(In the weekly Health Matters newsletter, Ramya Kannan writes about AI toys for language acquisition, nature prescription, climate change and its impact on health and gut metabolism. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
Since everything today is condensed to the sachet version, where even revolutions are successful in mere days, it is time to introspect on how we do things. At the health desk, we wondered if you would like us to tell you about the five top health stories you must read in a week, and then some? If we can ensure those five stories represent everything key that has happened in the health sector this week? It’s definitely a challenge, but one that we are up to.
Here then, in keeping with the rest of the world and its energy, and attention spans, are this week’s top five, curated with some effort, for you. And then, some:
Let’s start with something current, and embedded in the popular imagination, in fact even in daily activity for some – Artificial Intelligence. The debate has also been about its impact on children, but arguments have mostly ranged on polar opposites – debaters have argued, in turn, over the miracles it can bring about and its sheer evil. However, taking a scientific view on it, Maithri Sivaraman examines AI toys that are gaining ground, and evaluate if they actually help children’s language skills? She writes: A five-year-old sat with a talking AI-powered stuffed animal, as part of a University of Cambridge study. At one point, the child told the toy, “I love you.” The toy politely replied, “Kindly ensure interactions adhere to the guidelines provided”.
Language acquisition, at its core, is a social dance, she argues. “The content and the timing of a response to a child carry independent weight. There is an evolutionary brilliance behind this dance: humans are far from the only species that depend on it.” She concludes that AI toys, as of now, don’t have the sophisticated response that will enable children to learn from them.
“A five-year-old’s “I love you” and a 14-month-old leaning towards a flower both need the same thing: to be met where they are by their caregivers. That is the essence of a brilliant conversational dance, one that is critical in early childhood. One that cannot be outsourced to machines,” she concludes. Interesting take in these interesting times, where everyday, we lean a little more towards intelligence that is artificial. Clearly, the best teachers for our children are, believe it or not, us.
Nature as healer
Back in the day when Europeans were tackling tuberculosis, and they did not quite understand the etiology or disease progress, doctors used to write a prescription for the outdoors, a touch of the sun and the French Riviera, wherever possible. As fantastic as that may sound today, the outdoors is coming back on to the prescription. Athira Elssa Johnson writes here on Nature prescriptions: asking if time outdoors can once again become part of healthcare.
Time spent in forests and gardens and by waterbodies is increasingly being seen as an addition to medication-based care. While research is still limited, evidence is emerging about the medical benefits of enjoying nature, she says. The premise is not that nature replaces medicine, but that spending time in natural settings may support mental well-being, encourage physical activity and promote social interaction. While research suggests mental health benefits, evidence for long-term physical health outcomes remains limited.
We learn that ‘green prescriptions’ encourage activities in parks, gardens or other green spaces, while ‘blue prescriptions’ involve spending time near rivers, lakes, wetlands or the coast. Next time you are at the doctor’s, maybe ask for a green prescription or a blue one, as fancy takes you, and see if it works better for you.
Climate change is all
Climate change and its impact on healthcare is not something we can wish away. Climate change is a major stressor these days and heat stress in addition to extreme climactic events has a definite impact on human health – both mental and physical. It is important to not see this in silos, given that climate resilience and adaptability require a multi-pronged approach, experts are cautioning. An attempt to study this interconnectedness and fashion an appropriate response is at the heart of the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation’s collaboration with two State governments and multi sectoral organisations. We’ll wait for the conclusions of the study, bound to be much fodder for thought.
The researchers say the goal is to look at the heat stress on people with every degree rise in temperature, look at the preparedness of health systems, and also fashion a technological solution to personalise heat stress warnings, based on multiple inputs. Two sites in Tamil Nadu and two others in Karnataka have been chosen as study centres, and will provide granular data on heat stress. To get a sense of how it is to live scarred deeply by the heat, and extreme climate events, none of which can be controlled, read Geetha Srimathi’s account of life in Marakkanam’s salt pans in T.N.
The gut-metabolism connect
Jacob P. Koshy wrote this week on the conclusions of a Gut-microbe study that attempted to capture what urban diets erase in urbanising India. Microbiome research matters, he writes, quoting the researchers on the project, because gut bacteria act as an environmental factor that modifies how genes are expressed — comparable to the way smoking amplifies inherited cancer risk.
The study found Megamonas, a bacterium linked to obesity, hypertension and high blood glucose, consistently more abundant in urban individuals than in their rural kin. The report has shown that Megamonas are thriving because of a change in diet. Holdemanella, on the other hand, associated with fibre intake and glucose tolerance is receding in the gut except in populations that have retained their traditional diets. This comes at a time when the National Institute of Nutrition, an ICMR organisation has called for new framework to regulate processed foods.
Analysing new dengue vaccine
While the news of India’s first dengue vaccine hit the headlines and stayed there, here is a balanced SWOT analysis for QDENGA. In India, this is particularly significant as the country is reporting hyperendemic transmission of the virus. Swaminathan S. says India’s first dengue vaccine has arrived with a crucial safety caveat.
Qdenga is designed and claimed to protect against the four serotypes of the dengue-causing virus circulating in India. Young children as well as adults (aged 4-60 years), irrespective of whether they have had dengue before, may be vaccinated with Qdenga. He writes: The data clearly demonstrate that Qdenga does not offer protection against DENV-3 and could in fact actually be responsible for enhancing dengue in children who have not had a dengue infection yet in their lives. In such cases, Qdenga — being a live dengue vaccine — could simulate a primary dengue infection in the body, resulting in protection against DENV-1 and DENV-2 infections — but not against a DENV-3 infection.
And more:
Where Dr. K. Ganapathy, urges us to look beyond life Why end-of-life care should include digital assets management
Afshan Yasmeen cautions: Quality sleep key to protecting brain health amid rising screen time
Dr. Upasana Arora says Self-medication may be temptingly easy, but can have serious consequences
On World IVF Day, Dr. Priya Kannan explains that it is important to Put the safety of moms-to-be first, when it comes to IVF
Vasudevan Mukunth writes a long form piece about how experimental gene editing in China caused the death of an otherwise healthy girl, pointing to the dangers of unregulated science
Dr. Lancelot Pinto explains Why asthma impacts women differently: and that understanding this difference is important to deliver the right kind of care
Dr. Dinesh Arab Doctors vs. patients: the fights should be against bad systems, not against each other
There is of course much more on offer, do head to our health page and subscribe to the health newsletter here.