🐸 The Frog, the Heart, and the Jellyfish

Issue #21 | Tuesday, September 2, 2025 | ⏳ Read Time: ~8 Minutes | Word Count: 1,642

👋 Welcome to Vet to the Future

First, a quick apology for the delay in between issues lately. Life has been busy both in and outside of work, and I wanted to pause to make sure what I send you is always the best, most relevant content. Thank you for your patience—it means a lot.

This edition ranges from AI guiding endangered frogs to safer habitats, to an “artificial tongue” that learns flavors, to predictive cardiology tools that spot risks before collapse. We’ll also look at how healthcare is approaching its AI inflection point, how rose petals inspired the next wave of biosensors, and why some jellyfish are now swimming with circuit boards. Taken together, these stories ask the same question: when biology and technology blur, how do we harness that power responsibly?

⚡ Quick Hits: Your Fast Facts Roundup

🐸 AI-Assisted Frog Reintroduction
Tech is boosting native frog survival in rewilding projects. 🔗 Read More

👅 Artificial Tongue Learns Flavors
A machine-learning “tongue” can distinguish tastes, with applications from food safety to disease detection. 🔗 Read More

❤️‍🩹 AI Predicts Fatal Heart Block
Imperial researchers’ model identifies patients at risk of deadly cardiac collapse before symptoms show. 🔗 Read More

🌹 Rose-Inspired Sweat Sensors
Botanical designs inspire comfortable, accurate health monitors. 🔗 Read More

🪼 Cyborg Jellyfish Explore Oceans
Scientists augment jellyfish with robotics for deep-sea research. 🔗 Read More

🦠 Baylisascaris in Humans
A zoonotic parasite continues to surface in rare but concerning cases. 🔗 Read More

🧬 New Form of Synthetic Life
Researchers claim to have engineered novel artificial cells. 🔗 Read More

🦅 Robotic Wildlife Decoys
Taxidermy meets robotics to aid conservation monitoring. 🔗 Read More

🍖 Red Meat Byproduct Triples Risk
A gut metabolite linked to heart disease raises alarms. 🔗 Read More

📝 AI Derails with Medical Typos
A single typo in medical records can mislead AI diagnoses. 🔗 Read More

📣 AI for Human Communication
Vocal Image uses AI to give voices to those who struggle to speak. 🔗 Read More

🤖 AI Healthcare Inflection Point
Hospitals face a tipping point in AI adoption and oversight. 🔗 Read More

🐾 Avoiding Reckless Change in Vet Med
Andy Roark reflects on how to innovate responsibly. 🔗 Read More

🦏 Species Protections Rolled Back
Administration dismisses endangered species list updates. 🔗 Read More

🍺 Mosquitoes and Beer
Study finds alcohol in sweat alters mosquito attraction. 🔗 Read More

🤿 Deep Dives: Big Stories, Bigger Impact

AI and Frog Reintroductions

📝 Julie Watson | Aug 27, 2025 | Associated Press | 🔗 Read More

The Scoop:
This story hits close to home for me. One of the researchers involved is Brad Hollingsworth, PhD, my college biology professor who taught the World of Animals course that first sparked my interest in veterinary medicine. To see his current work now combining ecology and AI to protect amphibians in Southern California feels like a full-circle moment.

The project uses audio monitoring paired with machine learning to track frog calls across wetlands. By analyzing when and where frogs are heard, AI models guide reintroduction efforts with far greater precision—pinpointing habitats where survival odds are highest. For species already under immense pressure from disease and habitat loss, this can make the difference between decline and recovery.

The approach also allows for real-time adaptation. If conditions shift—say, due to unexpected rainfall or human disturbance—AI models can quickly flag which sites are degrading and which might be better suited for supplemental releases. That flexibility is critical for species already on the brink, where each cohort of frogs represents years of investment and a fragile hope for population recovery. It’s a striking example of how AI can move beyond buzzword status to have a measurable impact on biodiversity.

🧠 Why it matters:
✅ Boosts survival odds – Smarter site selection means fewer wasted releases.
✅ Real-time feedback – Models adapt as environments change.
✅ Cross-species potential – Lessons here could apply to birds, reptiles, or fish.

Join the Conversation:
Where else could you see AI shaping conservation—nest site monitoring, migration tracking, or even predicting disease outbreaks before they spread?

Artificial Tongue Learns Flavors

📝 Chelsea Haney | Aug 30, 2025 | New Atlas | 🔗 Read More

The Scoop:
Engineers have built an “artificial tongue” capable of learning and distinguishing flavors over time. Unlike previous static sensors, this device uses arrays of materials that respond differently to chemical stimuli, feeding into a machine-learning model that adapts and improves. The result is a tool that doesn’t just detect tastes—it learns them, building a more nuanced profile with every sample.

Applications go far beyond novelty. In human and animal nutrition, such sensors could ensure consistent food quality, detect contamination, or even spot chemical markers of disease. Veterinary medicine could see use in feedlot management, toxicology screenings, and companion-animal diets where palatability and safety overlap. By combining chemistry with AI, this tongue expands how we might measure the invisible.

🧠 Why it matters:
✅ Food safety – Detects spoilage, contamination, or adulteration.
✅ Nutrition insights – Quantifies palatability and feed quality.
✅ Disease detection – Potential to identify illness-linked biomarkers in saliva.

Join the Conversation:
If you had an artificial tongue in your hospital, what would you “taste test” first—feed quality, medications, or patient samples?

AI Tool Predicts Fatal Heart Block

 📝 Jordan Sollof | Aug 28,2025 | Digital Health | 🔗 Read More

The Scoop:
Researchers at Imperial College London have developed an AI tool that predicts patients at high risk for complete heart block, a condition that can be fatal if not identified early. Trained on vast EHR datasets, the algorithm identifies subtle patterns in test results and clinical history that precede deterioration—signals often too faint for human clinicians to catch consistently. The system aims to flag these patients before an emergency strikes, giving cardiology teams time to intervene.

Veterinary parallels are clear. Sudden cardiac collapse is a concern in dogs, cats, and horses, often without clear warning. A similar tool trained on veterinary data could transform cardiology caseloads—identifying at-risk animals, guiding monitoring plans, and informing preventive interventions like pacemaker placement. The frontier isn’t just about AI diagnosing disease; it’s about predicting and preventing crises before they unfold.

🧠 Why it matters:
✅ Earlier detection – Flags risk before symptoms escalate.
✅ Saves lives – Prevents sudden collapse in people (and potentially animals).
✅ Predictive care – Shifts focus from reactive to proactive cardiology.

Join the Conversation:
What conditions in veterinary medicine would benefit most from predictive AI—cardiac, renal, or even oncology?

Rose-Inspired Sweat Sensors

📝 Scott Jung | Aug 28, 2025 | gizmo.md 🔗 Read More

The Scoop:
Biomimicry continues to influence healthcare innovation, and this time it comes from the delicate surface of rose petals. Engineers have developed sweat sensors modeled on the petals’ microstructures, which repel water droplets while still maintaining intricate surface interactions. These new sensors are flexible, breathable, and comfortable to wear, addressing one of the biggest barriers in long-term health monitoring devices: user compliance.

Beyond human healthcare, the principles behind these designs could translate into veterinary use. Imagine a dog or cat wearing a lightweight patch that continuously monitors hydration status or metabolic markers without restricting movement. These sensors may eventually help detect early signs of dehydration, metabolic disease, or stress—conditions that often go unnoticed until advanced. By blending nature’s engineering with modern biomedicine, researchers may have unlocked a tool for seamless, ongoing animal health tracking.

🧠 Why it matters:
✅ More comfort – Animals (and people) could tolerate long-term monitoring.
✅ Better data – Sweat biomarkers open new diagnostic windows.
✅ Nature-inspired design – Shows how biology can guide bioengineering.

Join the Conversation:
Would continuous biomarker monitoring change how you approach preventive medicine in pets?

🙌🏼 Impressive Animals 🐾

Cyborg Jellyfish Take to the Seas

📝 Jennifer Ouellette | Aug 22, 2025 | Ars Technica 🔗 Read More

The Scoop:
In one of the most striking examples of biohybrid innovation, scientists have successfully inserted microelectronics into living jellyfish, transforming them into semi-robotic explorers. These “cyborg jellyfish” retain their natural biological functions but gain controllable propulsion through tiny implanted circuit boards. The result is a living organism enhanced with technological capabilities, able to navigate ocean currents and carry sensors without the need for batteries or complex submersibles.

The project’s implications are vast. On the conservation side, these modified jellyfish could provide low-cost, sustainable ways to monitor ocean health, track pollutants, and even map underexplored regions. But the work also raises philosophical and ethical questions about how far humans should go in modifying living beings for our purposes. For veterinarians, it provides a fascinating glimpse of how biohybrid technologies might one day merge with medicine—whether for monitoring pets with implantable devices or supporting wildlife rehabilitation through tech-assisted biology.

🧠 Why it matters:
✅ Expands exploration – Provides new tools for ocean conservation.
✅ Blurs biology and robotics – Raises questions of ethics and identity.
✅ Potential veterinary parallels – Could inspire future implantable monitors in animals.

Join the Conversation:
Where should we draw the line between conservation innovation and altering wild animals?

💊℞: Dose of Humor

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🎬 Closing Thoughts

This issue has been a tour through convergence—where ecology meets algorithms, where sensors mimic flowers, and where a jellyfish carries microchips into the sea. Each story shares a theme: we’re not just treating patients or studying species anymore, we’re building systems that anticipate, adapt, and sometimes even merge with life itself.

For veterinary medicine, this future isn’t abstract—it’s arriving in the tools we test, the data we trust, and the conservation projects we support. The challenge ahead is to channel innovation toward care and compassion, not novelty for its own sake. Whether it’s saving frogs, preventing heart failure, or exploring the deep ocean, the frontier is wide open. Let’s shape it with purpose.

Cheers,
— Ross

📩 Want to submit a story? Let’s connect → [email protected]!