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LINGUISTIC WHODUNITS
We can use mathematical and computational techniques to analyze texts with unknown authorship to see if we can determine who wrote them. I present two simple examples of these techniques and use them to answer questions about the writings of William Shakespeare.
BREAST CANCER - ONE DIAGNOSIS, MANY DIFFERENT DISEASES?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and about a quarter of a million new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year. For many years previously, patients with breast cancer have been prescribed essentially the same blanket treatment for their cancer. However, “breast cancer” itself is not just one disease; patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer may have tumors that differ in many significant ways, including amount of aggression and sensitivity to drug treatments.
READING BEWEEN THE LINES
When people take multiple prescription drugs at the same time, dangerous drug-drug interactions can occur. Scientists are working to predict drug-drug interactions before they happen in people – by teaching computers how to read!
COO COO - THE DOCTOR IS IN
Clinicians spend years training to accurately interpret medical imaging like X-rays in order to recognize and diagnose diseases. However, a recent research article identifies an unlikely candidate for interpreting medical images: Columba livia, an animal you might recognize as the common pigeon. Researchers in this study showed that, with food reward and several days of practice, it is possible to train pigeons to tell the difference between healthy and cancerous tissue.