Nickel oxide is a material that can 'learn' like animals and could help further artificial intelligence research

The ability to store information is central to learning and the field of artificial intelligence. Researchers have shown how a unique material shows basic learning properties similar to that of slugs.

Shriram Ramanathan, Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University • conversation
Dec. 21, 2021 ~5 min

The best way to protect personal biomedical data from hackers could be to treat the problem like a game

Keeping biomedical data private is important, but so is sharing it for research. Game theory can help researchers accomplish both.

Yevgeniy Vorobeychik, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Washington University in St Louis • conversation
Dec. 16, 2021 ~6 min


Blocking an immune system molecule in mice may help prevent long-term disabilities after traumatic brain injury

The molecule C1q has both protective and detrimental effects after traumatic brain injury. Blocking it after injury in mice restored normal brain rhythms during sleep and prevented epileptic spikes.

Jeanne Paz, Associate Investigator at Gladstone Institutes and Associate Professor of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco • conversation
Dec. 14, 2021 ~6 min

Use of HIV prevention treatments is very low among Southern Black gay men

This finding suggests public health efforts will have to address the treatment barriers these men face – like poverty or homophobia – to meet the nation’s goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.

Xiaoming Li, Professor of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, University of South Carolina • conversation
Dec. 2, 2021 ~5 min

A lab-stage mRNA vaccine targeting ticks may offer protection against Lyme and other tick-borne diseases

The study found that ticks were unable to feed on guinea pigs vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine, preventing transmission of the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.

Andaleeb Sajid, Staff Scientist, National Institutes of Health • conversation
Nov. 17, 2021 ~5 min

US vaccine rollout was close to optimal at reducing deaths and infections, according to a model comparing 17.5 million alternative approaches

With limited vaccines available in early 2021, the CDC had to decide which people received vaccines first. With the help of a supercomputer, researchers have shown that the CDC did an excellent job.

Claus Kadelka, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Iowa State University • conversation
Nov. 17, 2021 ~5 min

The FDA's lax oversight of research in developing countries can do harm to vulnerable participants

Regulatory loopholes for research conducted off US soil allow for questionable trials and misleading data to slip under the FDA’s radar.

C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut • conversation
Nov. 12, 2021 ~5 min

State spending on anti-poverty programs could substantially reduce child abuse and neglect

Public investments in benefit programs could save tens of thousands of children from being victims of child abuse and have important later-life effects on child welfare and overall health.

Paul J. Chung, Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy and Management, University of California, Los Angeles • conversation
Oct. 28, 2021 ~6 min


Short-sleepers are more likely to suffer from irregular and heavy periods

Menstruating women who sleep less than six hours a night suffer worse periods. But leading treatments for insomnia rarely look at menstrual health.

Sara Nowakowski, Associate Professor of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine • conversation
Oct. 20, 2021 ~6 min

Kids and their computers: Several hours a day of screen time is OK, study suggests

New data suggests that lots of time on screens may even improve peer relationships. But the study comes with caveats.

Katie Paulich, PhD Student in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Oct. 12, 2021 ~5 min

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