Category: 4. Health

  • My robot therapist: The ethics of AI mental health chatbots for kids

    My robot therapist: The ethics of AI mental health chatbots for kids

    Mental health care can be difficult to access in the U.S. Insurance coverage is spotty and there aren’t enough mental health professionals to cover the nation’s need, leading to long waits and costly care.

    Enter artificial intelligence (AI).

    AI mental health apps, ranging from mood trackers to chatbots that mimic human therapists, are proliferating on the market. While they may offer a cheap and accessible way to fill the gaps in our system, there are ethical concerns about overreliance on…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • PTSD can undermine healthy couple communication when people fear their emotions

    PTSD can undermine healthy couple communication when people fear their emotions

    People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms often have trouble communicating and resolving relationship difficulties with their romantic partners, according to previous research by Steffany Fredman, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, and others. In a new study, Fredman and others have found that some of these problems may stem from people’s fear of their emotions.

    The researchers collected data from 64 opposite-sex couples in which both…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • The proportion of harmful substances in particulate matter is much higher than assumed

    The proportion of harmful substances in particulate matter is much higher than assumed

    People breathing contaminated air over the course of years are at greater risk of developing numerous diseases. This is thought to be due to highly reactive components in particulate matter, which affect biological processes in the body. However, researchers from the University of Basel, Switzerland, have now shown that precisely these components disappear within hours and that previous measurements therefore completely underestimate the quantities in which they are present.

    From chronic…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • CDC Study Finds Deforestation Is A Leading Indicator Of Ebola Outbreaks

    CDC Study Finds Deforestation Is A Leading Indicator Of Ebola Outbreaks

    A new CDC-led study identifies deforestation as a leading indicator of Ebola virus spillover. Using machine learning and two decades of satellite data, researchers found that forest loss and fragmentation were among the…

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    News Source: www.forbes.com

  • New AI models possible game-changers within protein science and healthcare

    New AI models possible game-changers within protein science and healthcare

    Researchers have developed new AI models that can vastly improve accuracy and discovery within protein science. Potentially, the models will assist the medical sciences in overcoming present challenges within, e.g. personalised medicine, drug discovery, and diagnostics.

    In the wake of broadly available AI tools, most technical and natural sciences fields are advancing rapidly. This is particularly true in biotechnology, where AI models power breakthroughs in drug discovery, precision…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Highly accurate blood test diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease, measures extent of dementia

    Highly accurate blood test diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease, measures extent of dementia

    A newly developed blood test for Alzheimer’s disease not only aids in the diagnosis of the neurodegenerative condition but also indicates how far it has progressed, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Lund University in Sweden.

    Several blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease are already clinically available, including two based on technology licensed from WashU. Such tests help doctors diagnose the disease in people with cognitive…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Delicate balancing act determines how many genome gateways form in cells

    Delicate balancing act determines how many genome gateways form in cells

    The nuclei in our cells are miniature warehouses safeguarding the genetic blueprint for the body’s biologic machinery.

    As warehouses go, nuclei are more like libraries than bank vaults. Too many cellular components need access to the genome to lock it down like Fort Knox. Instead, large groupings of more than 1,000 individual protein molecules called nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) pepper the dividing membrane, serving as gateways for materials and messages entering and exiting the…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Change in oxygen standards for trauma patients?

    Change in oxygen standards for trauma patients?

    When a critically injured patient is admitted to the hospital, how much supplemental oxygen should they receive? New research published this week in JAMA Network Open led by investigators at the University of Colorado School of Medicine suggests it’s often less than the current standard.

    “The idea has traditionally been that severe trauma causes stress to patients’ bodies, and we want to deliver as much oxygen as possible to the brain and to vital organs because they are losing blood,” says…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • New study links lower proportions of certain sleep stages to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease

    New study links lower proportions of certain sleep stages to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease

    New research reveals that lower proportions of specific sleep stages are associated with reduced brain volume in regions vulnerable to the development of Alzheimer’s disease over time.

    Results show that individuals with lower proportions of time spent in slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep had smaller volumes in critical brain regions, particularly the inferior parietal region, which is known to undergo early structural changes in Alzheimer’s disease. The results were adjusted for…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Machine learning model to predict virus reservoirs

    Machine learning model to predict virus reservoirs

    A new artificial intelligence tool could aid in limiting or even prevent pandemics by identifying animal species that may harbor and spread viruses capable of infecting humans.

    Created by Washington State University researchers, the machine learning model analyzes host characteristics and virus genetics to identify potential animal reservoirs and geographic areas where new outbreaks are more likely to occur. The model focuses on orthopoxviruses — which includes the viruses that cause…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com