A SISSA research study published in a special issue of the journal Brain and Cognition, completely dedicated to the cognitive neuroscience of food, analyzes the lexical-semantic deficits of the food category in patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. The study shows that knowledge about food is preserved more than other categories of stimuli, even in the case of severe syndromes. Further, perception of caloric intake affects a person’s ability to remember the na...

H&T Presspart and Cohero Health said today that the companies have launched a connected metered-dose inhaler designed to improve adherence and optimize care for patients with asthma and COPD. It is the 1st connected inhaler integrated with Cohero Health’s BreatheSmart comprehensive respiratory disease management platform. The 2 companies developed the metered-dose inhaler over the course of a multi-year agreement. Improving patient adherence is vital, the companies said, as less than half...

How cells set the stage for the visual world Researchers reveal the crucial first step that forms the different layers of the retina The retina consists of different layers of neurons. Emerging neurons have to migrate to find the right position in the appropriate layer. However, how these migration events are executed and orchestrated is poorly understood. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden now studied how the first layer of neur...

Newly discovered protein converts multiple signal inputs into appropriate cellular outputs Study finds molecule that functions as cellular “logic board” Researchers at the University of Tokyo found that a protein called parafibromin acts like a computer logic board within the cell by integrating and converting multiple disparate signals from the outside into appropriate responses. This finding paves the way for the development of innovative therapeutics and preventive measures against cancer...

New technology unlocks the ability to analyse and understand the secrets of our skin Today’s imaging and sensing technology can reveal important information about our bodies – from our bone structure to our brain activity. But what about tapping into the health and wellness information hidden within our skin? Product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants has harnessed this possibility with a multispectral imaging technology demonstrator called Skintuition. It offers a non-invas...

While the romantic poets' idea of memories being akin to spirits may have poetic merit, the scientists' perspective is that memories are concrete, physical entities that can be visualized within various regions of the brain. Sathyanarayanan V. Puthanveettil is an associate professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute. (Photo by James McEntee.) Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have now for the first time identified a sub-region...

Bacterial resistance does not come just through adaptation to antibiotics, sometimes the bacteria simply go to sleep. An international team of researchers is looking at compounds that attack bacteria's ability to go dormant and have found the first oxygen-sensitive toxin antitoxin system. "Antibiotics can only kill bacteria when they are actively growing and dividing," said Thomas K. Wood, professor of chemical engineering and holder of the Biotechnology Endowed Chair, Penn State. "But, envir...

Having trouble hearing? Over 35 million children and adults in the United States have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss can have a negative effect on communication, relationships, school/work performance, and emotional well-being. However, hearing loss doesn't have to restrict your daily activities. Properly fitted hearing aids and aural rehabilitation (techniques used to identify and diagnose hearing loss, and implement therapies for patients who are hard of hearing, including using amp...

Proportional EMG Control of Ankle Plantar Flexion in a Powered Transtibial Prosthesis The human calf muscle generates 80% of the mechanical work to walk throughout stance-phase, powered plantar flexion. Powered plantar flexion is not only important for walking energetics, but also to minimize the impact on the leading leg at heel-strike. For unilateral transtibial amputees, it has recently been shown that knee load on the leading, intact limb decreases as powered plantar flexion in the traili...

Watson has identified cases of heat disease previously undiagnosed by human inspection of ultra-sonic imaging, clinical tests and case notes, according to IBM at the Conference on Medical Image Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI). As a result, IBM is offering five new Watson modules to doctors aimed at improving the accuracy of diagnoses for stroke, mammography, radiology and cancer. IBM Watson is a cognitive system (computer) enabling a new partnership between people and computers. It tu...

You wake up and someone makes you breakfast. You attend a lecture, eat lunch and enjoy a book club meeting, then eat dinner with friends, and finish the night with a movie before heading to bed. While this lifestyle sounds convenient and relaxing, it may be what is killing older adults in assisted living communities. The Good and the Bad of Assisted Living More than 735,000 older adults nationwide live in assisted living communities. These communities promote a hassle-free and accessible liv...

Scientists discover a novel regularity for vastly different human societies and epochs On average, as lives get longer, the difference in the age at which people die becomes smaller. By analyzing data from 44 countries, researchers have now proven that life expectancy and the variation of individual lifespans are tightly bound together by a mathematical relationship. If life expectancy decreases in times of crisis, then, according to the same mathematical logic, the distribution of the leng...

Neuroscientists recently made a correlation between an increase of alpha brain waves—either through electrical stimulation or mindfulness and meditation—and the ability to reduce depressive symptoms and increase creative thinking. Our various states of consciousness are directly connected to the ever-changing electrical, chemical, and architectural environment of the brain. Daily habits of behavior and thought processes have the ability to alter the architecture of brain structure and connect...

Urban Aeronautics has announced that its Cormorant Unmanned Air vehicle (UAV) prototype has performed its first autonomous pattern flight including low flight over uneven terrain. Urban Aeronautics AirMule, formerly Air Mule or Mule, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) codename Pereira (shapiyriyt; שפירית‎ Shafririt )(Dragonfly), is an unmanned flying car UAS designed by Rafi Yoeli and built by Tactical Robotics LTD., a subsidiary of Urban Aeronautics LTD. in Yavne, Israel. It will be used in sear...

Cambridge Consultants, a UK-based product design firm, is showing off a highly dextrous robotic surgical system that it developed. The Axsis robot was created to overcome the limitations of existing surgical robots. Miniaturising robotics design Axsis technology heralds the next wave of surgical robotics innovation Propelling surgical innovation to the next stage, product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants is showcasing Axsis – one of the smallest known robots for surgica...

Biomechatronics Group at MIT  Media Lab's mission is two fold. First, seek to restore function to individuals who have impaired mobility due to trauma or disease through research and development. Second, develop technologies that augment human performance beyond what nature intends. These objectives are met by combining the scientific discipline of organismal and cellular neuromechanics with the technological discipline of bionic device design. Our research staff and students include biomecha...

Relax. Breathe. It’s all small stuff. When faced with life’s daily challenges, adults who don’t maintain a positive outlook have shown elevated physiological markers for inflaming cardiovascular and autoimmune disease, according to new research by Cornell University and Penn State psychologists. “Hassles and minor frustrations are common in day-to-day living. Our findings suggest that how people react to daily stressors may matter more … than the frequency of such stressors,” explain the rese...

iBreastExam™ (or iBE) is a game-changing technological breakthrough for countries and regions with rising incidence of breast cancer, most cases presenting at late stages and limited to no access to early detection for most women. iBreastExam™ harnesses the power of innovative sensor technology, software computing and mobile revolution, such that a doctor or any health-worker can offer objective and effective breast examinations, with ease and comfort. The test is painless and radiation free,...

Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique that uses a patch embedded with microneedles to deliver cancer immunotherapy treatment directly to the site of melanoma skin cancer. In animal studies, the technique more effectively targeted melanoma than other immunotherapy treatments. According to the CDC, more than 67,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with melanoma in 2012 alone ...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network, known as MD STARnet. MD STARnetcollects critical information about muscular dystrophy that will improve care for those living with the disease. Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of muscle diseases that results in increasing weakening and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ in which muscles are primarily affected, the degree of weakness, how fas...

EchoPixel renders patient-specific anatomy in an intuitive, interactive virtual reality format, leading directly to increased clinical knowledge, faster operations, and better care. True 3D, from EchoPixel, is an advanced medical visualization software solution. It offers physicians an unprecedented opportunity to view and interact with patient tissues and organs in a truly 3D form, as if they were real physical objects. Real-Time, Interactive Virtual Reality System: True 3D moves beyond ...

Wireless Pulse Oximeter accurately measure your blood oxygen level, pulse rate, and perfusion index. Wireless and lightweight, the pulse oximeter can be worn on a lanyard during activities and quickly clipped to your finger for a reading, anytime, anywhere. View results immediately on the device screen. Simultaneously track those results with iHealth’s free mobile health app. The iHealth Wireless Pulse Oximeter can store up to 100 measurements and the app can store up to 9,999 measurements. ...

Using data from a standard CT scan, the non-invasive HeartFlow Analysis creates a personalized 3D model of the coronary arteries and analyzes the impact that blockages have on blood flow. Today’s non-invasive diagnostic tests provide little explanation of chest pain, leading many patients to unnecessary invasive testing. In fact, more than half of patients who undergo these invasive tests have no significant blockage. Enables clinicians to identify significant coronary artery disease and dete...

Researchers have revealed new atomic-scale details about pesky deposits that can stop or slow chemical reactions vital to fuel production and other processes. This disruption to reactions is known as deactivation or poisoning. The research team employed a combination of measurements, including X-ray experiments at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to gather the most detailed information yet on problematic carbon-based deposits called “coke,” and ...

Light sheet microscopy is a novel microscopy technique developed in the last ten years that is uniquely suited to image large living organisms. In a light-sheet microscope, a laser light sheet illuminates the sample perpendicularly to the observation along a thin plane within the sample. Out-of-focus and scattered light from other planes - which often impair image quality - is largely avoided because only the observed plane is illuminated. Researchers develop a combination of software and hardw...

In the first results to emerge from HIV patient trials of a new generation of so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies, Rockefeller University researchers have found the experimental therapy can dramatically reduce the amount of virus present in a patient’s blood. The work, reported this week in Nature, brings fresh optimism to the field of HIV immunotherapy and suggests new strategies for fighting or even preventing HIV infection. In a person infected with HIV, there is an ongoing arms race...

Scientists in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine have a huge responsibility on their shoulders: Diseases of the lungs represent some of the most common — and fatal — medical conditions in the world. Indeed, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and asthma affects more than 7 percent of adults and nearly 9 percent of children in the country. “The nearly 40 faculty in our division are tackling these problems head...

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have demonstrated that production of a specific type of insulin receptor is required for gustatory memory during starvation in worms. The finding provides evidence that learning ability is influenced by functional diversity of a single gene in a single neuron. C. elegans, a tiny roundworm that lives in soil, can remember concentrations of salts (NaCl etc.) to which it has been exposed during feeding or food deprivation and learn to approach or avoid thos...