Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
Robot
Robot: _ Pepper (above), a humanoid robot developed by SoftBank Robotics, was launched in 2014 and can read human emotions. Over 2,000 companies around the world have adopted Pepper as an assistant to welcome, inform and guide visitors in an innovative way. ____ Section-1 Prologue: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a robot? For many people it is a machine that imitates a human—like the androids in Star Wars, Terminator and Star Trek: The Next Generation. However much these robots capture our imagination, such robots still only inhabit Science Fiction. Science-fiction films and novels usually portray robots as one of two things: destroyers of the human race or friendly helpers. People still haven’t been able to give a robot enough ‘common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world and the independent intelligent machines seen in science fiction are still a […]
The Chip
The Chip: _ Figure below shows chip manufacturing facility: ______ Section-1 Prologue: More than 100 years ago, humans invented vacuum tubes that made electricity flow in different directions or get stronger. The tubes made it possible to invent radios, televisions and computers. Every electronic device like a computer and radio works by controlling and manipulating the flow of electric current through a network of interconnected elements like capacitors, diodes and transistors. Before the invention of the chip, electronic devices such as computers and radios used vacuum tubes, or valves, which were cumbersome, heavy and generated a large amount of heat while consuming a lot of power. A 1940s computer called the ENIAC with vacuum tubes about the size of an adult thumb was about the same length and weight as three to four double-decker buses and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes, 7,200 crystal diodes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 […]
MUCORMYCOSIS
Mucormycosis: (Previously called zygomycosis: misnomer black fungus) _ _____ Section-1 Prologue: Fungi are important to everyday human life. Fungi are important decomposers in most ecosystems. Mycorrhizal fungi are essential for the growth of most plants. Fungi, as food, play a role in human nutrition in the form of mushrooms, and also as agents of fermentation in the production of bread, cheeses, alcoholic beverages, and numerous other food preparations. Secondary metabolites of fungi are used as medicines, such as antibiotics and anticoagulants. Fungi are model organisms for the study of eukaryotic genetics and metabolism. Fungi are relatively uncommon causes of disease in healthy and immunocompetent human hosts, even though hosts are constantly exposed to infectious propagules. However fungal diseases have occurred originating from opportunistic and pathogenic fungi. Opportunistic fungi have a preferred habitat independent from the living host and cause infection after accidentally penetration of intact skin barriers, or when […]
The Enigma of COVID-19:
The Enigma of COVID-19: _____ Caveat: Medicine is an ever-changing science. As COVID-19 pandemic is continuing worldwide, new research and clinical experience broaden our knowledge and necessitates changes in prevention and treatment. I have quoted sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards accepted at the time of publication of this article. However, in view of the possibility of human error or changes in medical sciences, readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other sources. ______ Prologue: An epidemic happens when a disease spreads between large numbers of people in a short period of time. When an epidemic goes global, it is called a pandemic. The 1918 influenza pandemic was the deadliest event in human history (50 million or more deaths, equivalent in proportion to 200 million in today’s global population). […]
QUANTUM COMPUTING
Quantum Computing: _ Note: As a doctor myself, I am on duty treating patients during Coronavirus pandemic and national lockdown. Whatever spare time I have, I utilize it for providing education through my website. Can Quantum Computing help us to respond to the Coronavirus? Quantum computing can be applied to work toward vaccines and therapies as well as epidemiology, supply distribution, hospital logistics, and diagnostics. By harnessing the properties of quantum physics, quantum computers have the potential to sort through a vast number of possibilities nearly instantaneously and come up with a probable solution. How? Read the article. ____ ____ Prologue: Quantum theory is one of the most successful theories that have influenced the course of scientific progress during the twentieth century. It has presented a new line of scientific thought, predicted entirely inconceivable situations and influenced several domains of modern technologies. After more than 50 years from its inception, […]
