Lifeboat Foundation

This study provides a new perspective on the relationship between the visual environment and cognitive performance, based on the results of path analysis (Supplementary Fig. 5). Regarding reading on a paper medium, moderate cognitive load may generate sighs (or deep breaths) and appears to restore respiratory variability and control of prefrontal brain activity. In contrast, reading on smartphones may require sustained task attention³⁴, and acute cognitive load may inhibit the generation of sighs, causing overactivity in the prefrontal cortex. Sighing has been found to be associated with various cognitive functions^13,27,28, and may reset respiratory variability^36,37. This reset may also be associated with improved executive functions¹⁴.

The current study has several limitations. First, our experiment did not entail any measurement of subjective cognitive load. Based on the differences in the number of sighs and brain activity between reading on smartphones and paper media, it is highly likely that there might have been a difference in cognitive load as well. In future, it is necessary to assess cognitive load indices and examine the relationship between breathing and brain activity. Second, we did not control the movements when turning pages or pointing movements to maintain the focus of attention on the text. These bodily movements may have had some influence on the present index. In the future, such physical limitations should be taken into consideration.

The results of this study suggest that reduced reading comprehension on smartphone devices may be caused by reduced sighing and overactivity of the prefrontal cortex, although the effect on electronic devices other than smartphones has yet to be confirmed. Recent reports indicate that the use of smartphones and other electronic devices has been increasing due to pandemic-related lockdowns, and there are indications that this is negatively influencing sleep and physical activity^38,39. The relationships among visual environment, respiration/brain activities, and cognitive performance detected in this study may indicate one of the negative effects of electronic device use on the human body. If the negative effects of smartphones are true, it may be beneficial to take deep breaths while reading since sighs, whether voluntary or involuntary, regulate disordered breathing³⁶.

A group of scientists has discovered new laws governing the flow of fluids by conducting experiments on an ancient technology: the drinking straw. This newfound understanding has the potential to enhance fluid management in medical and engineering contexts.

“We found that sipping through a straw defies all the previously known laws for the resistance or friction of flow through a pipe or tube,” explains Leif Ristroph, an associate professor at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and an author of the study, which appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. “This motivated us to search for a new law that could work for any type of fluid moving at any rate through a pipe of any size.”

The movement of liquids and gases through conduits such as pipes, tubes, and ducts is a common phenomenon in both natural and industrial contexts, including in scenarios like the circulation of blood or the transportation of oil through pipelines.

The largest conference on aging in the biopharmaceutical industry is set to take place 28 August – 1 September 2023 on-site in Copenhagen and online.

Longevity. Technology: The United Nations report that the proportion of people aged over 65 now outnumber children younger than 5. This substantial surge in the elderly populace presents a formidable healthcare challenge for societies across the globe, and it is evident that comprehensive and transformative approaches aimed at mitigating age-related illnesses and vulnerabilities will play a pivotal role in addressing the health and socioeconomic obstacles associated with an aging society. Once again this year, ARDD – now in its tenth year – is set to feature some of the most foremost experts in longevity, who will impart their latest insights on the process of aging and how we target the aging process to maximise lifespan and healthspan.

At ARDD, leaders in the aging and longevity field will describe the latest progress in the molecular, cellular and organismal basis of aging and the search for interventions, making it one of the must-attend events in the longevity space.

Positive results from the ADAURA Phase III trial showed AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS), compared to placebo in the adjuvant treatment of patients with early-stage (IB, II and IIIA) epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after complete tumour resection with curative intent.

These results will be presented today in an oral presentation during the Plenary Session at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (abstract #LBA3) and have been simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Tagrisso reduced the risk of death by 51% compared to placebo in both the primary analysis population (Stages II-IIIA) (21% data maturity, OS hazard ratio

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of 0.49; 95.03% confidence interval [CI] 0.33−0.73; p=0.0004), and in the overall trial population (Stages IB-IIIA) (18% data maturity, OS HR of 0.49; 95.03% CI 0.34−0.70; p0.0001).

Legitimately awesome paper wherein Arulkumaran et al. assemble DNA nanotubes and use them to build artificial ‘cytoskeletons’ inside of giant unilamellar vesicles. They go on to make a variety of fun variations on this theme and eventually build artificial ‘tissues’ made up of these synthetic cell-like vesicles and an ‘extracellular matrix’ that is also made of DNA nanotubes. I find this paper impressive due to how performs precise engineering at the nanoscale and builds up layers of complexity until macroscale specimens are created in a fashion reminiscent of biological systems, yet unique in its own way. #biotechnology #nanotechnology #cellbiology #bioengineering

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Building synthetic protocells and prototissues hinges on the formation of biomimetic skeletal frameworks. Here, the authors harness simplicity to create complexity by assembling DNA subunits into structural frameworks which support membrane-based protocells and prototissues.

Ampullary cancer is a rare type of gastrointestinal cancer with symptoms so similar to pancreatic cancer that it is sometimes mistaken for the disease. The definitive way to confirm an ampullary cancer diagnosis is by removing a tissue sample from the tumor, then analyzing it in the lab.

To learn more about this uncommon disease that accounts for only 1% of all gastrointestinal cancers, we spoke with Michael Overman, M.D., who treats patients in MD Anderson’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Center.

Exclusive: party calls for developers without a licence to be barred from working on advanced AI tools.

According to 81% of hospital CIOs surveyed by my company, security vulnerability is the leading pain point driving legacy data management decisions. That’s no surprise as healthcare continues to rank as one of the most cyber-attacked industries year over year. In a study by the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), 80% of healthcare organizations reported having legacy operating systems in place. Cybersecurity in healthcare is increasingly becoming a chronic condition.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which measures risk to critical national infrastructure, says legacy software ranks as a dangerous “bad practice.” That’s because the use of unsupported or end-of-life legacy systems offers some of the easiest entry points for bad actors to gain access and cause havoc within a medical environment. With the average price tag for a healthcare data breach at an all-time high of $10.1 million, the overall cost to a breached organization is high in terms of economic loss and reputation repair.

To fortify defenses against cyberattacks, here are some tips for addressing out-of-production software in healthcare facilities.

In a recent study published in Nature Medicine, researchers conducted a genome-wide analysis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of men without prostate cancer to understand the non-cancer-related variation in PSA levels to improve decision-making during the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Study: Genetically adjusted PSA levels for prostate cancer screening. Image Credit: luchschenF/Shutterstock.com.