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Category: health – Page 2

Managing complex medication schedules could soon become as simple as taking a single capsule each day. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a capsule that can be packed with multiple medications and release them at designated times throughout the day.

The advance, published in Matter, could help improve and by eliminating the need for patients to remember taking multiple drugs or doses at various times each day. It could potentially reduce the risk of missed doses or accidental overdoses.

“We want to simplify medication management with a single that is smart enough to deliver the right drug at the right dose at the right time,” said study first author Amal Abbas, who recently earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. She spearheaded this work with Joseph Wang, a professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at UC San Diego.

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New research from the University of Bristol has uncovered striking links between immune system proteins and neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. By analyzing large genetic datasets using Mendelian randomisation, scientists identified 29 immune-related proteins potentially playing a causal role in these disorders.

The findings suggest that mental health conditions may not be isolated to the brain but involve the entire body, potentially reshaping future treatment strategies. This video explores how inflammation and immune pathways could be the next frontier in neuropsychiatric care.

#mentalhealth #immunesystem #neuroscience #health #psychology #depression

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Flourishing is more than just being happy, and a new global study finds some countries are doing better than others when it comes to overall well-being.

Take it from researchers at Baylor and Harvard universities, who unveiled a study Wednesday that included more than 207,000 people from 22 countries and Hong Kong. The study is published in the journal Nature Mental Health.

Their Global Fluorishing Study looked at six areas of well-being: happiness, health, meaning, character, relationships and financial security, CNN reported.

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Researchers at Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) have developed a porous laser-induced graphene (LIG) sensor array that functions as a “next-generation AI electronic nose” capable of distinguishing scents like the human olfactory system does and analyzing them using artificial intelligence.

This technology converts scent molecules into electrical signals and trains AI models on their unique patterns. It holds great promise for applications in personalized health care, the cosmetics industry, and environmental monitoring.

While conventional electronic noses (e-noses) have already been developed and used in areas such as food safety and gas detection in industrial settings, they struggle to distinguish subtle differences between similar smells or analyze complex scent compositions. For instance, distinguishing among floral perfumes with similar notes or detecting the faint odor of fruit approaching spoilage remains challenging for current systems. This gap has driven demand for next-generation e-nose technologies with greater precision, sensitivity, and adaptability.

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The potential role of vitamin D in preventing and treating colorectal cancer (CRC) has attracted growing research interest – especially as CRC rates are rising, particularly among younger adults. This isn’t a new area of study. Low vitamin D levels have long been linked to a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer.

One large study involving over 12,000 participants found that people with low blood levels of vitamin D had a 31 per cent greater risk of developing CRC compared to those with higher levels. Similarly, another study reported a 25 per cent lower CRC risk among individuals with high dietary vitamin D intake.

Data from the Nurses’ Health Study – a long-term investigation of American nurses – showed that women with the highest vitamin D intake had a 58 per cent lower risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest intake.

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The BCG vaccine protects against tuberculosis, but by inducing trained immunity it also protects against many more respiratory infections. International research led by Radboud University Medical Center shows how this process works. Lactate, a product of scaled-up energy production, appears to play a leading role.

The immune system protects people in two ways. Innate immunity protects us from birth against many bacteria and viruses, while adaptive immunity builds protection against individual pathogens after a prior infection. The adaptive immune system is aided by vaccines that protect us against new pathogens without having to go through an infection. In this way, vaccines contribute greatly to our health.

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Researchers at the University of Minnesota have completed a first-in-human clinical trial testing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique to help the immune system fight advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The results, recently published in The Lancet Oncology, show encouraging signs of the safety and potential effectiveness of the treatment.

“Despite many advances in understanding the genomic drivers and other factors causing cancer, with few exceptions, stage IV remains a largely incurable disease,” said Emil Lou, MD, Ph.D., a gastrointestinal oncologist with the University of Minnesota Medical School, Masonic Cancer Center and M Health Fairview, and clinical principal investigator for the trial. “This trial brings a new approach from our research labs into the clinic and shows potential for improving outcomes in patients with late-stage disease.”

In the study, researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing to modify a type of immune cell called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). By deactivating a gene called CISH, the researchers found that modified TILs were better able to recognize and attack .

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A research team has developed a “next-generation AI electronic nose” capable of distinguishing scents like the human olfactory system does and analyzing them using artificial intelligence. This technology converts scent molecules into electrical signals and trains AI models on their unique patterns. It holds great promise for applications in personalized health care, the cosmetics industry, and environmental monitoring.

The study is published in the journal ACS Nano. The team was led by Professor Hyuk-jun Kwon of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at DGIST, with integrated master’s and Ph.D. student Hyungtae Lim as first author.

While conventional electronic noses (e-noses) have already been deployed in areas such as and gas detection in industrial settings, they struggle to distinguish subtle differences between similar smells or analyze complex scent compositions. For instance, distinguishing among floral perfumes with similar notes or detecting the faint odor of fruit approaching spoilage remains challenging for current systems. This gap has driven demand for next-generation e-nose technologies with greater precision, sensitivity, and adaptability.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a serious challenge in today’s world. The use of antimicrobials (AMU) significantly contributes to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria. Companion animals gain recognition as potential reservoirs and vectors for transmitting resistant microorganisms to both humans and other animals. The full extent of this transmission remains unclear, which is particularly concerning given the substantial and growing number of households with companion animals. This situation highlights critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of risk factors and transmission pathways for AMR transfer between companion animals and humans. Moreover, there’s a significant lack of information regarding AMU in everyday veterinary practices for companion animals. The exploration and development of alternative therapeutic approaches to antimicrobial treatments of companion animals also represents a research priority. To address these pressing issues, this Reprint aims to compile and disseminate crucial additional knowledge. It serves as a platform for relevant research studies and reviews, shedding light on the complex interplay between AMU, AMR, and the role of companion animals in this global health challenge. This Reprint is especially addressed to companion animal veterinary practitioners as well as all researchers working on the field of AMR in both animals and humans, from a One Health perspective.

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