The Weekly Dose - Episode 32

The Weekly Dose...

... the latest from Dr Karan

  Here is your weekly dose...  

Hi all!Here is your weekly dose of the Sunday Six! A few things I found interesting this week. If you enjoy this please feel free to forward this to friends. families and enemies alike!**You'll find more in depth analysis of some of these subjects on my social platforms in the links just below, including Dr Karan Investigates! for deep dives into interesting topics on my YouTube channel.**

Fake Cancer...

Of all the things to fraud, you'd think even criminals would draw the line at faking cancer.A 19 year old from Iowa faked not just one, but 3 primary cancers; pancreatic cancer, a “football-sized” tumour around her spine and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (a type of blood based cancer).She even gave speeches as Pancreatic cancer charity events, started a GoFundMe page which amassed over 37,000 dollars in donation and documented her journey on TikTok and Linkedin. Despite claiming she had gone over 90 rounds of chemotherapy she looked completely healthy and still maintaining a highly active social media presence. Thankfully people started noticing discrepancies in her story and the images and videos she put out; the wrong placement of feeding tubes etc which led to her eventually exposure and arrest.I might make a video about this soon but what is worrying about this whole escapade is the erosion of trust it brings to the general public. In countries like America where healthcare is largely self-funded and people are often reliant on donations through pages like GoFundMe for extensive medical bills....does someone have to "prove" their cancer? Will people be more wary of "cancer-charlatans"?This person hasn't just deceived people of their hard earned cash but she's cast current patients who may be asking for online donations, in a bad light.  

What I'm Watching...

I was 13 years old when I was first introduced to Hip-Hop. My friend played me C.R.E.A.M by Hip-Hop collaborative the Wu-Tang clan. As they say, the rest is history and I've been a hip-hop head ever since. It feels only right coming full circle and watching this absolute epic on Disney +: "Wu-Tang: An American Saga".This series (currently 2 seasons and a 3rd incoming) encompasses how the group came togther and I was totally shocked. The story, the pacing, the characters, the dose of familiar tunes made this binge worthy for me. I watched 2 seasons in 1 week!If you like musical history, Hip-Hop or just engaging drama you will enjoy this. Check out this trailer if you don't believe me: Wu Tang  

Brain Implant For Social Media...

Brain implants are all the rage these days; there are trials underway for brain implants for depression, Elon Musk's neuralink is due to start human trials soon after successful trials in pigs...and now scientists have developed a tiny brain implant smaller than a human hair which allows people to control computers with their minds.

The difference with this new brain implant is that it sits on the brain rather than being embedded within the tissue. It would still involve making a thin slit in a human skull and sliding the chip in through but it doesn't require a major craniotomy in the skull (hole in the skull). Less invasive, relatively speaking although it still involves cutting into your head and sticking things into your brain.

The main purpose of this invention is to allow people who suffer from disabilities the opportunity to use computers to communicate. Realistically however, anyone could and probably will use this. 

It allows a person to control digital devices with neural signals, letting someone move a cursor across a screen or type without a keyboard.

It means someone could pretty much have the internet at their fingertips...or at the tips of their neurons through this implant. To reassure you, it is removable to allow you to upgrade to a newer version.

  Prisoner Organ Harvesting... 

2023 is becoming increasingly dystopian.A new bill proposed by the Massachusetts Democrats proposes that prisoners could be offered a choice to donate their organs or bone marrow in exchange for up to a year off their prison sentence (not less than 60 and not more than 365 day reduction in the length of their committed sentence).I'm not quite sure where to get started on the numerous ethical problems this poses...Aside from the fact that prisoners would likely not be thinking rationally when they are incarcerated and if offered a route out, this would be a decision made under duress - deeply unethical. Furthermore, prisoners statistically have higher rates of HIV, Hepatitis and tuberculosis - not an ideal cohort to "choose" from. Lastly, the prison system and the justice system overall is aimed to rehabilitate prisoners and a reduced prison sentence is determined by good behaviour assessments etc - but buying less time through "selling" organs goes against this ethos and seems to leave the system open to corruption and abuse. Possibly even giving rise to an organ donation black market where prisoners are exploited by the rich. There is a worldwide organ shortage but the solution to this should not involve compromising ethics and human rights.

Microbes That Control Us...

Everyone and their pet goldfish is watching the Last Of Us at the moment. If you aren't glued to this TV series it involves a global pandemic and societal collapse brought on by a Fungus. Science fiction aside we are already controlled to some extent by microscopic creatures.The human genome contains billions of pieces of information and around 22,000 genes, but not all of it is, strictly speaking, human.Eight percent of our DNA consists of remnants of ancient viruses, and another 40 percent is made up of repetitive strings of genetic letters that is also thought to have a viral origin.Those extensive viral regions are much more than evolutionary relics: They may be deeply involved with a wide range of diseases including multiple sclerosis, hemophilia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), along with certain types of dementia and cancer. Many of these genes could even be benign or even helpful.We have a huge number of bacterial cells which also dictate most aspects of our life - brain health, gut health (gut microbiome), skin health (skin microbiome) and many of these even help prevent some conditions, e.g. Bacillus Subtilis in our feet produce anti-fungals that keep athletes foot at bay but gives us stinky cheese feet in return.The question is - are we human with microbes living in and on us, or are we microbes that control a meat suit? 

What I'm Listening To...

10 Things That Scare MeThis one’s pretty self-explanatory. Basically during each episode of this podcast, a new person will sit in a room alone and talk about their biggest fears. From cockroaches to death, flying, large crowds and even boredom, the discussions on here range from funny to deep and everything in-between. It's a fun change of pace from the usual podcast which sometimes feels overly scripted and serious.

As always, please give me feedback on Twitter. Which of this weeks Sunday six is your favourite? Is there something you want more, or less of? I'm open to any suggestions so please let me know! Just send a  tweet to @drkaranrajan and use the hashtag #theweeklydose at the end so I can find it!

Have a wonderful week, all.

Much love,

Karan