Category: Health News

Gun deaths have fallen in California over a 16-year period ending in 2015, driven largely by a decline in gang violence and falling homicide rates among black and Hispanic male victims, a recent study of firearm violence has found. Researchers at the University of California, Davis published their findings in the May issue of the

Donor age does not appear to influence the functionality of stem cells derived from adult body tissues, concludes a new review. The analysis of research on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) finds that not only are typical signs of aging reversed in iPSCs, but cells derived from both older and younger donors show the same

Slides, swings, seesaws, a ring toss, and selfie booth after selfie booth filled with everything from fake money to bubbles, balloons and cascading confetti. Beautycon was one big playground for the 20,000 attendees who streamed to New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center this past weekend — a crowd that ran the gamut from Paris Hilton

Washington State University researchers have developed a low-cost, portable laboratory on a phone that works nearly as well as clinical laboratories to detect common viral and bacterial infections. The work could lead to faster and lower-cost lab results for fast-moving viral and bacterial epidemics, especially in rural or lower-resource regions where laboratory equipment and medical

A cross-like shape helps the electrodes of implantable neurostimulation devices to deliver more charge to specific areas of the nervous system, possibly prolonging device life span, says research published in March in Scientific Reports. The shape, called “fractal,” would be particularly useful for stimulating smaller areas, such as deep brain structures or the retina, since

A new RAND Corporation paper finds that artificial intelligence has the potential to upend the foundations of nuclear deterrence by the year 2040. While AI-controlled doomsday machines are considered unlikely, the hazards of artificial intelligence for nuclear security lie instead in its potential to encourage humans to take potentially apocalyptic risks, according to the paper.

According to new research, obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be able to improve their health outlook with a particularly enjoyable form of therapy: regular sessions in a hot tub. The research found that soaking in a hot tub several times per week for two months results in improved measures of cardiovascular health,

A University of Cambridge researcher is calling for the voices of women to be given a fairer platform at a leading scientific conference. Dr Heather Ford and her colleagues analysed data from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting and found that, overall; female scientists are offered fewer opportunities than men to present their research.

The rate at which the protein beta-amyloid accumulates into the sticky plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is already slowing by the time a patient would be considered to have preclinical AD, according to a longitudinal study of healthy adults published in JNeurosci. The research suggests that anti-amyloid therapies would be most effective before individuals

Over the last 50 years climate change has not been the key driver of the human displacement or conflict in East Africa, rather it is politics and poverty, according to new research by UCL. Human displacement refers to the total number of forcibly displaced people, and includes internally displaced people — the largest group represented

Helicobacter pylori, the leading cause of peptic ulcer disease and stomach cancer. One factor important to H. pylori infection is the pore-forming toxin VacA. It is thought to gain entry into host cells by binding to specialized membrane domains called lipid rafts. Using Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles (GPMVs), Anne Kenworthy, Ph.D., and colleagues studied how

When compared with nondrinkers, men and women who had one or more alcoholic drinks per day had an overabundance of oral bacteria linked to gum disease, some cancers, and heart disease. By contrast, drinkers had fewer bacteria known to check the growth of other, harmful germs. These are the main findings of a study published

Hospital information security teams considering a bug bounty program should know a few things before entering the endeavor.  The phrase bug bounty, for the uninitiated, refers to programs where hackers are paid to detect and report back on network vulnerabilities.  Bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure programs have been proven to deliver excellent results in finding

Legacy health IT poses both a significant threat and challenge to the sector, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee is calling on industry leaders to share insights about ways to begin overcoming infosec issues. The committee outlined its concern in an RFI posted Friday over outdated medical devices, especially after WannaCry. The May 2017

Making tiny changes to existing diabetes treatments can alter how they interact with cells, and potentially make the medicines more effective. The findings come from early-stage studies in both human cells and mice in which researchers tweaked the structure of an existing treatment for type 2 diabetes. This tweak enabled the researchers, from Imperial College

An international team of scientists including the University of Adelaide has discovered a new complex carbohydrate in moss that could possibly be exploited for health or other uses. The scientists, from Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls and University of Rhode Island, in the US, say the polysaccharide looks a bit like

Delirium is a sudden change in mental status that often occurs when older adults are in the hospital or after they have surgery. More than 20 percent of older adults may experience delirium. The condition can lead to longer hospital stays, the need to be placed on a respirator (a machine that helps you breathe),

A research team from Queen’s University Belfast, in collaboration with an international team of experts, have made ground-breaking insights into how inflammatory diseases work. This development could in time lead to new treatments for a range of diseases caused by inflammation, including sepsis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and Multiple Sclerosis. The findings have recently been published

A recent study from researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides new insights into a link between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Parkinson’s disease, and may have significant implications for the treatment and prevention of Parkinson’s disease. The recent study, published in JAMA Neurology, shows that individuals with IBD are at

For all the hype and excited pronouncements about the impacts it can have driving healthcare efficiencies, artificial intelligence is still not deployed as widely (or wisely) as it could be. But many health systems are working in earnest to roll out AI-driven analytics projects – even if their particular payoff isn't quite yet in sight