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Putting the “e” in DNA

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BY KIM BELLARD

The Wall Street Journal had a great article a couple days ago that tickled my fancy on two fronts: DNA, and the deep ocean.  Both fascinate me. It introduced me to a term I’d not heard before but have now discovered is a thing: “eDNA.”  It’s something I suspect we’ll be hearing more about, and a technique we’ll be using much more, in the years to come.

The article, Finding New Drugs From the Deep Sea via ‘eDNA’, talks about a different approach to discovering potential sources of new medicines: “environmental DNA,” or eDNA.  As the US Geological Survey describes it: “Environmental DNA (eDNA) is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is released from an organism into the environment.” You may not want to know this, but “Sources of eDNA include secreted feces, mucous, and gametes; shed skin and hair; and carcasses.”

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THCB Gang Episode 103, Thursday September 1

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Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) on #THCBGang on Sept 1st were THCB regular writer and ponderer of odd juxtapositions Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard); the double trouble of vaunted futurists Ian Morrison (@seccurve) & Jeff Goldsmith, and Consumer advocate & CEO of AdaRose, Lygeia Ricciardi (@Lygeia). Great conversation going from the personal (Jeff’s Covid August & Ian’s tour round the wilds of Canada) to the policy and political.

If you’d rather listen, the “audio only” version it is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels a day or so after the episode — Matthew Holt

THCB Gang Episode 101, Thursday August 18, 1pm PT- 4pm ET

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Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) for the 101st #THCBGang on Thursday August 18 are medical historian Mike Magee (@drmikemagee); patient safety expert and all around wit Michael Millenson (@mlmillenson); delivery & platform expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis); THCB regular writer and ponderer of odd juxtapositions Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard);

You can see the video below & if you’d rather listen than watch, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels.

Caring Does Not Pay

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BY KIM BELLARD

Things are tough all over the job market.  With a jobless rate at 3.5%, and with millions of people who left the job market in 2020 opting to not return to work, employers are having a hard time finding workers.  Your favorite restaurant or retail store probably has a “Help Wanted” sign out.  Checking your bag for a flight has never been more problematic, in large part  due to staffing issues.  Even tech companies are having trouble hiring.

But I want to focus on a crisis in hiring for three industries that take care of some of our most vulnerable populations – teaching, child care, and nursing.  It seems that what we say we want for our kids and the sick isn’t at all what we actually do to ensure that.  

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THCB Gang Episode 97, Thursday June 30

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Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) on #THCBGang on Thursday June 30 were THCB regular writer and ponderer of odd juxtapositions Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard); Principal of Worksite Health Advisors Brian Klepper (@bklepper1); futurists Ian Morrison (@seccurve); and fierce patient activist Casey Quinlan (@MightyCasey). Lots of discussion of the Dobbs ruling and also of the CAA regulations which have gotten somewhat less play in the press. Quite the impassioned discussion !

You can see the video below & if you’d rather listen than watch, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels.

THCB Gang Episode 95, Thursday June 9

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Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) on #THCBGang on Thursday June 9 were THCB regular writer and ponderer of odd juxtapositions Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard); fierce patient activist Casey Quinlan (@MightyCasey); Principal of Worksite Health Advisors Brian Klepper (@bklepper1) & Queen of all employer benefits Jennifer Benz (@jenbenz)

You can see the video below & if you’d rather listen than watch, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels.

Hey, Old Guys!

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BY KIM BELLARD

OK, how many of you had on your women-in-power bingo cards that, in 2022, Sheryl Sandberg would be out at Facebook but Queen Elizabeth II would still be Queen?  It’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking seventy years on the throne.  She’s getting a lot of love for that tenure, but it makes me think, geez, some people just don’t know when to step away.

Perhaps what sparked my cynicism about the Queen was an op-ed by Yuval Levin, Why Are We Still Governed by Baby Boomers and the Remarkably Old?  Dr. Levin is, of course, referring to the U.S., and he’s spot-on about our governance problem.  But I think the problem goes further: we have too many old people running our companies and major institutions as well.  

Whether it is, say, healthcare, education, or the military, we’re so busy protecting the past that we’re not really getting ready for the future.

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AI are (going to be) people too

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BY KIM BELLARD

My heart says I should write about Uvalde, but my head says, not yet; there are others more able to do that.  I’ll reserve my sorrow, my outrage, and any hopes I still have for the next election cycle.  

Instead, I’m turning to a topic that has long fascinated me: when and how are we going to recognize when artificial intelligence (AI) becomes, if not human, then a “person”?  Maybe even a doctor.

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I Want to Believe

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BY KIM BELLARD

I know, I should be writing about hot topics like monkeypox or the baby formula shortage, but, c’mon, Congress held hearings last week about UFOs – the first in 50 years!  I mean, I followed Project Blue Book in the 1970’s, watched “The X-Files” in the 1990’s, and have seen UFO videos on YouTube.  If Congress is starting to take UFO’s seriously, how could I not?  

And for those of you who don’t see any possible connection to healthcare (except for those unpleasant alien probes…), let me put it to you this way: by 2050, is it more likely that:

  • We’ll know what UFOs actually are;
  • We’ll have fundamentally reformed the U.S. healthcare system.

I thought so.

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What Do You Mean, “Innovation”?

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BY KIM BELLARD

One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride. Among the many great quotes is one from Inigo Montoya, who becomes frustrated when the evil Vizzini keeps using “inconceivable” to describe events that were clearly actually taking place. “You keep using that word,” Inigo finally says. “I do not think it means what you think it means.”

So it is for most of us with the word “innovation” – especially in healthcare.

What started thinking me about this is an opinion piece by Alex Amouyel: Innovation Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does.  Ms. Amouyel is the Executive Director of Solve, an MIT initiative whose mission is “to drive innovation to solve world challenges.” It sees itself as “a marketplace for social impact innovation.”    

In her article, Ms. Amouyel notes that traditional definitions of innovation focus on the use of novelty to create wealth. She doesn’t dispute that view, as long as “wealth” includes the less traditional “community wealth,” which includes “broadly shared economic prosperity, racial equity, and ecological sustainability.” I suspect that innovators like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk don’t ascribe to that view of innovation.

Ms. Amouyel’s view is: “For me, innovation is about solving problems. And if innovation is about solving problems, what problems you are solving and who is setting about solving them is key.” She notes the multiplicity and difficulty of both global and community-level problems that we face, and urges: “Most urgently, we should zero in on problems that affect the most underserved among us.”

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