Imagine a future where science has created your twin. Not a flesh-and-blood twin, but one that recreates your flesh and blood, your bones, your heart, your brain — your whole body, in fact — as an extremely complicated computer model.  

 Your doctors can use this digital twin to work out how you will respond to a particular drug or medical procedure. They can even look further into the future, creating a " healthcast" , to forecast what diseases might happen to you or how your lifestyle will affect your health as you age. It is the ultimate in personalized medicine. This is the bold vision set out in Virtual You: How building your digital twin will revolutionize medicine and change your life by Peter Coveney, director of the Centre for Computational Science, and Roger Highfield, science director of the Science Museum Group, UK.  

 Digital twins are already in widespread use in industries such as civil engineering. But these model systems are much simpler than the complex human body. Imagine all the parts that come together to make you work: from the 3 billion letters of your genome (基因组), the numerous molecules (分子) that make up your cells, the trillions of cells building your tissues and organs, and the environment having its input too. Now, imagine trying to create a model of this that is made to each unique individual and that predicts the changes that will take place over a lifetime. This is easier said than done. Changes in the systems biologists want to describe are usually different from what mathematicians describe as " non-linear" (非线性的). Another complication is " emergence" : where the whole of a system is greater than the sum of its parts. This complexity challenges mathematics and pushes computing to the limit too.  

 But getting to the next level — a whole human individual — is going to require yet more data and a revolution in computing technology far beyond what is currently possible. Whether we will get there is an open question, but Virtual You shows us what scientists from different fields can achieve when they all work together.  

The Best Smart Water Bottles of 2023 for Better Hydration (补水)

You can expect to pay between $20 and $120 for a smart water bottle. Less-expensive options may include some smart features, like Bluetooth connectivity, hydration reminders, or a power bank that can charge your smartphone. If you're looking for more advanced smart features, like self-cleaning modes, hydration tracking through an app, or location-tracking, then you may want to consider a more expensive smart water bottle.

Best Overall: Hidrate Spark STEEL Smart Water Bottle

Pros: Frequent hydration reminders Wide range of sizes and colors | Location-tracking feature

Cons: No self-cleaning feature

Best Budget: ICEWATER 3-in-1 Smart Water Bottle

Pros: Can be locked when not in use | Plays music | Easy to use with one hand

Cons: Can't track your water intake | Only comes in one size

Best Self-Cleaning: Larq Bottle PureVis

Pros: Long battery life | Modern design | Durable

Cons: Can't track your water intake

Best Durable: CrazyCap UV Water Purifier & Bottle

Pros: Two self-cleaning modes | Comes with a lifetime warranty (保修期) | Wide range of colors

Cons: Can't track your water intake | Only comes in one size

Best for Tracking Hydration: Gatorade Smart Gx Bottle

Pros: Large capacity Can be personalized | Set goals in the app

Cons: Not insulated (绝缘) | Might not be as durable

Best Lightweight: Monos Kiyo UVC Bottle

Pros: Durable | Long battery life | Modern design

Cons: Expensive

Best Rechargeable: Philips Water GoZero Self-Cleaning Smart Water Bottle

Pros: Self-cleaning | Dishwasher safe | Two-year warranty

Cons: Can't track your water intake

Ledet, a native of Lake Charles and his sister were raised by his single mom. "It was as tough as you can imagine. Sometimes, we had to dig in trash cans for pizzas and not yet rotten fruit," said Ledet. When he graduated from high school, there were only two options he had — go to the military or get a job. So, in 2004, the U. S. Navy became his job.

But life has a way of offering second chances. During a conversation with his wife, Mallory, he realized that college is not just for rich people, he can go to college too. With Mallory's help, he applied to Southern University. But as he also needed to make money for his family, Ledet took a job at Baton Rouge General Medical Center as a security guard.

It was a job that changed his path. While working there, he became inspired and wanted to become a physician. So he started asking as many physicians as he could whether he could shadow them. And a lot of them told him security guards don't become doctors. But one doctor, Dr. Patrick Greiffenstein, honored Ledet's request. He did what was necessary so that Ledet could officially follow him as he did surgeries and cared for patients. Ledet was dedicated from the start. "He desired to learn and he read on his own and he looked up things, so it seemed obvious that this was real for him. He would stay late and then go into his shift the next morning or do a shift and come join us in the morning, "said Greiffenstein.

Ledet went on to graduate from Southern University with a double major: chemistry and biology. But a bachelor's degree would not be the end of his academic pursuits. He earned his doctor's degree from NYU School of Medicine. Still, he wanted to be a medical doctor.