Author: healthadmin

Probably not, says Eric Schwitzgebel, a distinguished philosophy professor at the University of California, Riverside. In a new research paper, Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober, a former UCR graduate student and now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, argue that conscious beings could exist even if they were made of materials very different from life on Earth. One example of this can be found in the recent blockbuster “Project Hail Mary.” The film features a five-limbed alien with a rock-like appearance. Rather than attempting to define consciousness itself, researchers begin with the assumption that consciousness is a real, recognizable…

There has been much debate about how age at menopause affects menopausal symptoms. A new study compared the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in women who reach menopause at an average age of about 51 years with those with premature ovarian insufficiency and showed a similar symptom burden in psychological and genitourinary domains. The research results will be published online today. menopauseJournal of the Menopause Society. Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is the loss of ovarian function before the age of 40, leading to early onset of symptoms and other long-term health effects. The most common menopausal symptoms include hot…

University of Louisville researchers have discovered how naturally occurring microbial compounds may help protect the gut and support future treatment strategies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD, which includes diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affects millions of people worldwide. This disease is characterized by chronic inflammation and damage to the intestinal lining. A healthy intestinal barrier prevents harmful bacteria from escaping the intestines while allowing nutrients to enter the body. In people with IBD, that barrier is weakened, leading to inflammation, pain, and long-term complications. A research team led by Venkatakrishna Rao Jala, associate professor in the…

Modern OCT devices can see inside the eye without a scalpel, but they don’t always capture everything that’s important. Some important information is simply lost and blurred by scattered photons. STOC-T technology, developed over many years by Professor Maciej Wojtkowski and his team at ICTER, aims to solve this problem by fundamentally changing the way image data is collected, rather than post-processing. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become one of the cornerstones of modern ophthalmology. The patient sits in front of the device, focuses on the target, and immediately the doctor can see a detailed cross-section of the retina, layer…

Conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy can induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), but their efficacy is often limited by drug resistance, severe off-target toxicity, and immune-related adverse events. Additionally, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment often compromises the ability of these treatments to elicit a long-lasting, body-wide immune response. As a result, many tumors remain “cold” and unresponsive to advanced immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The gut microbiota contributes to cancer development and therapeutic modulation through chronic inflammation, direct DNA damage, and metabolite-mediated signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin and nuclear factor-κB. Based on these challenges, in-depth studies on novel…

Clinical trials testing two drugs against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, which is spreading rapidly in Central Africa, are scheduled to begin next week, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday. The clinical trial, which will test both Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir and MapBio’s monoclonal antibody MBP-134, will be conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The trial is designed to test whether either treatment is effective against this form of Ebola and whether using the two in combination is a more effective way to fight the disease. The current outbreak is the third largest on record and is growing at…

A team led by LMU physician Daniel Kotlarz has identified a previously unknown genetic cause of Crohn’s disease. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease is on the rise worldwide. Despite significant advances in diagnosis and treatment, the underlying causes of these diseases are often still poorly understood. An international research team from the VEO-IBD Consortium (a global research network supported by the Leona M. Helmsley and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust), which includes LMU University Hospital and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), has identified a previously unknown genetic cause of chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The results were published in a magazine…

A survey experiment with more than 1,500 Americans showed that labeling a public policy message (such as allowing universities to pay student-athletes) as AI-generated or written by human experts had no effect on the message’s persuasiveness, even though most participants believed the label. The messages were generally persuasive, influencing participants’ views on policy by almost 10 percent on average. The paper was published in PNAS Nexus. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is being used more widely than ever in political messaging. The development of these systems has reached a stage where they can create persuasive political content quickly and at scale.…

Artificial intelligence evaluation platform Coval has secured a $28 million Series A funding round to continue improving the deployment of autonomous voice agents across the enterprise. Norwest led the funding round with participation from Base10 Partners, Twilio Ventures, and Y Combinator. Executives say the company has raised $31 million since its founding in 2024 and works with more than 60 organizations, including Zoom and Deepgram. “Every company will deploy voice agents in the same way they have mobile and web apps, but today most companies don’t have the infrastructure to confidently deploy these systems,” Coval founder and CEO Brooke Hopkins…

Researchers at La Trobe University have identified a previously unknown biological process that may help explain how the virus moves through the body. The discovery could also open new opportunities to develop treatments that better support the immune system. Published in nature communicationsthis study sheds new light on what happens when cells die and are removed from the body. The research was led by Stephanie Rutter, a PhD candidate in the laboratory of Professor Ivan Poon at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Sciences (LIMS). The research team discovered that the steps involved in cell death are far more organized…