When Medicine Meets Philosophy: A New SEC Series
Organizers and Topics
The Hippocratic Chapter of the SEC, along with organizers from the Círculo de Bella Artes, decided on three healthcare topics to explore in the series. The session titles were "The Doctor-Patient Relationship in the Era of Artificial Intelligence," "Who Wants to Live Forever?", and "Is Boredom a Medical Problem?
AI in Medicine: Pros and Cons
AI's role in medicine was the first session's focus. Panelists discussed how AI saves time by streamlining data interpretation, allowing more time spent with patients. Ironically, the extra time results in the expectation that patient load should increase. The importance of physician input in AI advancement for medical use, as well as educating future clinicians on AI, were discussed.
A Long Life
The concept of living a longer life was discussed in the second session. A balanced approach to the topic by medical professionals and philosophers created a crossover of biological facts with existential questions about the meaning of life.
Is Boredom Treatable?
The last session featured panelists talking about boredom, whether it is a medical issue, and the social and medical repercussions of labeling these normal emotional life experiences as treatable conditions.
Were These Roundtables Successful?
Yes. All sessions sold out and this success has prompted the organizers to brainstorm future topics for collaboration. Also, expanding this series outside of Madrid is a possibility.
Bottom line: Viewing healthcare topics through scientific and philosophical lenses can foster thought-provoking discussions, as shown by the success of the Medicine and Philosophy roundtable series. The full list of panelists can be found on the Círculo de Bellas Artes page for the roundtable series.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Here Are 6 Things You Should Do At Night To Be Happier The Next Morning, According To Experts
Setting yourself up for a good day doesn't just mean having a solid morning routine in place (though that's important too). How you spend your evenings is a key part of the equation, yet one that's sometimes overlooked. You might be surprised at how a few small tweaks to your nighttime habits can make a considerable difference in your happiness come morning. We asked experts to share what evening practices will have the most positive effect on your mood the following day. Here's what we learned: Take an evening walk. Related: Maybe it's a post-dinner stroll around the block or one last potty walk with your dog before you turn in for the night. But just a few minutes of gentle movement outdoors can reduce blood sugar levels after a meal and help you wind down. 'I go for a walk every evening, which allows me to process the day's information as my blood flow increases to my brain,' U.K. psychologist and well-being specialist Lee Chambers told HuffPost. 'This mental tidying up gives my busy mind a level of peace, meaning I go to bed with a quiet environment and a quiet internal dialogue.' If you're going to be walking outside when it's dark, be sure to take some basic safety precautions: wear reflective gear or bright-colored clothes, choose a well-lit and familiar route, ask someone else to tag along or bring your phone just in case you need it (but avoid texting, putting in your headphones or other distractions). Put your phone down, ideally in another room. You've no doubt noticed that a good night's sleep has a significant effect on your mental state the next morning — and there's 'tons of evidence' supporting that, said Laurie Santos, a Yale University psychology professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast. To get better-quality rest, focus on improving your 'sleep hygiene,' which refers to the lifestyle habits and environmental factors that affect our sleep. And how we use our devices at night is a big part of that. 'Turn off your screens about 30 minutes before bed, and consider keeping your devices away from your bed so you're not tempted to check them out at night,' Santos told HuffPost. 'I also recommend getting one of those old-school alarm clocks that don't talk to social media or your email.' We live in a hyperstimulating world that can put our senses on overdrive, Chambers said. Avoiding screens is one way to remedy that, but there are other things we can do to soothe our senses. 'Consider stacking sensory wind-down rituals, including relaxing scents, calming sounds and soothing warm drinks, allowing our senses to disconnect and connect back with more strength the following morning,' he said. Take a warm bath (or shower). Related: Justine Grosso, a mind-body psychologist licensed in New York and North Carolina, is a proponent of an evening bath for its physical and mental health benefits, she told HuffPost. 'Totally immersing yourself in water, as opposed to showering, has been shown to lift mood in people with depression, improve sleep for people with insomnia and have positive effects on the cardiovascular system,' she explained. That being said, if you don't have a tub or if baths just aren't your thing, a pre-bed shower ritual has benefits, too. As sleep adviser Robert Oexman previously told HuffPost, 'showering at night can enhance sleep by augmenting the decrease in core body temperature that is necessary to initiate sleep and maintain proper sleep at night.' Do a body scan. Related: According to Cortland Dahl, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Healthy Minds, a mindful body scan is a powerful way to ease chronic stress and mental rumination. You can do this simple mindfulness exercise while lying in bed. 'Bring attention to each part of your body, starting with your head and moving slowly down until you reach your toes,' he told HuffPost. 'Pay attention to the sensations you notice in your body with a sense of warmth and non-judgmental curiosity. This activates the brain network critical for self-regulation and inner balance. It's also a great way to de-stress and let go of all the tension that builds up in our busy lives.' Grosso also suggests practices like yoga nidra (a meditative technique in which you 'cycle your awareness around your body,' she said) or gentle stretching. Either will activate your parasympathetic nervous system — the one responsible for the body's 'rest and digest' response. This method 'helps you feel more calm and drift off to a night of restorative sleep,' she said. 'Over time these practices can help your body more reliably and quickly return to a sense of ease and emotional regulation after a stressful event.' Reflect on the day. Related: Many of us are more likely to fret about all the things we haven't checked off our to-do list on a given day than we are to stop and appreciate the progress we made. 'Whether written or reflected upon, note the steps taken towards a goal, the challenges overcome or tasks completed, no matter how small,' Chambers said. 'And that feeling of progression will create the groundwork for some forward momentum on the following day.' Dahl also called self-reflection 'a great practice to end a busy day.' He suggests taking a moment to think about what you learned and how you grew that day. 'See if you can reframe stressful events as opportunities for self-discovery or to align with your most cherished values or guiding principles,' he said. 'This simple practice strengthens our capacity for insight and can help us to approach the next day with an open mind that is ready to learn.' End your day with gratitude. Before you go to sleep, write down three to five things you're thankful for. Santos pointed to the research of psychologist Robert Emmons, a professor at the University of California, Davis. He and his colleagues 'found that the simple act of listing your blessings in life can lead to significant improvements in your well-being,' she said. 'So make your night-time gratitude list a daily habit.' Dahl also recommends closing out the day with a short gratitude practice. 'If you spend a few minutes reflecting on people you appreciate and things you're grateful for as part of your bedtime routine, you'll naturally feel less stressed and more connected as you drift off to sleep,' he said. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in Goodful: Also in Goodful: Also in Goodful: Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
This Webb photo didn't just see galaxies. It changed their place in time.
A James Webb Space Telescope study is setting the record straight on the ages of some known ancient galaxies, which have turned out to be much older and farther away in space than previously thought. Webb, a joint observatory of NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, took a fresh look at a piece of the sky made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope's ultra-deep field view more than 20 years ago. At that time, Hubble's long-exposure image was extremely ambitious: Scientists pointed the telescope at a seemingly starless area, unsure what photons they'd collect. In the end, that ultra-deep field image was "found to be anything but blank," Webb researchers said, "containing thousands of distant galaxies." Now with Webb, this patch of sky is revealing more about the universe — even shuffling the cosmic timeline. Known as the MIRI Deep Imaging Survey, the project involved the Webb telescope's mid-infrared instrument, which detects light wavelengths invisible to the naked eye. The new findings from the survey are published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. With Webb, astronomers are able to observe the faint infrared glow from ancient stars and the structures they formed. The telescope trained on the Hubble Ultra Deep Field area for 100 hours, according to the research, including 41 hours with one particular filter. The resulting image picked up dim signals from galaxies when the universe was barely a few hundred million years old — a mere whippersnapper. To understand a deep field space image, think of it as you would a core sample taken from the ground, collecting older rocks and soil the farther down you go: The image is a tiny-but-distant slice of space, revealing cosmic history by cutting across billions of light-years, each deeper layer revealing an earlier time. "To our knowledge, this constitutes the longest single-filter exposure obtained with (Webb) of an extragalactic field as of yet," the authors wrote. The project, dubbed MIDIS for short, found nearly 2,500 light sources, most of them distant galaxies. About 1,000 now have revised distance estimates, based on how their light has shifted. Webb was built to observe an early period known as "cosmic dawn," between 100 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang, detecting light at invisible infrared wavelengths. In short, light gets stretched — or "redshifted" — over time and distance by the expansion of the universe. Those infrared waves can also pierce through the prevalent gas and dust in space that could otherwise obscure far and naturally weaker light sources. In one case, the project found that a galaxy previously believed to be 11.8 billion years old was closer to 13.3 billion — pushing its origins back to when the universe was perhaps just 450 million years old. That puts the galaxy squarely in the first wave of galaxies formed. Other objects in the MIDIS image reveal a different story: hundreds of red galaxies, some of which got their color because they're dusty or contain mature, cooler stars. Either way, the results show Webb's MIRI instrument can be a powerful tool for uncovering missed or misidentified ancient galaxies. Not even NASA's Spitzer, a now-retired infrared space telescope, saw with this level of clarity. That bodes well for researchers looking into how the universe evolved from birthing the first galaxies to a time when star and supermassive black hole formation seemed to peak. "MIDIS surpasses preflight expectations," the authors wrote. "Deep MIRI imaging has great potential to characterise the galaxy population from cosmic noon to dawn." Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Best Tea to Help Lower Cholesterol, According to Dietitians
Key Points Green tea contains catechins—antioxidants that may help lower LDL and total cholesterol levels. Some studies link green tea to modest drops in cholesterol levels, though results vary. Tea can be part of a heart-smart routine—just avoid added sugar and consult a healthcare professional you have high cholesterol, you're likely turning to your diet to make changes to help keep your cholesterol in check. Maybe you've have heard that upping fiber and reducing saturated fat and added sugar can positively affect cholesterol levels. Still, you may not have heard of one beverage that may also have a beneficial effect—tea. 'Traditional tea contains antioxidants and offers health benefits such as cancer prevention and cholesterol reduction,' says Lisa Andrews, M.E.d., RD, LD. Because of this, it can be a healthful addition to most diets. Why Green Tea Is So Great for Lowering Cholesterol Green tea may be one of the most beneficial teas when it comes to the potential for lowering cholesterol levels. Green tea, along with other types of tea, is a source of various types of polyphenols. 'The polyphenols in the tea leaves provide antioxidants,' says Wan Na Chun, M.P.H., RD, CPT. Some studies have found a connection between green tea consumption and a slight reduction in LDL cholesterol. Other studies have looked specifically at cholesterol levels in populations with other chronic conditions and have found a benefit when adding green tea to the diet. More specifically, a small study found that people with type 2 diabetes and nephropathy (kidney disease) who drank three cups of green tea per day had a reduction in total cholesterol. The tea was consumed before a meal, and other factors in the diet were not controlled, so it's impossible to know if the tea alone impacted cholesterol or if other dietary changes positively affected cholesterol. Still, the results are promising for green tea's potential impact on total cholesterol. A meta-analysis found similar results. This review found that consuming green tea may significantly help lower both total and LDL cholesterol (also known as 'bad' cholesterol). However, this study also had limitations, including not determining the amount of green tea needed to influence cholesterol levels. Brooke Baird, RDN, says the optimal amount of tea required to help lower cholesterol levels is not clearly defined. 'It can vary depending on individual factors such as age, health status and overall diet and lifestyle,' says Baird. It's also important to note that many studies investigating the effect of green tea on cholesterol use a mix of green tea extract and green tea as a beverage. However, most of the studies are looking at the catechin concentration, which is the compound thought to have the most significant impact on cholesterol levels. Catechins are flavonoids (a type of antioxidant) found in green tea. One of the most well-known catechins in green tea is EGCG. 'Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has been heavily researched and shown to be very effective in decreasing cholesterol,' says Umo Callins, M.S., RD, LD, CSSD, CPT. Green tea's effect on lipid levels is thought to be multifaceted. In addition to preventing oxidation of LDL, which leads to plaque formation in your arteries, 'Studies show green tea may significantly inhibit lipid absorption in the intestine, which is beneficial for lowering cholesterol,' says Chun. More Research Is Needed While drinking tea, particularly green tea, may be beneficial for lowering cholesterol levels, more research is still needed. 'The FDA has not approved any health claims for green tea beverages to reduce cardiovascular disease risk,' says Chun. It is best to consult a healthcare professional before using tea to help manage high cholesterol, adds Chun. Tea also contains caffeine, which can have adverse side effects when consumed excessively. 'Drinking excessive amounts of caffeinated tea could lead to side effects like headaches, insomnia, irritability, dizziness and anxiety,' says Chun. Excess caffeine intake can also lead to gastrointestinal symptoms in some cases. However, green tea's total caffeine content is lower than that of other caffeinated beverages like coffee. For reference, one cup of green tea contains around 30 milligrams of caffeine, compared to 100 mg in a traditional cup of coffee. Other teas, particularly ones made of herbs, may also have unintended side effects. 'Herbal teas can interfere with some medications like blood thinners, anti-inflammatories, anti-seizure drugs, aspirin, blood pressure medications and diabetes treatments,' says Chun. It's important to review your medications and any supplements or teas with a healthcare professional. Safety Tips and Best Practices If you plan to add green tea to your daily routine, then it's best to do so in a way that will help you increase the healthfulness of your diet as a whole. Avoid green tea with excess added sugar, which can negatively impact your overall health. Choosing a high-quality tea from a reputable company that tests for pesticides and other contaminants is also important. Many companies will provide their testing procedures on their website or will provide a Certificate of Analysis upon request. You can also look for companies that follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) to ensure quality. Our Expert Take Tea can be a delicious, health-promoting beverage to add to your diet. Choosing tea, especially green tea, may have a beneficial effect on total cholesterol. However, it's best to avoid drinking tea with added sugar to reap the greatest benefit. 'While tea can be a part of a healthy lifestyle, it's essential to consume it as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle,' says Callins. 'Consult with a health care professional if you have any concerns or underlying health conditions.' Read the original article on EATINGWELL
