Commentary, Musings

Believe it or not, 2023 brought some good news…

Posted on by Bill McCarthy
By Guest Contributor

Believe it or not, 2023 brought a lot of good news … that wasn’t about Travis and Taylor.

Medical researchers in Miami cured a legally blind 14-year-old boy’s vision with medicinal eye drops.i

The eye drops worked by altering part of the boy’s genetic code — reversing the effects of the rare condition that caused his affliction.

Doctors believe that someday gene therapy drops may be able to cure many other eye conditions.

Another major medical advancement this year will benefit … man’s best friend.

There’s increasing evidence that cancer breakthroughs designed for humans can help dogs as well.ii

A biotech startup reports the precision medicine being developed to treat human canceriii was effective in treating the cancer of nearly 2/3 of dogs with otherwise terminal diagnoses.iv

Perhaps the biggest innovations of the year came in the field of artificial intelligence.

But while America was playing around with ChatGPT … researchers were putting AI to more practical uses.

Google is using AI to train traffic lights to better respond to driving patterns.

They estimate that this could cut emissions at intersections by 10% and reduce stops by up to 30%.v

Scientists have also begun using AI to better predict weather patterns — a development that could be particularly helpful in predicting and preparing for hurricanes.vi

Researchers studying one AI model found it was 10,000 times faster than conventional methods — which could cut the time it takes to make accurate forecasts from hours to seconds.

Though, let’s be honest: Your local news is still probably going to get it wrong.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  1. Gene therapy eye drops successfully restored the vision of a boy who was legally blind.
  2. Evidence suggests that precision medicine used to treat cancer in humans may also be effective for dogs.
  3. Artificial intelligence is being used to make traffic lights faster and better predict the weather.

SOURCES

  1. “Gene Therapy Eyedrops Restored a Boy’s Sight. Similar Treatments Could Help Millions” (Laura Ungar and Freida Frisaro) — Associated Press
  2. “Dog Cancer Research Advances Pursuit of Drugs for Humans and Canines” (Sam Jones) — Washington Post
  3. “Dogs Born Today Will Be Cured of Cancer Thanks to Human Advances” (Joe Pinkstone) — The Telegraph
  4. “Human Genetic Therapy Treatments Give Hope for Treating Cancer in Dogs” (Stephanie Stahl) — CBS News
  5. “Google’s AI Is Making Traffic Lights More Efficient and Less Annoying” (Paresh Dave) — Wired 
  6. “Why AI Could Save Us From the Next Deadly Hurricane” (Tony Ho Tran) — The Daily Beast