Tech

Hackfest wants to figure out how to predict mosquito-borne disease epidemics

Computer programmers want to develop early warnings and response systems for mosquito-borne epidemics, and they hope to make progress in a three-day meetup to develop a decision-making dashboard solution that helps health organizations to proactively meet the threat of future outbreaks of Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya.

Lab-grown cartilage as strong as natural

Lab-grown cartilage grown shows similar mechanical and chemical properties to natural cartilage, which allows our joints to move smoothly, according to a new study. 

Previously unpublished Alemtuzuma trial data shows effects of Multiple Sclerosis drug

The phase III trial datasets of Alemtuzumab have been published and show the drastic response of the immune system in patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

How spider silk can help premature babies

A special lung wash (surfactant) used in the care of premature babies could be getting a boost from spider silk. Surfactants help preterm babies by reducing the surface tension in the ends of the respiratory tree (pulmonary alveoli) and allowing them to be inflated at the moment of birth. Curosurf, the most globally widespread drug, is produced by the isolation of proteins from pig lungs, a process that is expensive, complicated and potentially risky.

New test can more quickly diagnose sepsis

 Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of bacterial infections.

Rapid diagnosis of sepsis in hospitalized patients is crucial because in severe cases because there is an average 7.6 percent decrease in survival rate per hour from the onset of low blood pressure without effective antimicrobial treatment.

Antipsychotic benefits outweigh risks

Patients with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders do not have negative long-term effects due to antipsychotic medications, according to a new paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Liszt's forgotten opera heard for the first time

An unfinished opera by Franz Liszt had lain largely forgotten in a German archive for nearly two centuries but now it will be given its world premiere this summer.

Known only to a handful of Liszt scholars, the manuscript – with much of its music written in shorthand and only one act completed – was assumed to be fragmentary, often illegible and consequently indecipherable.

Nanoscience: 5 Ways Science Fiction Is Becoming Science Fact

Russian author Boris Zhitkov wrote the 1931 short story Microhands, in which the narrator creates miniature hands to carry out intricate surgeries. And while that was nearly 100 years ago, the tale illustrates the real fundamentals of the nanoscience researchers are working on today.

To boldly go where no science has gone before

The Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter yet good luck finding that to be so. Antimatter is instead so scarce it can be the plot of terrible Dan Brown books (and then movies) but we know it is there; PET scans (positron emission tomography) for cancer diagnosis use positrons, the antimatter particle of the electron.

Anaerobic carbon-neutral renewable methane debuts in Southern California

CR&R Environmental is building a 1.4 mile long 8-inch pipeline to connect its CR&R anaerobic digestion facility in Perris, California to Southern California Gas Co. and that natural gas will be designated specifically to power CR&R’s fleet of approximately 900 waste hauling trucks.

Metallic hydrogen: physicists succeed in creating the 'holy grail' of high-pressure physics

Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating the rarest - and potentially one of the most valuable - materials on the planet.

Listen to my heart beat, little robot

A new customizable soft robotic sleeve fits around the heart and helps it beat, potentially opening new treatment options for people suffering from heart failure. Importantly, unlike currently available devices that assist heart function, the new sleeve does not directly contact blood, which reduces the risk of clotting and eliminates the need for a patient to take potentially blood thinner medications.

Your newest food fallacy - natural antioxidants to preserve food.

Globally, demand for antioxidants is estimated to reach over 103,000 thousand tons by the end of 2020, but it isn't because people are buying miracle supplements and Fountains of Youth, it is because of food. 

Oxidation of food items often leads to color change, rancidity and sometimes a drop in nutritional value and owing to the "natural" craze (some would call it a fallacy), demand for antioxidants has significantly increased, especially in the food and beverage industry owing to their incredible ability to preserve food for long durations. 

Pacifict microbes in disease treatment may make pathogens stronger

Introducing pacifist microbes into treatment to combat is popular in some circles, yet unproven. It's not as crazy as using a placebo to treat symptoms similar to a disease, as homeopathy charlatans do, but it remains unvalidated. However, in agriculture microbial disease treatment could be beneficial, whereas homeopathy is stupid and inhumane. 

It has been suggested that this approach could also be an effective way of treating cancer, and scientists have already produced encouraging results in the fight against Clostridium difficile infections.

3-D VR models of unborn babies

People may soon be able to watch their unborn babies grow in realistic 3-D immersive visualizations, thanks to new technology that transforms MRI and ultrasound data into a 3-D virtual reality model of a fetus. MRI provides high-resolution fetal and placental imaging with excellent contrast. It is generally used in fetal evaluation when ultrasound cannot provide sufficiently high-quality images.