Bridging the gap between the technological singularity and mainstream medicine: highlighting a course on technology and the future of medicine.

The "technological singularity" is defined as that putative point in time forecasted to occur in the mid twenty-first century when machines will become smarter than humans, leading humans and machines to merge. It is hypothesized that this event will have a profound influence on medicine and population health. This work describes a new course on Technology and the Future of Medicine developed by a diverse, multi-disciplinary group of faculty members at a Canadian university.

A ferritin-containing cell type in the stria vascularis of the mouse inner ear.

This report describes a new cell type within the stria vascularis of the mouse inner ear. The cell is similar ultrastructurally to the classically described intermediate cell. However, it can be distinguished by the presence of dense vacuoles, presumably lysosomes, within which can be visualized electron dense particles resembling ferritin molecules.

DNA content, mitotic activity, and incorporation of tritiated thymidine in the developing inner ear of the rat.

The rat inner ear is ectodermally derived from a region adjacent to the developing hindbrain. Beginning on day 8 of a 22-day gestational period, This zone of ectoderm first forms the otic placode, then the otocyst, and ultimately the definitive membranous labyrinth. This report provides an estimation of total DNA content of the developing inner ear, and hence an estimation of the total number of cells that comprise the inner ear at each developmental stage.

Effects of fluorodeoxyuridine on the developing inner ear of the rat.

The inner ear in rats develops from the surface ectoderm on day 8 of a 22-day gestational period. Labeled thymidine incorporation studies have indicated that in the developing inner ear most of the cells undergo terminal mitosis between gestational days 13 and 15. During this period the developing inner ear would be particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards.

Apparent immunologic nonidentity of human placental and endometrial 17beta-estradiol dehydrogenase.

Immunohistochemical techniques were used to search for the presence of 17beta-estradiol dehydrogenase activity in human endometrial and placental tissues, with the use of antibodies raised against highly purified human placental 17beta-estradiol dehydrogenase. Sensitivity and specificity of the antibodies were documented by radioimmunoassay and immunodiffusion on cellulose acetate. Although staining was consistently demonstrated in the syncytiotrophoblast layer of term placentas, in both cytoplasm and nuclei, no immunohistochemical reaction was observed in endometrial samples.

In vitro hippocampal uptake of tritiated serotonin (3H-5HT): A morphological, biochemical, and pharmacological approach to specificity.

The in vitro uptake of tritiated serotonin (3H-5HT) into hippocampal slices was measured in Ringer's solution (37 degrees C) containing pargyline, ascorbic acid, and dextrose. The specific uptake of 3H-5HT rose asymptotically as the 3H-5HT molarity was increased from 5 x 10(-10) to 1.5 x 10(-6) M.

An evaluation of normal strial capillary transport using the electron-opaque tracers ferritin and iron dextran.

Enzymatic tracer techniques to study normal and pathologic strial capillary transport pose various problems. The use of electron opaque tracers can circumvent many of these problems. Iron dextran (mol.

Intercellular junctions in the differentiating rat otocyst.

Intercellular junctions between cells of the rat otocyst on the 12th day of gestation were studied using lanthanum tracer and freeze-fracture techniques. At the luminal surface, the intercellular space is closed by a series of tight junctions. Gap junctions are also present between cells both within and below the luminal junctional complex.

Transformation of DBA/2 mouse fetal liver cells infected in vitro by the anemic strain of Friend leukemia virus.

Fetal liver cells of DBA/2 mice were infected with the anemic strain of Friend leukemia virus (FLV-A), which has no spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) activity. The infected cells were grown in medium with or without erythropoietin. Transformed lines were isolated only from the infected cultures that had been treated with erythropoietin at the time of their initiation.

Detection of H2-b and Thy-1.2 surface antigens on the differentiating murine otocyst using Nomarski optics.

The 12th postcoital day otocyst appears as a hollow cellular ball of pseudostratified columnar epithelium that has entered into its inital stages of differentiation and organogenesis. H-2b antigen was demonstrated on the ectodermally derived epithelial cells of the otocysts and on the mesodermally derived cells of the surrounding mesenchyme. Thy-1.

Observations on cell lines derived from a patient with Hodgkin's disease.

Permanent cell lines have been established from a spleen nodule and lymph node of a male Hodgkin's disease (HD) patient whose father has the same disease. Th in vitro growth pattern morphological and cytogenetic characteristics of these lines maintained continuously for over 2 years are described. The cultures contain a population of mixed cell types that grow in suspension.

The evaluation of middle ear meningiomas using computerized axial tomography.

Meningiomas localized within the middle ear and mastoid which have no intracranial component are rare tumors. Three patients with meningiomas which were thought to involve only the middle ear were treated surgically, were followed for two to six years and were thought to have been cured. However, when computerized axial tomography became clinically available, these patients were examined using this radiographic technique.

Tympanic neurectomy and chorda tympanectomy for the control of drooling.

Seventeen patients suffered from drooling that either occurred as a sequelae of extensive head and neck cancer resections or was due to neurological disorders. In these patients, a tympanic neurectomy and/or chorda tympanectomy was performed in an attempt to eliminate the drooling. The conditions in five of 12 (41%) patients with head and neck cancer were improved following such surgery.

Evaluation of tympanic neurectomy and chorda tympanectomy surgery.

Thirty patients were treated by tympanic neurectomy, chorda tympanectomy, or both for a variety of conditions. Out of six patients with gustatory sweating treated by tympanic neurectomy, two patients were relieved of symptoms, two were improved, and two remained unchanged. In five cases of benign recurrent painful parotid swelling, only two patients noted improvement in symptoms.

Comparative histological study of mini pig skin after chemical peel and dermabrasion.

Although individual studies of the histological changes after chemical peel and dermabrasion have been reported, there has not been a comparative study of these modalities in the same animal mode. Using the mini pig, whose skin most closely resembles human skin, a study was performed of histological changes 24 hours to 16 weeks after dermabrasion and chemical peel. A considerable increase in thickness of the new collagen layer was noted after chemical peel in contrast to that seen in skin after dermabrasion.

Ultrastructural development of the early rat otocyst.

The ultrastructural development and differentiation of cells forming the rat otocyst were studied from the 9th to the 13th postcoital day (PCD). The earliest stage investigated was a simple ovoid structure with a connecting stalk to the surface ectoderm. A process of programmed cellular death involving surface ectoderm, connecting stalk, and lateral otocyst wall rapidly detached the otocyst.

Scanning electron microscopic appearance of rat otocyst of the twelfth postcoital day: elaboration of a method.

A method for removal, fixation, microdissection, and drying of early rat otocyst for examination by the scanning electron microscope is elaborated. Tissues were dissected, fixed as for conventional transmission electron microscopy and dried by critical point evaporation using amylacetate as the transitional fluid and carbon dioxide as the pressure head. Otocysts were either dissected at the time of initial fixation, or subsequent to drying.

An improved method for processing early rat otocysts for the electron microscope.

Various methods of dissection, fixation, osmication, sectioning and staining were tested in order to develop an acceptable technique for preparing 9, 10, 11, and 12-day-old rat otocysts for electron microscopic study. The general problems associated with embryonic tissue-difficult handling, high water content and poor stainability are discussed, and concrete methods of preparation which significantly decrease these difficulties are proposed. The specific fixation and sectioning requirements of rat otocyst are also described in the elaboration of a method which will be used in subsequent studies of the organogenesis of rodent ear.

The role of cellular degeneration in the normal development of (rat) otocyst.

From day 12 to 16 of gestation a highly circumscribed zone of cellular degeneration has been observed in the otocyst of more than 50 normal rats. This zone appears to be produced by selective or programmed cell death, and results in the elimination of unneeded cellular elements. That cells in this zone are also selectively destroying subcellular organelles as a first step in specialization is also discussed.

Single mitotic center for rodent cochlear duct.

The pattern of terminal mitosis in mouse otocyst observed by Ruben led him to postulate the existence of a growth zone at the junction of saccular and cochlear primordia. With the use of colchicine, an antimitotic drug, a localized zone of mitotic activity has been demonstrated at this predicted site.