Research
The NHS in England will be the first health system globally to offer a ‘trojan horse’ targeted treatment for blood cancer that could delay disease progression nearly three times longer than current options. Belantamab mafodotin will be made available to around 1,500 patients a year with multiple myeloma – an incurable cancer of the bone [...]
Loneliness is a key factor contributing to poor mental health among behind-the-scenes workers in the UK’s film and television industry, new research shows. The study links this to several job-related pressures – including long and irregular hours, the transient nature of project-based employment, workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination, and persistent stigma around mental health that [...]
Mosanna Therapeutics has secured US$80m in Series A funding to advance development of a nasal spray for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a condition where breathing stops and starts during sleep due to a blocked airway. The investment will support Phase II trials of MOS118, a spray used at night which aims to restore natural airway [...]
The UK has launched an £8m initiative to create what is claimed will be the world’s largest dataset of drug-protein binding data, as part of wider efforts to speed up AI-driven medicine development. The OpenBind consortium, based at the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, aims to generate more than 500,000 experimentally validated protein-ligand structures and [...]
The NHS is calling for 200,000 new blood donors as supplies remain at critically low levels, following an amber alert issued last year. To maintain a safe and reliable blood supply, the health service needs to increase the number of regular donors from around 800,000 to over one million—with particular concern over stocks of O [...]
The health and tech industries are failing to capitalise on a $360bn “ghost market” in women’s health, according to a new report. According to the Galen Growth research, femtech global venture funding reached $2.2bn in 2024, but few digital health ventures are addressing the most common health concerns that impact women, such as cardiovascular disease [...]
Researchers have found a way to flush out hidden HIV in human cells, potentially bringing scientists a step closer to a cure. The breakthrough uses mRNA technology to expose the virus inside white blood cells, where it normally escapes detection by both the immune system and current treatments. The team developed a new delivery method [...]
Health Tech World explores the latest research and developments in health technology. Scientists develop a method for engineering ultra-selective aptamers Inspired by the way viruses attach to cells, EPFL scientists have developed a method for engineering ultra-selective aptamers - short segments of DNA or RNA that are designed to bind, like antibodies, to specific targets, [...]
Researchers in Australia are testing whether a virtual reality (VR) table tennis game can make balance rehabilitation exercises more enjoyable and effective. The study explores how VR headsets could help turn repetitive balance routines into more engaging experiences—potentially improving adherence to rehabilitation programmes. The research focused on a VR table tennis game played while participants [...]
An 'AI scientist' working alongside human researchers has helped identify combinations of affordable, approved drugs—originally used for conditions like high cholesterol and alcohol dependence—that may also be effective against cancer. The study, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, used the GPT-4 large language model (LLM) to find hidden patterns in scientific literature and [...]
