Hasta La Gadget!

Apple is reportedly working on ways to help detect and diagnose conditions such as depression, anxiety and cognitive decline using an iPhone. Researchers hope that analysis of data such as mobility, sleep patterns and how people type could spot behaviors associated with those conditions, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Other measurements could include facial expression analysis and heart and respiration rates. All of the processing would take place on the device, with no data sent to Apple servers.

The company is working on research projects that could lead to the development of these features. The University of California, Los Angeles, is studying stress, anxiety and depression, with Apple Watch and iPhone data for 3,000 volunteers being tracked in a study that starts this year. A pilot phase that began in 2020 recorded data from 150 participants.

Researchers will compare data captured from iPhone and Watch sensors with questionnaires participants fill out about how they feel, according to the report. They’re also said to be measuring the level of the stress hormone cortisol in participants’ hair follicles. Apple and UCLA announced the three-year study in August 2020.

Another research project is underway that may factor into this Apple project. The company and pharmaceutical firm Biogen said in January they’re working on a two-year study to monitor cognitive function and perhaps spot mild cognitive impairment, which has the potential to develop into Alzheimer’s. The plan is to track around 20,000 participants, around half of whom have high risk of cognitive impairment.

If data from the studies lines up with symptoms of depression or anxiety, Apple could use it to create a feature that warns users if it sees signs of a mental health condition. The iPhone could prompt users to seek care, which could be important as early detection can improve quality of life in the long run.

Apple and its partners are in the early stages of this work, so it’ll likely be a few years at least before the company adds mental health monitoring features to the iPhone. There’s no guarantee the research will lead to such features at all.

Some previous studies have indicated people with certain conditions use devices differently than other folks. It’s not yet clear whether developers can build algorithms that can detect mental health conditions reliably and accurately.

Still, there’s no smoke without fire. Health has been a growing focus for Apple over the past few years, so there’s a chance features based on this research will eventually emerge.

As it moves towards returning to the Moon ideally sometime in 2024, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is creating two new mission directorates. With the move, the agency is separating its existing Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate. NASA said it’s making the change in response to the increasing number of missions it’s conducting in low-Earth orbit, in addition to the plans it has for exploring deep space in the future.

It also announced who’s leading those units. Jim Free, a NASA veteran who has been with the space agency on and off since 1990, is the new associate administrator of ESDMD, while Kathy Lueders is taking on the equivalent position at the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Before becoming the first-ever woman to oversee human spaceflight at NASA, Lueders managed the Commercial Crew Program. As for what the two units will do, ESDMD will oversee the development of programs critical to Project Artemis and eventually manned spaceflight to Mars. Meanwhile, its counterpart will focus on launch operations, including those involving the International Space Station, with an eye towards Moon missions later.     

According to NASA, the reorganization is ultimately about looking forward to the next 20 years. The new structure will allow one unit to focus on human spaceflight while the other builds future space systems. In that way, the agency says there will be a constant cycle of development and operations to help it move forward with its space exploration goals.

“This reorganization positions NASA and the United States for success as we venture farther out into the cosmos than ever before, all while supporting the continued commercialization of space and research on the International Space Station,” Nelson said. “This also will allow the United States to maintain its leadership in space for decades to come.”

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