Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: health

Electronic informed consent in research on rare diseases sees strong participant interest

Research on rare diagnoses and the development of precision medicine depend on patients being able to share their health data in a secure and ethical manner. The research study, published in Scientific Reports, in which a digital platform was developed to collect electronic informed consent, shows that many participants want to contribute to research and appreciate the digital solution, but also that the technology needs further development.

A digital consent platform was tested at three centers in Sweden, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Lund. More than 2,200 individuals who had previously undergone whole-genome sequencing were invited to give consent electronically for research and data sharing.

For those who lacked an electronic identity verification system, or who preferred traditional methods, paper-based consent was also available. As a comparison, a national patient cohort within Undiagnosed Diseases Network Sweden (UDN Sweden) was studied, where recruitment took place in close collaboration with patient organizations.

New study reveals surprising side effects linked to driving electric vehicles: ‘It … has an immediate impact’

Next, the study’s authors will examine whether more ZEVs are associated with fewer asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

Their work adds to the extensive research on whether EVs are better for the planet long-term than their gas-powered counterparts. Despite imperfections such as mining, the findings are clear on that front. The USC team is showing that when it comes to the air we breathe and public health, the benefits of EVs are undeniable.

“These findings show that cleaner air isn’t just a theory—it’s already happening in communities across California,” declared Sandrah Eckel, the study’s lead author.

Researchers identify new blood markers that may detect early pancreatic cancer

NIH-funded, four-marker panel could one day help catch one of deadliest cancers at more treatable stages.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators have developed a blood test to find pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The new test could improve survival rates from pancreatic cancer, which tends to be diagnosed at late stages when therapy is less likely to be effective. The findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

Overall, only about 1 in 10 pancreatic cancer patients survive more than five years from diagnosis. However, experts expect that when the cancer is found and treated at an earlier stage, survival would improve. While finding the cancer early is key, there are no current screening methods to do so.

Flavanols Break the Rules of Nutrition: Scientists Uncover the Surprising Way They Boost the Brain

The health benefits of dietary flavanols appear to come from their ability to trigger responses in the brain and the body’s stress systems. That slightly dry, tightening feeling some foods leave in the mouth is known as astringency, and it comes from naturally occurring plant compounds called pol

Using rare sugars to address alcoholism

While investigating the FGF21-oxytocin-dopamine system, a mechanism that regulates sugar appetite, a team of researchers at Kyoto University noticed reports suggesting that the protein FGF21 may regulate alcohol ingestion.

The team’s original aim had been to address sugar appetite in lifestyle-related diseases, but since alcohol is a fermented product of sugar, they speculated that perhaps the body contains a system that recognizes both alcohol and sugar as the same entity.

Alcohol consumption and intervention challenges Excessive alcohol consumption is a major global health issue, and effective countermeasures for prevention and treatment are limited. Patients with alcohol dependence generally have a low adherence to pharmaceuticals, and many avoid drug treatment because it deprives them of the pleasure of drinking.

A new flexible AI chip for smart wearables is thinner than a human hair

The promise of smart wearables is often talked up, and while there have been some impressive innovations, we are still not seeing their full potential. Among the things holding them back is that the chips that operate them are stiff, brittle, and power-hungry. To overcome these problems, researchers from Tsinghua University and Peking University in China have developed FLEXI, a new family of flexible chips. They are thinner than a human hair, flexible enough to be folded thousands of times, and incorporate AI.

A flexible solution

In a paper published in the journal Nature, the team details the design of their chip and how it can handle complex AI tasks, such as processing data from body sensors to identify health indicators, such as irregular heartbeats, in real time.

New Study Reveals How Nanoplastics Make Bacteria More Dangerous

Nanoplastics already raise fears because people can ingest them directly. Now scientists say these tiny particles can create a different kind of danger when they end up in water: they can help bacteria become tougher and harder to remove.

A study in Water Research led by Virginia Tech’s Jingqiu Liao, working with international collaborators, found that nanoplastics can influence how environmental microbes behave in ways that may indirectly affect human health. The concern is not just what the particles might do in the body, but what they might encourage in the water systems people rely on every day.

“It is very important to better understand the adverse effects of the nanoplastics on human health, and not just in humans but also in the environment, which indirectly influences human health,” said Liao, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. “The nanoplastics can make the antimicrobial-resistant pathogens better survive, which could be harmful to the environment and would have public health implications.”

Game-Changing Blood Pressure Drug Works for Patients Not Controlled by Standard Treatments

Blood pressure is one of the most common health problems worldwide, yet it remains difficult to control for many patients even with daily medication. New research from the United Kingdom suggests a different approach could help. Scientists report that a treatment given just twice a year may offer sustained blood pressure reductions for people whose hypertension has proven hard to manage.

The findings come from a large international clinical trial published in JAMA and led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London. The study focused on a long-acting injectable therapy designed to work alongside existing blood pressure medications rather than replace them.

Neuralink’s Brain Chip: How It Works and What It Means

Elon Musk recently announced that Neuralink, his company aiming to revolutionize brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), has successfully implanted a brain chip in a human for the first time. The implantation of the device, called “the Link,” represents a leap forward in the realm of BCIs, which record and decode brain activity, that may allow for new innovations in health care, communication, and cognitive abilities.

Though limited information on the technology is available and Neuralink’s claims have not been independently verified, here’s a look at the Link, its functionality, and the potential implications of this groundbreaking innovation.

/* */