I won’t spoil the surprise answer. “Homeopathy seems scientifically implausible, but has widespread use. We aimed to assess whether the clinical effect reported in randomised controlled trials of homeopathic remedies is equivalent to that reported for placebo.” | learn more
“Computer scientists and biologists have teamed up to make a new class of living robotics that challenge the boundary between digital and biological.” | learn more
“Urine tests that pick up biomarkers of cancer are one way scientists hope to diagnose the disease early, and MIT researchers have demonstrated a particularly promising example that could give efforts to diagnose early-stage lung cancer a huge boost.” | learn more
Published in the journal Nature, this research used machine learning to predict healthcare utilization. “One of the salient themes that emerged the month prior to ED and inpatient visits was that anxious and depressed language increased significantly.” | learn more
As always, this is very early research not yet applied to humans. “Triglycerides are a form of fat that circulates through the bloodstream, and high levels can lead to obesity and related illnesses. Now, researchers have found a way to […]
Researchers at Berkeley have created a new system to rapidly test artificial antibodies. This feels like a strong brute-force attack against pathogens. “The system starts with a nanosheet made up of molecules called peptoids. This is then coated in loops […]
The researchers think it could work well as a cartilage replacement for joints. “The results showed that the new rubber-like material may be appropriate for many applications that require an uncommon combination of properties—high elasticity, easy processability, and suitability for medical […]
Peptides! “Instead of trying to kill harmful bacteria, or transplant beneficial bacteria, this hypothesis imagines remodeling, or reconstructing, a dysfunctional microbiome into a healthy one by using highly targeted peptides that can affect a broad number of different bacteria in […]
Late last year a meta-analysis of studies related to red meat caught media attention. Mostly, the media message was: “turns out red meat isn’t actually bad for you.” That’s not exactly what the study says, though. Paul Kedrosky uses an […]
This article from Nature is interesting background about the toolset that helps synthetic biologists assemble DNA. | learn more