Research
A new biosensor can detect cortisol — the body’s main stress hormone — using a smartphone camera and a small blood or urine sample. The sensor uses designed proteins that bind with cortisol — a hormone that helps regulate blood pressure, metabolism and stress responses — and emit light. The amount of light corresponds to [...]
An international AI competition has tested machine learning models on real antiviral data to assess their use in developing coronavirus treatments. The ASAP-Polaris-OpenADMET Challenge involved 66 teams from across the world, each tasked with predicting how well potential drugs could block coronavirus enzymes, as well as assessing their safety and how they bind to viral [...]
Briya has announced the launch of Briya AIRE, the world’s first clinical-grade AI research assistant built to accelerate biomedical and clinical decision making. Designed to “think” in the language of medicine, clinical research and epidemiology, AIRE turns months of manual data analysis into actionable insights in minutes – enabling faster, cost-effective discovery across biopharma and [...]
A new AI-powered brain stimulation system could improve focus during challenging tasks, allowing people to enhance concentration from home. The personalised system combines transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) – a gentle and painless form of electrical brain stimulation – with artificial intelligence that adjusts settings based on individual traits, such as attention levels and head [...]
An ear-worn device that stimulates a major nerve has been shown to improve exercise performance in an early-stage trial involving healthy volunteers. The device sends gentle electrical pulses to the vagus nerve – which runs from the brain to the heart and helps regulate heart function – for 30 minutes a day. Participants who wore [...]
A serious video game developed in Cornwall aims to help young people explore mental health challenges linked to adverse childhood experiences such as bereavement or poverty. The Ace of Hearts game is part of ATTUNE, a £35m UK-wide programme using arts-based methods, including gaming, to explore how negative early experiences affect mental health. Developers at [...]
A UK study is investigating whether Fast MRI scans can detect breast cancer earlier than mammograms in women with average breast density. The Fast MRI Dyamond study will scan around 1,000 women aged 50 to 52 across six NHS sites including Cheltenham, Swindon and Truro over the next three and a half years. The Fast [...]
New UK rules allow hospitals to prepare advanced blood cancer treatments locally, reducing delays for patients. New regulations introduced on 23 July will allow hospitals across the UK to manufacture personalised cancer therapies on-site, instead of sending cells to distant labs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has created the legal framework, said [...]
An automated system has allowed researchers to observe schizophrenia-related behaviours in mice in a more natural environment, which could support future psychiatric studies. The IntelliCage platform uses microchipped mice and automated data tracking to monitor behaviour without human contact, helping to reduce interference in preclinical models of mental illness. Researchers from Fujita Health University in [...]
Elon Musk’s Neuralink expects to implant brain chips in 20,000 people annually by 2031, generating at least US$1bn a year, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The company plans to operate around five large clinics within six years and offer at least three versions of its device, according to a recent presentation shown to investors. [...]
