Author: healthadmin

Salesforce has been awarded a $1.6 billion three-year agent enterprise licensing contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The purpose of the agreement is to “build a unified foundation across the department and provide VA employees with trusted agent AI, unified data, and advanced collaboration tools to reduce administrative friction and free up more time for VA services to serve veterans,” VA executives said in a press release. To address the growing demands for Veterans First mandates and services, the Department of Veterans Affairs sought an integrated platform to expand and modernize support. VA said Missionforce, Salesforce’s AI-enabled platform…

As cigarette smoking rates reach historic lows in the United States, new research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center suggests that fundamental changes in cigarette use are driving the trend. Young people are increasingly switching to non-flammable nicotine products, especially e-cigarettes, also known as electronic cigarettes. The findings, published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, provide new insights into how tobacco use is evolving and what those changes mean for the incidence of tobacco-related cancers. Because combustible tobacco products, primarily cigarettes, account for the majority of cancer deaths, understanding not just whether or not people use tobacco, but also what types of tobacco…

Native Americans have the highest rates of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases in the nation, but a new national study suggests many have never heard of the most effective dietary approaches to prevent and even reverse the disease. Indigenous communities in the United States face significant health challenges and disparities. The average life expectancy for Native Americans is 70.1 years, while the average life expectancy for the entire U.S. population is 78.4 years. American Indian adults have one of the highest diabetes prevalence rates, at 15% to 18%, and are approximately 50% more likely to be obese than…

Sara Tomaszewski-Farias, a professor of neurology at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a five-year, $3.3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study whether cultural differences influence how people perceive age-related cognitive changes. This perceived cognitive aging is called subjective cognitive decline (SCD). “Subjective cognitive decline refers to a condition in which older adults perceive that their cognitive function is declining, but when tested using neuropsychological tests, their performance is still within normal limits,” explained Tomaszewski-Farias, a leader in the study of cognitive decline in older adults. Understanding subjective cognitive decline may have important implications…

Unsweetened sparkling water may be a better option for your teeth than sugary sodas, according to a preliminary study comparing how some popular drinks affect acidity in your mouth. When the pH of your mouth drops below about 5.5, tooth enamel can begin to dissolve. New findings suggest that carbonated water may temporarily lower oral pH, but the effect appears to be less pronounced than the reduction caused by carbonated drinks. “Many people are switching from soda to sparkling water, and our findings suggest that unsweetened sparkling water may be a lower-risk alternative to soda when consumed in moderation, along…

Neuroimaging studies have found that autistic people whose cortical thickness deviates most from that of their neurotypical autistic peers tend to experience greater social and communication difficulties. In people with autism, the cortical regions that showed the greatest differences in thickness compared with neurotypical people tended to have higher densities of serotonin receptors. This study provides evidence linking brain structure, neurochemistry, and behavioral characteristics of autism. The paper was published in autism research. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates, interacts with others, processes sensory information, and experiences the world. It is called a spectrum because…

Insect larvae burrowing deep in African lakes are forcing scientists to reconsider commonly held explanations for the near complete absence of insects in the open ocean. The secret lies in an incredibly durable air sac system that can withstand much higher pressures than researchers expected. Billions of lake fly larvae (eating chaobors) live in East Africa’s Lake Malawi, where they perform incredible vertical migrations every day. During the day, the larvae descend more than 200 meters into deep areas of the lake where there is little oxygen. This area, often called the dead zone, provides shelter from predators that cannot…

As the adoption of AI ambient scribing technology continues to rapidly advance, the healthcare industry’s standard method for evaluating clinical AI notes may be fundamentally flawed and fail to detect critical errors or omissions in patient notes. That’s the view of Suki researchers, based on their study of assessment rubrics. Suki provides ambient clinical artificial intelligence solutions for healthcare providers and works with over 400 healthcare systems. Suki researchers argue that the Physician Documentation Quality Instrument (PDQI-9), the medical industry’s standard tool for evaluating AI-generated clinical notes developed in 2012, is poorly suited for evaluating modern ambient AI scribes. That…

A recent analysis of popular social media accounts revealed that influencers promoting a return to strict traditional gender roles are highly focused on generating revenue alongside patriarchal messages. This study, published in *Psychology of Women Quarterly*, shows how the aesthetics of the past are being used to normalize restrictive hierarchies while creating profitable online businesses. These accounts encourage young viewers to adopt subordination and economic dependence, even as the creators themselves earn independent income through digital advertising labor. Across platforms like TikTok and Instagram, a subculture of content creators known as “tradwives” is amassing millions of followers. These women submit…

A small clinical trial suggests that restricting daily meal intake to shorter periods of time may have cognitive benefits in older women that exceed those of weight loss alone. This pilot study followed overweight or obese women participating in a six-month weight loss program. Participants who ate within a window of about 8 to 9 hours per day showed greater improvement on certain thinking tests than those who split their meals into about 12 hours. “Simply losing weight can prevent some of the age-related decline in cognitive function. These data suggest that stopping eating four hours before bedtime and reducing…