A new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center shows that clinical alerts driven by artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors identify patients at risk for suicide, potentially improving prevention efforts in routine medical settings.
A team led by Colin Walsh, MD, MA, associate professor of Biomedical Informatics, Medicine and Psychiatry, tested whether their AI system, called the Vanderbilt Suicide Attempt and Ideation Likelihood model (VSAIL), could effectively prompt doctors in three neurology clinics at VUMC to screen patients for suicide risk during regular clinic visits.
The study, reported in JAMA Network Open, compared two approaches—automatic pop-up alerts that interrupted the doctor’s workflow versus a more passive system that simply displayed risk information in the patient’s electronic chart.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international concern.
The highly contagious disease — formerly known as monkeypox — has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa, and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate.
Gramicidins work as antibiotics against gram-positive bacteria like Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, but not well against gram-negative ones like E. coli. [ 3 ]
Gramicidins are used in medicinal lozenges for sore throat and in topical medicines to treat infected wounds.s are often mixed with other antibiotics like tyrocidine and antiseptics. [ 4 ] s are also used in eye drops for bacterial eye infections. In drops, they are often mixed with other antibiotics like polymyxin B or neomycin. Multiple antibiotics increase efficiency against various strains of bacteria. [ 5 ] Such eye-drops are also used to treat eye infections of animals, like horses. [ 6 ]
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Researchers used a refined method of ancestry analysis utilizing ancient DNA. This study represents a significant advancement in our understanding of historical population movements.
Researchers can trace human migration through DNA changes, but it’s challenging when historical groups are genetically similar.
Meanwhile, scientists dug into how psychedelics and MDMA fight off depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. The year was a relative setback for the psychedelic renaissance, with the FDA rejecting MDMA therapy. But the field is still gaining recognition for its therapeutic potential.
Then there’s lenacapavir, a shot that protects people from HIV. Named “breakthrough of the year” by Science, the shot completely protected African teenage girls and women against HIV infection. Another trial supported the results, showing the drug protected people who have sex with men at nearly 100 percent efficacy. The success stems from a new understanding of the protein “capsule” guarding the virus’ genetic material. Many other viruses have a similar makeup—meaning the strategy could help researchers design new drugs to fight them off too.
So, what’s poised to take the leap from breakthrough to clinical approval in 2025? Here’s what to expect in the year ahead.
UC Riverside scientists have developed a nanopore-based tool that could help diagnose illnesses much faster and with greater precision than current tests allow, by capturing signals from individual molecules.
Since the molecules scientists want to detect—generally certain DNA or protein molecules—are roughly one-billionth of a meter wide, the electrical signals they produce are very small and require specialized detection instruments.
“Right now, you need millions of molecules to detect diseases. We’re showing that it’s possible to get useful data from just a single molecule,” said Kevin Freedman, assistant professor of bioengineering at UCR and lead author of a paper about the tool appearing in Nature Nanotechnology. “This level of sensitivity could make a real difference in disease diagnostics.”
Mitochondria are vital to energy production in cells and so play a key role in fueling cancer growth. However, how mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contributes to cancer has been unclear.
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital studied varying levels of mutated mtDNA to see their effect on leukemia cells. They found that while cancer growth was blocked in cells in which all mitochondria contained mutated mtDNA, it was notably increased in cells with moderate amounts of mutated mtDNA. By amplifying an enzyme vital to energy production, the researchers were also able to restart cancer growth in leukemia cells with fully mutated mtDNA.
Collectively, these findings highlight an unexplored connection between mitochondrial DNA and cancer cells’ metabolic function. The findings were published Jan. 1 in Science Advances.