AI can identify rare genetic disorders
People with genetic syndromes (基因遗传综合症) sometimes have revealing facial features, but using them to make a quick and cheap diagnosis can be tricky when there are hundreds of possible conditions they may have. A new neural(神经的) network that analyses photographs of faces can help doctors narrow down the possibilities.
Gurovich at biotechnology firm FDNA in Boston and his team built a neural network to look at the gestalt (形态)– or overall impression of faces and return a list of the 10 genetic syndromes a person is most likely to have.
They trained the neural network, called DeepGestalt, on 17,000 images correctly labeled to correspond to more than 200 genetic syndromes. The team then asked the AI to identify potential genetic disorders from a further 502 photographs of people with such conditions. It included the correct answer among its list of 10 responses 91 per cent of the time.
Gurovich and his team also tested the AI’s ability to distinguish between different genetic mutations (突变) that can lead to the same syndrome. They used images of people with Noonan syndrome, which can result from mutations in one of five genes. DeepGestalt accurately identified the genetic source of the physical appearance 64 per cent of the time.
“It’s clearly not perfect,” says Gurovich. “But it’s still much better than humans are at trying to do this.”
As the system makes its assessments, the facial regions that were most helpful in the determination are highlighted and made available for doctors to view. This helps them to understand the relationships between genetic make-up and physical appearance.
The fact that the diagnosis is based on a simple photograph raises questions of privacy. If faces can reveal details about genetics, then employers and insurance providers could, in principle, secretly use such techniques to discriminate against people with a high probability of having certain disorders.
However, Gurovich says the tool will only be available to doctors. Christoffer Nellaker at the University of Oxford says this technique could bring significant benefits for those with genetic syndromes.
“This is not fundamentally different information than we’re sharing walking down the street, or we’re happy to share with Facebook or Google,” he says. “But questioning the data in this way means you can obtain information about health or disease status.
“The real value here is that for some of these extreme rare diseases, the process of diagnosis can be many, many years. This kind of technology can help narrow down the search space and then be confirmed through checking genetic markers,” he says.
For some diseases, this kind of technology will cut down the time to diagnose thoroughly. For others, it could perhaps add a means of finding other people with the disease and, in turn, help find new treatments or cures.
1.What is the purpose of Gurovich’s neural network?
A.To test the AI’s ability.
B.To analyze photographs of faces.
C.To help doctors reduce the range of the diagnosis.
D.To research the overall impression of patients’ faces.
2.What disadvantage does Deep Gestalt bring?
A.It will probably involve in the people’s privacy.
B.It cannot provide information about health or disease.
C.The diagnosis based on a simple photograph is not accurate.
D.It could perhaps add a means of finding other people with the disease.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.The result of the assessments for this system is perfect.
B.Deep Gestalt can correctly label 200 genetic syndromes.
C.It seems doubtful to use AI to distinguish genetic mutations.
D.This kind of technology can speed up the diagnostic process.
4.What is the author’s attitude to this technique?
A.Supportive. B.Puzzled.
C.Doubtful. D.Negative.
Why is poverty so difficult to overcome? Why are poorer people less likely to invest in their own learning and ability development, but more likely to be addicted to television and video games?
In the past, a poor person was normally considered to have bad character or have no ambition. Banerjee corrects such views and explains the economics behind the poor. Poor people tend to live with more worries in their lives, he said, so they need tools such as televisions, cell phones, junk food and video games to relieve worries more than others. But investment in learning often takes a long time to get rewards, while the poor are often impatient due to economic reasons, and their life in the meantime is getting more worrisome and boring.
That goes for health. Banerjee and his wife find that the poor spend the same amount of money and time, or even more on health and medical care than the middle class group, but they tend to get bad effects. The reason is that the poor often lack the essential medical and healthy knowledge and they tend to get medical treatment when the disease has worsened to a certain stage. Besides, they tend to trust the doctors who “give strong medicine”because they believe such doctors are the “good” ones. But in fact,“strong medicine”always leads to resistance to drugs and overtreatment. This kind of attitude, which emphasizes treatment rather than early prevention, has brought many poor people more economic stress and physical damage, and even has affected the education of their next generation. According to the study, children in poorer physical condition tend to spend less time in school and have lower incomes after graduation, so poverty gets “inherited”.
When it comes to finance, Banerjee's research has found that the poor often need to borrow little and short-term loans while paying extremely high interest rates. It is also because the poor tend to take higher financial risks ----they often have unstable incomes and are unable to get working capital from banks, so they rely more on these high-interest loans. And these small loans put a brake on their savings against risks.
How could the poor step into the middle class? Maybe starting a business is a way out. But for the extremely poor, it's impossible to get the capital they need to start a business. In most cases, a more practical option is getting a job in government agencies because comparatively speaking, government jobs are very stable, which give the poor the opportunities to be hired for the long term, to increase the range of their thinking and thus enabling families to move from poverty to the middle class.
Banerjee's research provides a new perspective for governments to understand poverty, so that policies can be tailored to decrease poverty and ultimately eliminate(消除) it.
1.How do the poor deal with the issue of health?
A.They spend less money in preventing disease.
B.They focus more on the diseases than early prevention.
C.They usually think it essential to resist strong medicine.
D.They are willing to get free medical treatment from the government.
2.From the underlined sentence, we can learn that_______.
A.poverty is produced by the poor
B.poverty is passed down by their parents
C.poverty has some bad effects on the poor
D.poverty causes people to bear more economic stress
3.Banerjee considers it difficult to overcome poverty because________.
A.the poor have bad character or have no ambition
B.the poor prefer to invest in business rather than work
C.the government hasn’t taken proper and effective measure
D.the poor were troubled by their lives, health and finance
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.The poor have attached importance to education.
B.The government can’t provide the jobs for the poor.
C.All the poor need to start a business for their survival.
D.Banerjee's research is helpful for the government to rid of poverty.
Last summer, Katie Steller pulled off the freeway on her way to work in Minneapolis. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man was sitting with a sign asking for help. She rolled down her window.
“Hey!” she shouted. “I’m driving around giving free haircuts. If I go grab my chair, do you want one right now?”
The man looked to be in his 60s. He was balding, and missing a few teeth. As Steller liked to tell the story, he laughed, then paused. “Actually,” he said, “I have a funeral to go to this week. I was really hoping to get a haircut.”
Steller pulled out a red chair from her car and helped the man cut his hair immediately. After the work was finished, Edward looked in a mirror. “I look good!” he said.
Until last year, Steller had given such haircuts to people living on the margins(边缘) around the city. She was keenly aware of the power of her cleanup job.
“It’s more than a haircut,” she said. “I want it to be a gateway, to show value and respect, but also to get to know people. I want to build relationships.”
Steller knew that a haircut could change a life. One changed hers: As a teen, she suffered from a severe disease, her hair thinned drastically. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.
“To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just an illness, it helped me feel cared about and less alone,” she said.
After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way she’d felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, reaching out to people on the streets. Her aim was that by doing some kind acts, others would be inspired to spread their own.
“Part of what broke my heart was just how lonely people looked,” she said. “I thought maybe I’d go around and ask if people want free haircuts. I can’t fix their problems, but maybe I can help them feel less alone for a moment.”
It all began with a belief in simple acts of kindness, such as a free haircut. “The way you show up in the world matters,” said Steller. “You have no idea what people are going to do with the kindness that you give them.”
1.How did Steller react to the man’s asking for help?
A.She paid no attention.
B.She offered a free haircut to him.
C.She sent a red chair to him as a present.
D.She told an interesting story to make him happy.
2.What did Steller mean by saying “It’s more than a haircut” in paragraph 6?
A.She thought it was a respectable job.
B.She had found more advantages for the job.
C.She considered haircut as a way to make friends.
D.She hoped her job could make a difference to others.
3.What did Steller expect from Red Chair Project?
A.To earn a lot of money. B.To know more people.
C.To pass down the kindness. D.To make herself stand out.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A.A Cut Above. B.A Beautiful Salon.
C.The Good Belief. D.The Miracle of Love.
Three Modern Services
When you're working a full-time job, studying or on the hunt for work, life can feel exhausting. The good news is that modern technology has made life easier in many ways, and with the following services, you'll find you have more time and energy for the things that matter.
Meal kit delivery services
Meal kit delivery services are one of the most underestimated innovations of the 21st century. How they work is simple. At the beginning you choose how many people need to eat in your household. Then, what your dietary requirements are, and any other preferences. Finally, you get to choose which meal kits will be delivered to your door.
No matter your diet, you can have an appropriate meal kit delivered. For example, check out these low carb meal delivery options. The kit comes complete with all the ingredients you need, already prepared. All you have to do is to follow the simple recipe to put them together and pop your meal in the oven.
With meal kit delivery, you don’t have to worry about cooking or spending money on takeout. Your trips to the grocery store will become easier and you'll waste less money and food.
Taskrabbit
One of the most frustrating aspects of having a place you call your own is that you have to take care of the maintenance(维修). Even if you are renting, there are certain tasks that your landlord will expect you to see to, whether a leaky tap or a problematic electrical appliance.
For this, Taskrabbit connects you with freelancers who are willing to take on just about any task for you. You can hire someone to take care of your leaky tap rather than spending your own time and energy doing it. You're giving someone work while enjoying your time off.
Postmates
Finally, one of the most convenient and useful services is, of course, Postmates. With Postmates, you can get just about anything delivered or deliver something yourself. You can get someone to do your groceries for you – simply make a list of what you need and choose whether the shopper should call you if something is out or if they can decide on replacements themselves.
You can also use it for takeout, to send or receive documents, and any other delivery needs you have.
We live in an age of convenience, and we should take advantage of it. Start using the above services and you'll see your stress levels drop.
1.What will people first do to enjoy Meal kit delivery services?
A.To check out some options.
B.To pop your meal in the oven.
C.To confirm the exact number of people.
D.To follow the simple recipe to put them together.
2.What do the three Modern Services have in common?
A.They can help people save money.
B.All the Modern Services are top-level.
C.They can make people easily enjoy their lives.
D.Young people show their preference for the three Modern Services.
3.Where is the passage most likely to be taken from?
A.A magazine. B.A book review.
C.A novel. D.A guidebook.
Never Say Quit
In my twenty-five years of coaching, I encountered many extraordinary athletes. Yet the athlete who made the greatest impression on me wasn't one of those promising young men, but Bobby Colson.
Early in the season, Bobby, who looked heavy but strong, ____ me in the school hallway. He told me he was eager to join in our track team and believed he could make an important ____. I was deeply_____by his presentation and self-confidence.
Given his physique, the logical role for Bobby was that of a "weight man”. So he did his best in trying discus(铁饼), shot pot…, only to find out these events were not ____ for him at all. So Bobby intended to try another more difficult event: two-mile race. I admired Bobby's ____, but to myself, I questioned whether the two-mile race was a good choice. Yet Bobby was ____ and for the following weeks, he painfully but____ struggled through his workouts.
Three months later, the two-mile race was well underway. While all the other runners had already finished, Bobby ____ had three laps to go. As Bobby completed his last two of his ____ laps, several boys from the other teams started making fun of him and ____ at him to get off the track. Bobby was crying noticeably but kept going. At this moment, our team members noticed and went to ____ Bobby on. On the last lap, all our athletes stood up to cheer Bobby on. Imagine a moving sight: Our whole team lined up ____ the track, clapping and cheering for Bobby as tears ____down his face.
After that, Bobby put in effort to support his teammates. He went from event to event ____ his teammates. When one of our athletes took a first place, Bobby was even more excited than the winner. Every teammate ____him very much and felt lucky to have him in the team.
Bobby had been right when he told me he felt he could make a significant contribution. He had joined a good team and made it into a great ____.Since then, I've seen many top athletes ____ the track when they knew they weren't going to win a race. Bobby, on the contrary, never once ____ leaving that two-mile race. Once he___, quitting was not an option. His example helped us all to understand that talent is God given, and those who have it should be thankful, but the spirit of ____ is self-given, and we should value it.
1.A.waved B.informed C.limited D.stopped
2.A.appearance B.promise C.contribution D.influence
3.A.impressed B.frightened C.puzzled D.embarrassed
4.A.satisfactory B.challenging C.suitable D.attractive
5.A.enthusiasm B.generosity C.achievement D.cooperation
6.A.worried B.confused C.determined D.hesitated
7.A.cautiously B.proudly C.secretly D.diligently
8.A.still B.already C.ever D.rather
9.A.spare B.remaining C.extra D.additional
10.A.crying B.throwing C.shouting D.criticizing
11.A.pull B.assist C.drive D.urge
12.A.over B.around C.with D.beyond
13.A.rolled B.paved C.covered D.measured
14.A.convincing B.appreciating C.competing D.encouraging
15.A.envied B.loved C.respected D.believed
16.A.family B.organization C.institution D.system
17.A.check out B.give off C.walk off D.carry out
18.A.supposed B.considered C.imagined D.concerned
19.A.proved B.realized C.discovered D.started
20.A.bravery B.unity C.perseverance D.devotion
阅读下列短文,根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词,在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
The “Twenty-four Solar terms” is the Chinese 1.(tradition)way of dividing and marking time. It shows the relationship between the universe, seasons, climate and agriculture, which is uniquely created 2.Chinese ancestors. The Twenty-four Solar Terms are important instructions for the agricultural production as well as people's daily lives. At the initial stage of agricultural development, people began to explore rules of nature and used 3.(they)to guide sowing, harvesting and other agricultural activities. Until now, it 4.(become) an essential tool to guide the agricultural production in China. And its charm and value have been increasingly recognized by the public.
