AI Tools Help Alzheimer’s Researchers Dig Into Data

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: AI Tools Help Alzheimer’s Researchers Dig Into Data
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Host: Victoria Craig, The Wall Street Journal

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Introduction

In the March 27, 2025 episode of WSJ Tech News Briefing, host Victoria Craig delves into two pivotal technology-driven topics: managing digital privacy through burner numbers and the transformative role of AI in Alzheimer's research. This detailed summary captures the essence of these discussions, highlighting expert insights, key points, and notable quotes with precise timestamps.

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Managing Digital Privacy with Burner Numbers

Victoria Craig opens the episode by addressing the pervasive issue of spam calls and texts, introducing the concept of burner numbers as a strategic solution to protect personal information.

The Need for Burner Numbers

At [00:33], Craig explains the growing concern over spam and unwanted communications:

"Every service asks you for your number. It's very rare to not shell out your number and that's its a super valuable piece of information."

Nicole Nguyen, the WSJ Personal Tech Columnist, elaborates on the significance of burner numbers:

"Everyone needs a burner number and that's because our phone numbers have become a proxy for our identities on the Internet." [01:36]

She emphasizes that a burner number allows individuals to segregate their primary number from those used for less critical interactions, thereby enhancing privacy and reducing spam exposure.

Setting Up Burner Numbers

Nguyen provides practical advice on obtaining a burner number, recommending Google Voice as an accessible option:

"The easiest way to get a burner number is through Google Voice. Google Voice offers a free virtual US Phone number." [02:17]

She outlines that while Google Voice permits changing the number annually, for more frequent swaps, the Burner app is a viable alternative, despite its associated costs.

Weighing the Benefits

When questioned about the practicality of adopting a burner number for those apprehensive about minor inconveniences, Nguyen confidently supports the approach:

"A lot of businesses that ask for your phone number can share it or sell it... it's a good idea to have less essential things digital services be tied to a different number that's not your primary account." [02:58]

This strategy not only safeguards sensitive accounts but also ensures that personal numbers remain uncluttered from promotional messages and potential security risks.

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AI Tools Accelerate Alzheimer's Research

Transitioning from personal tech solutions, Craig introduces a groundbreaking application of AI in the realm of medical research, specifically targeting Alzheimer's disease.

The Role of Knowledge Graphs

Bel Lynn, a WSJ reporter, discusses the integration of knowledge graphs in Alzheimer's research at the Oxford Drug Discovery Institute:

"A knowledge graph is basically like a map that can lead you through a bunch of connections between various data points." [06:47]

She explains that knowledge graphs facilitate the organization and retrieval of vast biomedical data, enabling researchers to identify connections between genes and disease mechanisms more efficiently than traditional methods.

Enhancing Research Efficiency with AI

Lynn highlights the synergistic effect of pairing knowledge graphs with AI, resulting in a tenfold increase in data processing speed:

"They were able to do this process of looking through a very, very vast amount of biomedical information about 10 times faster." [07:59]

This acceleration allows researchers to allocate more time to experimental and validation phases, thereby expediting the drug discovery pipeline.

Tackling the Complexity of Alzheimer's Research

Alzheimer's disease presents unique challenges due to its multifaceted nature, encompassing various social, economic, and environmental factors. Lynn notes:

"Alzheimer's in particular has a lot of confounding social and economic, social, environmental factors... you really want to spend the time digging through the vast amount of research to make sure that you are targeting the most druggable genes." [09:35]

The use of AI-driven knowledge graphs ensures that researchers can efficiently navigate this complexity, focusing on the most promising genetic targets for therapeutic intervention.

Broader Applications of Knowledge Graphs

Beyond biomedical research, Lynn points out the versatility of knowledge graphs across different industries:

"Knowledge graphs have already been used by digital retailers to help provide recommendations for the recommendations that they provide to online shoppers." [10:16]

She cites platforms like Pinterest, which utilize knowledge graphs to offer personalized content based on user interactions, demonstrating the technology's expansive potential.

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Conclusion

The episode of WSJ Tech News Briefing underscores the profound impact of technology in both personal privacy management and advanced scientific research. From empowering individuals to safeguard their digital identities with burner numbers to revolutionizing Alzheimer's research through AI-enhanced knowledge graphs, the discussions highlight the continual evolution and integration of technology in addressing contemporary challenges.

Produced by Jess Jupiter with supervising producer Emily Martosi, and hosted by Victoria Craig, this episode serves as a testament to the Wall Street Journal's commitment to delivering insightful and impactful technology news.

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Notable Quotes:

• Nicole Nguyen at [01:36]: "Everyone needs a burner number and that's because our phone numbers have become a proxy for our identities on the Internet."

• Bel Lynn at [06:47]: "A knowledge graph is basically like a map that can lead you through a bunch of connections between various data points."

• Bel Lynn at [07:59]: "They were able to do this process of looking through a very, very vast amount of biomedical information about 10 times faster."

• Bel Lynn at [09:35]: "Alzheimer's in particular has a lot of confounding social and economic, social, environmental factors..."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key themes and expert insights discussed in the episode, providing valuable information for listeners and readers alike who seek to understand the intersection of technology with personal privacy and medical research advancements.

Transcript

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[Victoria Craig]

Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Thursday, March 27th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. Want to cut down on the seemingly endless flow of spam calls and texts? We'll explain why tapping into your inner spy might be just the solution. Then the technology that helps us get search results in seconds could also help researchers spread speed up drug development. First, the best way to free your phone of digital Get a burner. Not a burner phone, but a throwaway number. The technique, which seems right out of the latest spy novel, allows you to keep your main number for important personal uses. And it gives you a different number to hand out to retailers, restaurants and dating sites. WSJ Personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen explains that getting a second number is actually easier than it sounds. Nicole for people who haven't actually done this before, how do you go about setting up a burner number? And why do you really need one?

[Nicole Nguyen]

Everyone needs a burner number and that's because our phone numbers have become a proxy for our identities on the Internet. Every service asks you for your number. It's very rare to not shell out your number and that's it's a super valuable piece of information. The texting app, the messages app, is already installed on everyone's phones. SMS just works. You don't have to download anything. And once they have access to your phone number, these businesses can send you messages. And the open rate is very, very high compared to email. So it's a great way to get in touch with customers and potential customers.

[Victoria Craig]

How would someone go about getting a burner number?

[Nicole Nguyen]

The easiest way to get a burner number is through Google Voice. Google Voice offers a free virtual US Phone number. You can't pick your number really, but you can choose an area code that's near you if your city is not available. The thinking here is whenever airport, WI Fi, or some like loyalty program at your favorite cafe asks for a phone number, you offer this virtual phone number instead. And once that phone number is inundated with too much spam, you can just.

[Victoria Craig]

Change it for people whose first foray this might be into the world of a second number, is it worth going through the extra steps just to save you from getting a few extra messages from stores that you're willing to give your number to?

[Nicole Nguyen]

To me, yes. A lot of businesses that ask for your phone number can share it or sell it. And because that phone number is also used as account recovery for extremely sensitive accounts like your Apple Icloud account that contains a decade worth of memories, or your Google account that is associated with your cell phone plan, it's a good idea to have less essential things digital services be tied to a different number that's not your primary account. Just in case a business does decide to sell or share it. You do have to check another app to see if you received a message. But I think that's the point here is you don't want to be notified of these messages. You want to opt in to the messages. Although Google Voice does have a couple of ways to make sure you are notified. Like you can get an email every time you get a text message or a voicemail. For example, there's a magical do not disturb button that sends all incoming calls to voicemail. So if that virtual phone number ends up on some list that marketers are using, you won't have to worry about incoming spam calls.

[Victoria Craig]

So if you decide to go down this route of actually getting a second number, it gets inundated, it gets put on lots of different lists, and you're getting all kinds of spam that you don't want. How easy is it then to just throw that number away and get a new one and then associate it with your Google Voice account or whatever other app you're using?

[Nicole Nguyen]

So Google Voice does allow you to change your number, but you can only do so once a year. Switching to a new number is not something that you should be doing every few months, but Google Voice does allow you to change it at least once a year. And if you do need to change it more often, there's another app called Burner app that allows you to switch numbers more frequently, though there are app limits on the number that you can change per billing cycle. But that app allows you to have multiple virtual numbers. So you can have a virtual number just for your dating app, a virtual number that's an emergency SOS line for your childcare provider or something like that. Burner app, which does charge money, is a good solution for that.

[Victoria Craig]

That was the Wall Street Journal's personal tech columnist, Nicole Nguyen. Coming up, Alzheimer's drug research is getting a boost from AI. We'll tell you how after.

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[Victoria Craig]

Over the years, technology has made research easier for everyone. We no longer have to spend hours at the library, roaming the stacks and thumbing through endless pages in books. That's because now, on demand search engines can scour reams of information and turn out accurate results in seconds. That underlying technology is now being paired up with AI to help Alzheimer's researchers save time and hopefully find results faster. WSJ reporter Bel Lynn is here now. It seems like knowledge graphs are at the center of a strategy by these researchers at the Oxford Drug Discovery Institute to use AI to help them comb through reams of data faster than they otherwise would be able to. Just explain what knowledge graphs are and how much time this whole process can really save these researchers.

[Bel Lynn]

A knowledge graph is basically like a map that can lead you through a bunch of connections between various data points. Like I think about a spreadsheet, numbers and rows, and that's how you represent data. A data is represented more like a map, so it can lead you through What Victoria is searching, is similar to what Victoria has searched in the past, and you can sort of predict what Victoria might be searching for in the future. A knowledge graph is something that was popularized by Google about 10 years ago or so to really improve its search engine results. And so when you're searching for something on Google, you have really a knowledge graph to thank. But it's also really interesting and relevant for enterprises as well as life sciences organizations, because you don't just want to know which particular medical journal this particular study was found in. You need to know how it links to a certain gene that you're particularly interested in studying. And that was what the Oxford Drug Discovery Institute was trying to do.

[Victoria Craig]

So knowledge graphs themselves are not the new technology. Pairing it with artificial intelligence is the more innovative part of this whole equation. How exactly did it help the researchers speed up? What were they able to identify faster that they couldn't do as quickly before? And how much faster are we really talking?

[Bel Lynn]

So they say that they were able to do this process of looking through a very, very vast amount of biomedical information about 10 times faster. And that can be pretty significant because that's time that was essentially sort of automated away that their biologists and their researchers and scientists can now spend working on other aspects of the drug discovery process. But essentially, before implementing the knowledge graph and AI solution, the researchers at the Oxford Drug Discovery institute had discovered 50 or identified 54 genes from this genome wide association study that were related to the immune system. And based on those 54 results, they wanted to really prioritize and figure out where they should spend the most of their time figuring out which genes were druggable, because essentially not all of those genes are going to be potential targets for pharmaceutical validation and further research. And so when they're doing this without the help of knowledge graphs, they're doing this completely manually. They're digging through PubMed, which is the National Library of Medicine's vast database of biomedical information and journals. And they're doing this all without the help of a solution that can comb through them really quickly and tell them about the various properties of these genes and the information that they're interested in. And so when you have the help of something like a knowledge graph and the help of AI that can do this kind of data crunching really quickly, that vastly speeds along the process.

[Victoria Craig]

And you point out in your piece that Alzheimer's research is a particularly difficult area of study. Why is it so complicated to navigate? And why is it also so time consuming?

[Bel Lynn]

The researchers told me that Alzheimer's in particular has a lot of confounding social and economic, social, environmental factors. And so that's why it requires a bit more of dedicated study, because you have to sort out for those things. And there are so many genes that can point to Alzheimer's that in this particular part of the research process, you really want to spend the time digging through the vast amount of research to make sure that you are targeting the most druggable genes. Doing that work beforehand is extremely crucial.

[Victoria Craig]

And I think, as you hinted at, this kind of technology isn't just useful in biotech research, it can be applicable in other fields too, right?

[Bel Lynn]

Yeah, definitely. Knowledge graphs have already been used by digital retailers to help provide recommendations for the recommendations that they provide to online shoppers. And so when you're looking through a website like say, Pinterest, Pinterest is a knowledge graph based on the prior links that you've pinned the profiles that you're interested in, the categories of maybe home decor, whatever the particular category might be. And that's how it provides a very personalized set of other pins that you might be interested in.

[Victoria Craig]

That was WSJ reporter Bel Lynn. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Jess Jupiter with supervising producer Emily Martosi. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.