Single test for over 50 genetic diseases will cut diagnosis from decades to days

A new DNA test, developed by researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and collaborators from Australia, UK and Israel, has been shown to identify a range of hard-to-diagnose neurological and neuromuscular genetic diseases quicker and more-accurately than existing tests.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) linked to hoarding behaviour

New research has found that people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are significantly more likely to also exhibit hoarding behaviours, which can have a serious impact on their quality of life.

Chemical synthesis yields potential antibiotic | Himastatin

Chemists at MIT have developed a novel way to synthesize himastatin, a natural compound that has shown potential as an antibiotic.

Patient Possibly Cured of HIV Infection by Special Stem-Cell Transplant

A patient living with HIV who received a blood stem cell transplant for high-risk acute myeloid leukemia has been free of the virus for 14 months after stopping HIV antiretroviral drug treatment, suggesting a cure, according to the Weill Cornell Medicine physician-scientists who performed the transplant and managed her care.

Artificial intelligence tutoring outperforms expert instructors in neurosurgical training

A new study finds that in a remote environment, an artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring system can outperform expert human instructors.

Daily activities like washing dishes reduced heart disease risk in senior women

Seniors take note, running or brisk walking is not the only way to reduce the risk of heart disease. Simply being “up and about” performing routine activities, referred to as daily life movement, including housework, gardening, cooking and self-care activities like showering can significantly benefit cardiovascular health.

New study identifies the genes most likely to lead to heart attacks

The most critical genes that cause coronary heart disease and trigger heart attacks have been identified in a major new study.

AI assistance for anesthesiologists | Continuous action deep RL for propofol dosing in anesthesia

A new study by researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) suggests the day may be approaching when advanced artificial intelligence systems could assist anesthesiologists in the operating room

Smartphone app can vibrate a single drop of blood to determine how well it clots

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new blood-clotting test that uses only a single drop of blood and a smartphone vibration motor and camera. The system includes a plastic attachment that holds a tiny cup beneath the phone’s camera.

Exercise post-vaccine bumps up antibodies, new study finds

Researchers at Iowa State University found 90 minutes of mild- to moderate-intensity exercise directly after a flu or COVID-19 vaccine may provide an extra immune boost.

In the newly published study, participants who cycled on a stationary bike or took a brisk walk for an hour-and-a-half after getting a jab produced more antibodies in the following four weeks compared to participants who sat or continued with their daily routine post-immunization.

Futuristic coating for hospital fabrics and activewear kills COVID and E. coli

Researchers from University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic coating for almost any fabric that decreases the infectivity of the virus that causes COVID-19 by up to 90 per cent.

Biohybrid fish made from human cardiac cells swims like the heart beats | Artificial Heart

Harvard University researchers, in collaboration with colleagues from Emory University, have developed the first fully autonomous biohybrid fish from human stem-cell derived cardiac muscle cells. The artificial fish swims by recreating the muscle contractions of a pumping heart, bringing researchers one step closer to developing a more complex artificial muscular pump and providing a platform to study heart disease like arrhythmia.

The researcher says that their ultimate goal is to build an artificial heart to replace a malformed heart in a child.

Newly developed inhaled vaccine delivers broad protection against SARS-CoV-2, variants of concern

Scientists at McMaster University,Canada who have developed an inhaled form of COVID vaccine have confirmed it can provide broad, long-lasting protection against the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern.

Lifting weights for as little as three seconds a day can have a positive impact on muscle strength

Lifting weights for as little as three seconds a day can have a positive impact on muscle strength, a new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU), Australia, has discovered.

Scientists unveil promising new approach to diabetes prevention

A team of scientists from Scripps Research has conducted promising early tests of a new strategy that might one day be used to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes.

The scientists, whose results are reported in Nature Communications, tested an experimental compound called IXA4 in obese mice. They showed that the compound activates a natural signaling pathway that protects the animals from harmful, obesity-driven metabolic changes that would normally lead to diabetes.

Artificial intelligence system rapidly predicts how two proteins will attach | Equidock

The machine-learning model could help scientists speed the development of new medicines.

Making RNA vaccines easier to swallow

MIT researchers have designed an ingestible capsule that, after being swallowed, can attach itself to the lining of the stomach and inject RNA.

Studied for Clean Energy, Carbon Nanotubes find new potential in Anticancer Drug Delivery

Fundamental science often finds applications beyond its original focus. Previously, scientists found applications for small diameter carbon nanotube porins in energy technology. Nanotube porins are tubes with walls just molecules thick that act as pores through the walls of a thin membrane of liposomes, a type of tiny synthetic particle. Scientists have now assembled these nanotubes in a new way to deliver a cancer drug.

Achieving a milestone, scientists regrow frog’s lost leg | Regenerative medicine

Frogs briefly treated with a five-drug cocktail administered by a wearable bioreactor were able to regrow a functional, nearly complete limb.

AI can identify heart disease from an eye scan | Using the eye as a window into heart disease

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that can analyse eye scans taken during a routine visit to an optician or eye clinic and identify patients at a high risk of a heart attack.

Landing therapeutic genes safely in the human genome | Discovery of GSHs for gene and cell therapies

Researchers at Harvard and the ETH Zurich predict and validate genomic safe harbors for therapeutic genes, enabling safer, more efficient and predictable gene and cell therapies.

Social Isolation Among Older Adults Linked to Having Fewer Teeth

Older adults who are socially isolated are more likely to have missing teeth—and to lose their teeth more quickly over time—than those with more social interaction, according to a new study of Chinese older adults led by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing.

New sensor grids record human brain signals in record-breaking resolution

High-resolution recordings of electrical signals from the surface of the brain could improve surgeons' ability to remove brain tumors and treat epilepsy, and could open up new possibilities for medium- and longer- term brain-computer interfaces.

Nanotherapy offers new hope for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes

Researchers have opened new paths to islet transplantation by using nanoparticles to deliver immunosuppressive drug regimen.

Regrowing Cartilage in a Damaged Knee Gets Closer to Fixing Arthritis

Bioengineers from the University of Connecticut (UConn) successfully regrew cartilage in a rabbit’s knee, a promising hop toward healing joints in humans, they report in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

‘Fitbit for the face’ can turn any face mask into smart monitoring device | FaceBit

Northwestern University engineers have developed a new smart sensor platform for face masks that they are calling a “Fitbit for the face.”

Dubbed “FaceBit,” the lightweight, quarter-sized sensor uses a tiny magnet to attach to any N95, cloth or surgical face mask.

Not only can it sense the user’s real-time respiration rate, heart rate and mask wear time, it also may be able to replace cumbersome tests by measuring mask fit.

Groundbreaking pig heart transplant in a human may help patients awaiting donor hearts

The University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center announced the first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig’s heart into a human. According to reports, the patient, a Maryland man, is doing well following the groundbreaking surgery on Friday, Jan. 7 to save his life.

Breastfeeding reduces mothers’ cardiovascular disease risk, review found

Women who breastfed were less likely to develop heart disease or a stroke, or die from cardiovascular disease than women who did not breastfeed, according to a meta-analysis published in a pregnancy spotlight issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

Vaccinated women pass COVID-19 antibodies to breastfeeding babies

Women vaccinated against COVID-19 transfer SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to their breastfed infants, potentially giving their babies passive immunity against the coronavirus, according to University of Massachusetts Amherst research.

Substantial weight loss can reduce risk of severe COVID-19 complications

A Cleveland Clinic study shows that among patients with obesity, prior weight loss achieved with bariatric surgery was associated with a 60% lower risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 infection. The research was published in the journal JAMA Surgery.

Academic Education Can Positively Affect Aging of the Brain

The benefits of good education and lifelong learning extend into old age. The initial findings of a long-term study show that certain degenerative processes are reduced in the brains of academics. Their brains are better able to compensate age-related cognitive and neural limitations.

Japanese scientists develop vaccine to eliminate cells behind aging

A Japanese research team said it developed a vaccine to remove so-called zombie cells that accumulate with age and damage nearby cells, causing aging-related diseases including arterial stiffening

Experimental mRNA HIV Vaccine Safe, Shows Promise in Animals

An experimental HIV vaccine based on mRNA—the same platform technology used in two highly effective COVID-19 vaccines—shows promise in mice and non-human primates.

Be grateful: It may improve your health | Phone data link gratitude and lower blood pressure

Be thankful for what you have—it might improve your physical and mental health, according to a new global study that uses cell phone data.

People who were more grateful had lower blood pressure and heart rate, as well as greater feelings of appreciation toward others. The study found that optimism was also linked to health and mental benefits, such as better sleep quality and more positive expectations and reflections.

A new machine-learning system may help doctors choose least risky treatments in urgent situations

A new machine-learning system could give physicians risk scores for different treatments.

Researchers develop a world-first antibody-drug delivery system

Researchers from the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases at Monash University in collaboration with the TU Graz (Austria) have developed the world’s first metal-organic framework (MOFs) antibody-drug delivery system that has the potential to fast-track potent new therapies for cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.

Loop Medical develops needle-free device for collecting blood samples

Loop Medical, based at Swiss University EPFL’s Innovation Park, has just closed a $6.4 million financing round to support the US market entry of its needle-free blood-sampling device.

Loop Medical’s innovative technology offers a needle-free, painless and easy-to-use method for collecting blood samples.

Immune system-stimulating nanoparticle could lead to more powerful vaccines

Researchers designed a new nanoparticle adjuvant that may be more potent than others now in use. Studies in mice showed it significantly improved antibody production following vaccination against HIV, diphtheria and influenza.

British Patient "Steve Verze" receives the world's first fully 3D-printed prosthetic eye

A patient has been fitted with a cutting-edge 3D printed prosthetic eye for the first time ever, as part of a unique collaboration led by University College London (UCL) researchers and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

MIT alumnus-founded Fitnescity is helping people understand and track their health

MIT alumnus-founded Fitnescity makes monitoring personal health and wellness more manageable with a platform that helps users schedule tests and interpret results.

New artificial intelligence assisted device could soon replace traditional stethoscope

Stethoscope is one of doctors’ most important instruments, yet there have not been any essential improvements in the device itself since the 1960s. Now, researchers at Aalto University, Finland, have developed a device that analyses a broad range of bodily functions and offers the doctor a probable diagnosis as well as suggestions for appropriate further examinations. The researchers believe that the new device could eventually replace the stethoscope and enable quicker and more precise diagnoses.

Morning exposure to deep red light improves declining eyesight

Just three minutes of exposure to deep red light once a week, when delivered in the morning, can significantly improve declining eyesight, finds a pioneering new study by University College London (UCL) researchers.

Chronic stress and depression boost this brain receptor; a new study maps out how to block it

Scientists at Scripps Research, Florida have determined the near-atomic-scale structure of an unusual brain-cell receptor called GPR158, which has been linked to depression and anxiety.
The structural study reveals both the receptor and its regulating complex, advancing understanding of basic cell receptor biology. It also enables work on potential therapeutics designed to block GPR158 as a strategy for treating depression, anxiety and possibly other mood disorders.

Exercise increases the body’s own ‘cannabis’ which reduces chronic inflammation, says new study

In a new study, published in the journal Gut Microbes, experts from the University of Nottingham found that exercise intervention in people with arthritis, did not just reduce their pain, but it also lowered the levels of inflammatory substances (called cytokines). It also increased levels of cannabis-like substances produced by their own bodies, called endocannabinoids. Interestingly, the way exercise resulted in these changes was by altering the gut microbes.

Sitting more linked to increased feelings of depression, anxiety

During the initial COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, a lot of people suddenly became more sedentary as they adhered to stay-at-home orders or opted to self-isolate. Recently published research found people who continued to spend a higher amount of time sitting in the weeks following were likely to have higher symptoms of depression. A closer investigation into this association could play a role in helping people improve their mental health.

Brain-implanted chips convert paralyzed man’s thoughts into words | Mindwriting

The combination of mental effort and state-of-the-art technology have enabled a man in his 60s with immobilized limbs to communicate by text at speeds rivaling those achieved by his able-bodied peers texting on a smartphone.

Increased temperatures contributed to 200,000+ cases of kidney disease in 15 years in Brazil alone

The world’s largest study of the impact of temperature changes and kidney disease reveals that 7.4 per cent of all hospitalisations for renal disease can be attributed to an increase in temperature. In Brazil – where the study was focused – this equated to more than 202,000 cases of kidney disease from 2000-2015.

Research Delivers New Hope for Epilepsy Patients

According to a study led by Rutgers researchers, combining electroencephalogram (EEG) data with clinical observations can help doctors to better determine whether generalized epilepsy patients will respond to treatment.

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