Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
Health

From Eyeballs To Hearts: Google Life Sciences, Heart Association, Team On New Research Venture

Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Nov, 2015 11:13 AM
    ORLANDO, Fla. — A company whose name is synonymous with eyeballs on the Internet is turning its attention to hearts.
     
    Google Life Sciences, a research group recently spun off from its parent corporation, is teaming with the American Heart Association in a $50 million project to find new ways to fight heart disease.
     
    The heart association's half, $25 million over five years, is the largest single research investment in its history. For the Google group, its latest biomedical venture will join projects that include whiz-bang devices such as driverless cars, contact lenses that monitor blood-sugar for diabetics and health-tracking wristbands.
     
    The project was announced Sunday at a heart association conference in Orlando.
     
    Heart disease is the world's top killer, a problem that "seems ripe for new innovation" and disruptive, unconventional thinking, said Andy Conrad, Google Life Sciences' chief executive. Progress has been slow and "we should shake it up a little bit," he said.
     
    Besides cash, Google has tech tools to offer such as sensors to monitor the health of "people in the wild" versus just when they go to doctors and huge capabilities for data analysis. The company is aiming for a cure, Conrad said. There's no guarantee of success, but "the only thing we can promise is that we'll try harder."
     
    By early next year — Valentine's Day, "a big heart day," Conrad said — a team from Google and the heart association hope to pick a project leader, who might be a cardiologist, a nurse or "a teenager from Wisconsin," depending on what skills and ideas that person can bring to the table. The team is looking for "a maverick," he said.
     
    The venture "really allows us to think about ... doing research in a different way," said Dr. Robert Harrington, chairman of the Stanford University School of Medicine and a member of the heart association's board.
     
    Traditional research has brought only incremental improvements in heart disease treatment.
     
    "We are trying to do something disruptive here," Harrington said.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Abortion Pill RU-486 Approved By Health Canada After 2 1/2 Year Review

    Abortion Pill RU-486 Approved By Health Canada After 2 1/2 Year Review
     Women will need to obtain a prescription from a doctor to purchase the drug.

    Abortion Pill RU-486 Approved By Health Canada After 2 1/2 Year Review

    Diabetic? Don't Skip Breakfast

    Diabetic? Don't Skip Breakfast
    Fasting until noon triggers major blood sugar spikes and impairs the insulin responses of Type-2 diabetics throughout the rest of the day, the researchers said.

    Diabetic? Don't Skip Breakfast

    Love Drinking? Raise A Toast To Moderation

    Love Drinking? Raise A Toast To Moderation
    Have you heard of "Holiday Heart Syndrome"? It happens when a non-drinker or a light drinker gives in to the weekend party mood and goes on a drinking spree.

    Love Drinking? Raise A Toast To Moderation

    South Asians In US Reluctant To Report Pain

    South Asians In US Reluctant To Report Pain
    South Asians living in the US are more reluctant than other ethnicities to report pain as well as seek medication to treat the pain they experience near the end of their lives, says a new study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

    South Asians In US Reluctant To Report Pain

    South Asians In US More Prone To Heart Attacks, Diabetes

    South Asians In US More Prone To Heart Attacks, Diabetes
    South Asians in US are more prone to heart attacks and diabetes when compared to other ethnic groups, it was highlighted at a health congress here.

    South Asians In US More Prone To Heart Attacks, Diabetes

    As More Canadians Survive Strokes, More Live With Stroke-induced Disabilities

    As More Canadians Survive Strokes, More Live With Stroke-induced Disabilities
    More people are surviving strokes — a good news story about what can be a devastating and even fatal attack on the brain.

    As More Canadians Survive Strokes, More Live With Stroke-induced Disabilities