Early detection of respiratory diseases is critical for treatment. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a wearable lung patch which, in a pilot study, detected wheezing, a common indicator of asthma and COPD.

As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasingly serious threat to our health, the scientific and medical communities are searching for new medicines to fight infections. Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have just moved closer to that goal with a novel technique for harnessing the power of bacteriophages. Source: Gladstone Institutes News

Physical human feats require a high level of coordination between sensory and motor functions. What kind of achievements could robots perform with the same cohesion between sensing and action? In the medical space, researchers have begun to explore the possibilities.

Gene therapy, the idea of fixing faulty genes with healthy ones, has held immense promise. But a major hurdle has been finding a safe and efficient way to deliver those genes.

Now, researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) have made a significant breakthrough in gene editing technology that could revolutionize how genetic diseases are treated. Source: University of Hawaiʻi’s John A. Burns School of Medicine News

The National Institutes of Health and the higher education non-profit VentureWell have selected 11 winners and five honorable mentions in the Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge, who are set to receive prizes totaling $160,000.

A new portable device would allow clinicians to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the ear, which could improve diagnostic accuracy. The NIBIB-funded study reported in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO), describes this groundbreaking device from the University of Southern California's Caruso Department of Otolaryngology. 

Source: The International Society for Optics and Photonics News

Participants in a self-directed diet program lost significantly more weight by consuming higher amounts of protein and fiber, along with adhering to a personalized and flexible diet plan. Source: SciTech Daily

A new fluorescent imaging probe can for the first time objectively and non-invasively measure loss of smell, clinically known as anosmia. Targeting the olfactory nerve, the new tool has potential to eliminate biopsies used to diagnose certain anosmia conditions and to aid in the development of therapeutic interventions. This research, funded in part by NIBIB, was published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Source: Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging News

 

New research from a Florida State University professor and colleagues explains the mathematics behind how initial predispositions and additional information affect decision making.

The research team’s findings show that when decision makers quickly come to a conclusion, the decision is more influenced by their initial bias, or a tendency to err on the side of one of the choices presented. If decision makers wait to gather more information, the slower decision will be less biased. Source: Florida State University News