Author: Healthcare Propulsion Staff

A human brain starts as a single cell. Over time, that lone cell gives rise to an extraordinarily complex organ containing roughly 170 billion cells. One of the biggest questions in developmental neuroscience is how all of those cells end up in the right places to form a functioning brain. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory now believe the answer may be surprisingly simple. Their new work offers insights into how the brain organizes itself during development and could eventually influence research in fields ranging from biology to artificial intelligence. How Brain Cells Determine Their Identity Stan Kerstjens, a postdoctoral…

Available for over a yearFor some women, the two-week luteal phase of their menstrual cycle can be extremely disruptive and life altering. PMDD or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is mental health disorder directly linked to regular hormonal fluctuations that take place during a cycle. People living with PMDD can experience anger, anxiety, severe depression, and even suicidal thoughts which then stops shortly after menstruation begins. Two women, Shariya in the US and Janna in Germany tell us how PMDD has impacted them. There’s very little scientific research about why PMDD happens and the signs or symptoms can be missed by doctors.…

Gunnar Hansen, business developer for healthcare at Omega 365 Software (Credit: Omega 365 Software) Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has selected Omega 365’s Project and Asset Management system to support its major hospital development programme, including the planned new Frimley Park Hospital. The software will act as the common data environment (CDE) for the development programme, providing a single digital platform for managing project information across a portfolio of up to 150 projects. The agreement marks Omega 365’s first hospital contract in the UK. Frimley Health said it sought a system capable of supporting project performance, governance and control across…

A placebo, or fake supplement, may offer real benefits for older adults, according to new research from psychologists at the Università Cattolica in Milan. After taking placebo pills for three weeks, participants showed improvements in both physical performance and cognitive function. Surprisingly, the benefits were seen even when participants knew the pills contained no active ingredients. The study, published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, was led by Diletta Barbiani, Alessandro Antonietti, and Francesco Pagnini. It was supported by PNRR grants through the Age-IT project. “The study is part of an established line of research in which…

When was the last time you thought about training forearms? Probably when they were the weakest link. That’s a shame because your forearms do far more than grip. They play a vital role in stabilizing the wrist, controlling movement at the hand and elbow, and transferring force between your upper body and whatever you’re lifting. Stronger forearms mean the difference between gains or crying into your protein shaker. Their endurance-focused design also makes them resistant to growing, given the amount of low-level work they do. So, a few lazy wrist curls at the end of arm day may not be…

Andy Burnham, MP for Makerfield and the likely next Prime Minister (Credit: Shutterstock.com) Andy Burnham now looks set to become the first ex-health secretary to enter No 10 — with Wes Streeting tipped for No 11.   Jon Hoeksma examines what two former health secretaries running the country might mean for NHS IT investment, the £10bn digitisation pledge already made, and whether a former ex-elected mayor can finally deliver devolution in health.   Last week Andy Burnham was the elected mayor for Manchester, responsible for making the buses run on time.  Now he’s likely to soon be responsible for leading a country that has struggled to improve living standards and public services for…

Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and chief executive of the NIHR (Credit: NIHR) Two studies have received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) as part of an £8 million initiative supporting AI projects aimed at reducing NHS waiting times and improving patient care. Through its Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme, the NIHR awarded £8,136,409 to six projects testing a range of AI and digital innovations. The studies – SAMURAI-CT, led by Oxford Clinical Artificial Intelligence Research (OxCAIR) at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), and SMART-XR, for which…

Around 40% of adults worldwide are affected by osteopenia: a loss of bone mineral density. This condition is extremely common particularly in postmenopausal women and elderly adults. It’s estimated that more than 500,000 fractures occur annually in the UK due to low bone density. Osteopenia itself does not usually cause symptoms and it develops silently over time. Many people may not even be aware that they have the condition until they have experienced a fracture or had a bone density test, typically recommended because of risk factors such as age and menopause. This makes osteopenia a significant but often under-recognized…

Lead researcher Robert Fletcher said while the study did not investigate the causes behind the rise, he felt there were three key factors.He said adults in their 20s and 30s were ones who had grown up during a period when there was a boom in the unhealthy food market.”They have been surrounded by unhealthy food in their formative years. On our high streets there has been a proliferation of takeaways and fast food outlets and unhealthy food has been heavily advertised as these age groups have been growing up.”He also said the pandemic followed by the cost of living crisis…

Probably not, according to Eric Schwitzgebel, a distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. In a new working paper, Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober, a former UCR graduate student who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, argue that conscious beings may be possible even if they are built from materials very different from those found in life on Earth. One example comes from the recent blockbuster “Project Hail Mary,” which features a five-limbed alien with a rock-like exterior. Rather than trying to define consciousness itself, the researchers begin with the assumption that consciousness is…