First Check > Stories
health
24
Nov

    AI in healthcare: From hospital wards to personal health assistants, a revolution in motion

    • Riyaz Wani / 3 weeks
    • 0
    • 4 min read

    Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic promise in healthcare. It’s reshaping everything from bedside monitoring to billion-dollar business strategies. Yet, as the technology races ahead, experts warn that innovation without guardrails could compromise patient safety and trust. A new American Heart Association (AHA) Science Advisory, published in Circulation, calls for “clear and simple rules […]

    ai
    14
    Oct

      The danger of treating AI as a soul mate

      • Riyaz Wani / 2 months
      • 0
      • 4 min read

      In April this year, 16-year-old Adam Raine of California took his own life. In the days that followed, his parents Matt and Maria combed through his phone looking for clues. They did not expect to find the answer inside a chatbot. “He would be here but for ChatGPT. I 100% believe that,” Matt said. The […]

      AI
      10
      Sep

        From stethoscopes to digital twins, AI Is rewriting medicine

        • Riyaz Wani / 3 months
        • 0
        • 4 min read

        With every passing day, the role Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is becoming more prominent, advancing from buzzword to real-world impact. A host of innovations, from diagnostics and treatment to drug discovery and wearable tech, is reshaping how we approach patient care. Streamlining Cancer Treatment At Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the UK, Dr. Raj Jena has […]

        ai
        26
        Aug

          The AI race to automate healthcare: Can we keep the human touch?

          • Riyaz Wani / 4 months
          • 0
          • 4 min read

          Picture this: you walk into a hospital and, instead of spending nights waiting for paperwork, you’re out the same afternoon, because an AI system already drafted your discharge note. Or imagine an AI assistant flagging a dangerous spot on your scan before any human doctor has even looked at it. This isn’t any science fiction […]

          health
          30
          Jul

            EXPLAINER: What’s the connection between political ideology and health?

            • Riyaz Wani / 1 year
            • 0
            • 2 min read

            While health plays a role in developing one’s political ideology, the latter shapes one’s attitude towards health.  The next time you feel drawn to a particular political ideology, consider checking your health. The connection between individual health and political ideology is fascinating.  Data from studies show that the impact of political ideology on health behaviours […]

            depression
            01
            Jul

              The journey from melancholia to depression

              • Riyaz Wani / 1 year
              • 0
              • 2 min read

              We now know more about the human mind than we ever did before. This has enabled us to better address, if not cure its maladies.  A recent Stanford study has identified six distinct types of depression using brain imaging and machine learning. The research aims to enhance the accuracy of treatments and reduce reliance on the […]

              hot
              30
              May

                When summers become too hot to handle

                • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                • 0
                • 3 min read

                From India to Bangladesh and Myanmar to Thailand, the relentless heat has disrupted daily life, claimed lives, and exacerbated existing socio-economic challenges. Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan’s recent hospitalisation due to heat stroke has brought much deserved attention to the severity of the heatwaves sweeping across India and the broader South Asian region. While Khan […]

                Mental health
                01
                May

                  Mental health: The silent pandemic we are grappling with

                  • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                  • 0
                  • 3 min read

                  With over 150 million Indians requiring mental health care services, yet only around 30 million seeking help, there’s an urgent need for education and awareness.  Mental health has always been a tricky issue. More so in less developed countries, such as India. Although the disease is like any other, it often isn’t recognised as one, […]

                  health disinformation
                  26
                  Mar

                    Decoding health disinformation during elections

                    • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                    • 0
                    • 3 min read

                    In a year when the world’s oldest and the largest democracies are going to polls, AI-generated fake news is expected to be all over the place.  Does health mis/disinformation increase or decrease during elections? Very little is known about this phenomenon. It is, however, scientifically proven that political fake news becomes rife during polls.  According […]

                    prebunking and debunking
                    15
                    Feb

                      Adopting a hybrid strategy of prebunking and debunking

                      • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                      • 0
                      • 3 min read

                      We need to examine the differential impact of false information and truthful information. Is the harm caused by falsehoods offset by the dissemination of truth? Can the viral spread of disinformation and misinformation ever be completely curbed? It is a rhetorical question. We know by now that while false narratives of any kind can be […]

                      winters
                      19
                      Jan

                        Climate change: Warm winters set new temperature records globally

                        • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                        • 0
                        • 3 min read

                        Disruption of winter upsets a series of vital environmental processes that nourish life on earth.  Kashmir Valley, one of India’s coldest places, is witnessing an unusually warm winter with day temperature hovering over 15 degrees Celsius, at par with the capital city, New Delhi. In the middle of winter, spring is in the air. Trees […]

                        Climate change
                        04
                        Jan

                          Climate change debate: putting health first

                          • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                          • 0
                          • 3 min read

                          Despite the enormous global attention being paid to climate change, its fallout on health is only now being recognised Recent studies on climate change have painted a very grim picture of its immediate and long-term fallout on health. The trend has been exacerbated over the last few years during which extreme weather events have caused […]

                          mental health
                          12
                          Dec

                            The mental health fallout of climate carnage

                            • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                            • 0
                            • 3 min read

                            Mental health issues could become widespread as climate change threatens to worsen and extreme weather events become more frequent, upending people’s lives Many people consider autumn to be one of the best seasons of the year. It is a delight to watch the leaves turn yellow and temperatures mellow down. In some regions, cicada courtship […]

                            Climate Depression
                            11
                            Dec

                              Pandemic of Climate Depression

                              • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                              • 0
                              • 3 min read

                              The growing levels of anxiety connected to climate change were attempted to be quantified in research published in 2021 by The Lancet. It was found that 84 percent of the young people polled were “moderately worried” about climate change, while 59 percent of them were “extremely worried.” More than half of the respondents claimed to have felt depressed, nervous, angry, guilty, or helpless as a result of climate change, and 45 percent said that their concern over it had a detrimental influence on their everyday life.

                              09
                              Dec

                                Decarbonizing our lives

                                • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                                • 0
                                • 3 min read

                                Our energy-intensive lifestyles are sending billions of tons of yearly emissions into the atmosphere When Thomas Hardy wrote his pastoral Far From the Madding Crowd in 1874, the industrial revolution that had begun in England a century ago was looming over country life. The novel was thus a nostalgic throwback to a way of life […]

                                climate change
                                04
                                Dec

                                  Climate discourse taking centre stage

                                  • Riyaz Wani / 2 years
                                  • 0
                                  • 3 min read

                                  While growing scientific evidence has raised the climate consciousness in the world, politics has also played a distinct role Over the last two years, climate change seems to have got much wider political and media attention around the world. It is apparent from the increasing frequency of statements on the phenomenon from world leaders and […]