Technology
Episodes
Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses cancer prevention, linoleic acid, shingles vaccine and dementia, creatine's kidney effects, and shares her overnight oats recipe.
Dr. George Church discusses revolutionary technologies in the field of genetic engineering.
-
Alzheimer's Technology Cancer Nootropics Cholesterol Omega-3 Melatonin Vaccine Polyunsaturated Fat SupplementsDr. Rhonda Patrick discusses cancer prevention, linoleic acid, shingles vaccine and dementia, creatine's kidney effects, and shares her overnight oats recipe.
-
Dr. George Church discusses revolutionary technologies in the field of genetic engineering.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
-
Just two hours of daily screen time lowers psychological well-being and increases negative behaviors in preschool children. www.google.de
Technology enriches our lives, enhancing communication, improving healthcare, and providing access to vast amounts of information. However, the amount of time we spend on the devices that deliver that technology may be harmful, especially for young children. A recent study found that two hours or more of daily screen time among preschoolers lowers psychological well-being.
Researchers analyzed data from the 2018-2021 National Survey of Children’s Health, focusing on children aged six months to five years. Primary caregivers reported the children’s daily screen time and provided information about their flourishing and externalizing behaviors – indicators of psychological health.
They found that over the four-year study period, 50.9 percent of the children had high screen time, defined as one or more hour daily for children aged six months to one year and two or more hours daily for children aged two to five years. The percentage of children with high screen time increased to 55.3 percent during the pandemic in 2020 and was even higher among children living in poverty (60.9 percent). More than two hours of daily screen time was linked to less flourishing and more externalizing behaviors for children aged three to five years.
Flourishing refers to the presence of positive emotions, relationships, and adaptive functioning. It plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of antisocial behaviors later in life. Externalizing behaviors, such as hyperactivity and aggression, reflect maladjustment to the external environment. They can hinder learning and relationships and may lead to juvenile delinquency and adult violence.
These findings suggest that excessive screen time may harm psychological well-being in preschool-aged children. Parents and caregivers should be mindful of screen time limits to promote better mental health outcomes for young children. Learn more about the effects of screen time on children and teens in this short video featuring Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
-
Wearable device may predict inflammatory bowel disease flare-ups. www.sciencedaily.com
Inflammatory bowel diseases, a group of conditions characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, affect the lives of nearly seven million people worldwide. The two most common inflammatory bowel diseases are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. A report published in 2020 describes a wearable device that detects the presence of biomarkers associated with inflammatory bowel diseases in sweat, potentially signaling a symptom flare.
A common feature of many inflammatory bowel diseases are periods of remission and relapse, often referred to as “flares.” During flares, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and C-reactive protein (CRP), are often elevated. IL-1 beta is a proinflammatory cytokine that mediates the body’s inflammatory response. CRP is a protein that increases in the blood with inflammation and infection.
The authors of the study developed a wearable, watch-like device that monitored levels of IL-1 beta and CRP in the sweat of 20 healthy adults (18 to 65 years old) over a period of up to 30 hours. They studied healthy people to help establish the levels of these two biomarkers in people without inflammatory bowel disease. A removable strip on the device collected the sweat, providing real-time monitoring of the biomarkers. They also measured the biomarkers using a standard assay and compared the two assessments.
They found that the device was highly accurate at measuring sweat levels of IL-1 beta and CRP, compared to measurements with the standard assay. Their findings demonstrate proof-of-feasibility for a wearable device that can signal an inflammatory bowel disease flare. Use of such a device may offer a non-invasive way to help people with inflammatory bowel disease track their inflammatory status and help guide clinicians' treatment decisions.
The authors of this study later measured pro-inflammatory proteins in the sweat of people with COVID-19 to predict cytokine storm, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when an infection provokes an excessive immune response. They found that their sweat-based sensor detected cytokine levels in passive sweat that correlated with cytokine levels in the patients' blood.