobody exactly knows how much is spent in the name of Common Wealth Games- estimates vary from Rs. 30,000 to 80,000 crores!

It is the money of all states, Delhi squandered- in the name of sports or to uphold the image of the capital city to foreigners. Red air conditioned buses roam the roads of Delhi, huge flyovers everywhere for traffic jam free roads without crossings and so on. Many cities in India don’t have a flyover where the traffic is 100 times severe!

Yes, I suspect Delhi being the ‘capital city’ is sinking the wealth of the nation.

The whole development is centered on the middle and upper class. Even in Delhi most of the roads don’t have foot path- even in main roads footpaths are discontinuous- exposed drains with broken slabs, encroaching ‘dhabas’, pits , automobile workshops-one can find everything along Delhi footpaths. What about the drainage system? Road and drain meets at every rain- cars splash sever water on the pedestrians. Pedestrians are treated in par with animals. In the suburbs of Delhi one have to make his way through heaps of garbage. Water supply is limited because of low pressure because of so many connections. Yes, crores are spent but for whom? For sports? Please don’t say? Despite some personal achievements what India achieved in Olympics? India has its name in any sports or games? Again, don’t say cricket! It is another big business and in the game point of view not much better than cards. Yes, crores are spent but for what?

I have seen Delhi people boasting about Metro! But had the metro project been managed by some original Delhites (people from Haryana,Panjab, Rajastan, UP, Bihar) ,think, when it would have been realized!


Sanal MG

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Science for Social Revolution

Only Science Can Change the Society!




Our Planet has seen the birth and lives of hundreds of Poets, Play writs,Philosophers, Social revolutionaries and Political leaders. After every great revolution, freedom struggle: birth of a new nation, people dream big changes.... the dreams of the communists, juvenile democracies vanes off in a couple of generations.....




Society becomes corrupt again........its real face comes out...

What these dogs savor in Nandigram (West Bengal,India) carnage? Roasted human meat!


Humans burnt alive! This is socialism !......struggle for ideology.....!








Did the religions change the world: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism......?????



All religions preach great ideas of equality, kindness, love, peace....Every religion is born giving big hopes to its founders and followers.... Did they make any
sustainable change in our society?





Why Marxism failed? How people are killed each other in the name of Marx and Marxism (Tianamen square massacre in China , mass murders in Stalinist Russia to Nandigram (West Bengal, India) )?



Arminian atrocities.....Why millions were murdered in the name of Christ.....? Why Christianity split into many parts which fight in between? Why Jews were hated and burnt alive?



Why 'believers' of Islam do Jihad? Probably religion is the number one killer after cardiovascular diseases and cancer!



Why Hitler killed Jews despite the fact that they had superior intellectual capacity! Indeed if you think and analyze without bias... it is easy to find that


Jewish contribution to science is very significant compared to the size of their population. Hitler also killed 'eugenics' by killing Jews.




Why many hate truth?

Only one thing can explain all these......selfishness of man...nothing else! Is selfishness bad? Not ! It is the most essential element for survival as one can learn from human history of survival ?

But how can re-engineer human behavior to 'make better humans' taming this necessary evil? Is it possible re-wire neuronal pathways .....build a whole new generation?



Who can do this?





Only SCIENCE can .......only science can 'fight' with selfishness.........for a better society....for a better State....without wars or boundaries... How?....Natural Evolution is a slow process...it takes thousands of years to act....and that too in which direction it will drive us is difficult to predict.....especially when we consider man as a social animal...especially because man hinders his own natural evolution and probably society drives it in a 'wrong' direction.....


Can a single human being make a difference?

Can he or she stop the forces of evil minds in their tracks? Can a courageous young man do it? Yes!.... in Utopia!!!



In real world how he can do? Can he do it? Yes! Alone?

Yeas! Yes! Yes!!!

How ?

Yes...by capturing the imagination of the world! Inspiring people around...finding like minds..Making a group believe his ideas...the group will grow....over nations....beyond silly political barriers ...into groups of science revolutionaries...Even Utopian dreams are realized when evolves into mass movement!

.......Activists armed with the modern tools of molecular biology, computer science, nano-technology......a genre of bio-engineers to create a new man kind!


Men are killed but not thoughts....



It is not about ruining the flavor of life...where babies are engineered and produced in factories and sold in supermarkets!

It is about better humans, peace,happiness, satisfaction being smart, loving and beautiful! It is about making your life and other's life a festival!







It is about optimization of thoughts, life and natural resources!




It is about making earth a better planet to live..............





Science is different from religion. Followers improve science......

Followers of religion misinterpret to achieve their selfish goals......they make the ideologies corrupt ...Priests to Jesus is our 'Marxist' leaders to Carl Marx or Lenin. we see this every day cross country!


ONLY SCIENCE CAN CHANGE OUR LIVES

Would like to know more?.......I am thinking to write a book....hope you would find many answers (and more questions!).



Would you like to offer me a helping hand in contributing new ideas, in research, managing men, aids? Please mail: sanal303@yahoo.co.uk

Created and maintained by Dr. Sanal MG , Special Center for Molecular Medicine