Author: healthadmin

An international team of scientists has delved into how memory works in quantum systems and uncovered surprising results. Their research shows that even though quantum processes appear completely memoryless from one perspective, they still retain memory when examined from another perspective. This unexpected discovery opens the door to a new field of research in quantum science and technology. In classical physics, the concept of memory is simple. A system is considered memoryless if its future behavior depends only on its current state. A system is said to have memory if its past state continues to influence what happens next. Quantum…

Benjamin Ebert became CEO of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at a turning point in late 2024, leading the organization in the midst of building a massive $1.6 billion cancer hospital and ending its partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and partnering instead with Beth Israel Lahey Health. The wheels of change were set in motion by his predecessor, Laurie Glimcher, who led Dana-Farber from 2016 to 2024. But Evert, a medical oncologist who previously served as chief of medical oncology at the institute for seven years, has no shortage of ideas and visions for Dana-Farber’s future. He recently detailed this to…

Hanan Balki has a lot to do these days. Mr Balki is the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean. The region includes several countries involved in the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran. The challenges posed not only to personal health and safety, but to the health care system as a whole, are stealing her sleep. Balki is also one of the names that will be mentioned when jaws start buzzing about who will be chosen as the next director-general of the WHO. Current director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ second and final term ends in the…

When former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) learned he had metastatic pancreatic cancer, he immediately chose action over comfort. Anything he could do to save his life, he wanted to try it. Doctors told him that perhaps his only option was to enroll in a clinical trial. “If you had a significant chance of living longer than the three or four months they were giving you at that point, you would need to have an aggressive trial,” Sasse told STAT last month. It turned out to be an early-stage clinical trial testing Revolution Medicine’s dalaxone lasib as a first-line therapy.…

Most laboratory studies on microplastics rely on high doses and simplified conditions, raising questions about how accurately they reflect real-world human exposure and health risks. Research: The gap between laboratory experiments and real-world exposure: Toxicity assessment of microplastics is based on insufficient evidence. Image credit: Floren Horcajo/Shutterstock.com recent environment and health With a combined perspective of systematic literature review and meta-analysis, we assessed methodological gaps in microplastic toxicity research and proposed an interdisciplinary framework to align laboratory methods with real-world exposure conditions. Why laboratory evidence on microplastics often doesn’t reflect real-world risks Microplastics (MPs) are present everywhere from marine sediments…

Living with other people may have a subtle effect on your gut bacteria, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. A study of small island birds found that individuals shared more gut microbes with the individuals they came in contact with most frequently. Researchers say this same effect is very likely occurring in humans. Previous studies in humans have suggested a similar pattern. Couples and people who have lived together for many years tend to have more similar gut microbiota than unrelated people, even if they don’t share the same diet. The new findings provide strong evidence…

Residents living near a large cement factory in Adelaide are concerned the owner is looking to burn more plastic as a fuel to replace natural gas.Adbri, formerly known as Adelaide Brighton Cement, burns what it calls ‘waste-derived fuel’ (RDF) in Birkenhead, near the Port of Adelaide, as part of its cement manufacturing process.However, local lawmakers plan to introduce a motion at tonight’s meeting to send a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and South Carolina Environment Secretary Emily Burke asking Congress to express opposition to Adobri increasing the amount of RDF it burns at its plants and increasing the…

New benchmarks show that even the most advanced AI models are often able to arrive at a definitive diagnosis, but still leave clinicians at a loss when they need to weigh uncertainties, build differential diagnoses, and decide what to test next. Research: Performance of large-scale language models and clinical reasoning tasks. Image credit: Iryna Pohrebna / Shutterstock In a recent study published in JAMA network openresearchers investigated the clinical reasoning ability of large-scale language models (LLMs). LLMs are rapidly gaining interest in medicine, particularly enhancing tools to support diagnostic reasoning and suggest management. Although these systems are currently actively marketed…

Mitochondria are sometimes called the powerhouses of the cell because they produce the energy the cell needs to function. To support this role, they retain their own genetic material known as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Each cell holds hundreds to thousands of copies of mtDNA. These copies are grouped into compact structures called nucleoids. Scientists have long observed that these nucleoids are arranged in a regular pattern within mitochondria. This organization helps ensure that mtDNA is inherited when cells divide and that its genes are expressed uniformly throughout the mitochondria. If mitochondria or their DNA do not function properly, the effects…

It is estimated that more than half of U.S. teens regularly use companion chatbots that leverage large-scale language models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. According to the developer, programs such as Character.AI, Replika, and Kindroid are aimed at providing companionship. But a recent study from Drexel University shows that teens are concerned that these attachments are becoming unhealthy and affecting their lives offline. The study, to be presented at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Human Factors in Computing conference in April, examined a sample of more than 300 Reddit posts from users who described themselves as 13 to 17…