Lifeboat Foundation

There are trillions of microorganisms living in our gastrointestinal tract. So why doesn’t the immune system launch a massive response against all of those foreign microbes? Scientists have now provided new details about the process. The findings have been reported in Nature.

The gut microbiome has to maintain a careful balance, and promote the growth of healthy and beneficial organisms while tamping down the growth of potential pathogens. While scientists have not defined exactly what a healthy microbiome is made of, and it may differ from one person to another, we do know that when the balance in the microbial community of the gut is disrupted, health problems can arise.

Study: Dr ChatGPT tell me what I want to hear: How different prompts impact health answer correctness

As AI becomes increasingly integral to our daily lives, its ability to provide accurate and reliable information, particularly in sensitive areas such as health, is under intense scrutiny. The study conducted by CSIRO and The University of Queensland researchers brings to light the nuanced ways in which the formulation of prompts influences ChatGPT’s responses. In the realm of health information seeking, where the accuracy of the information can have profound implications, the findings of this study are especially pertinent.

Using the Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) Misinformation dataset, the study precisely evaluated ChatGPT’s performance across different prompting conditions. This analysis revealed that ChatGPT could deliver highly accurate health advice, with an effectiveness rate of 80% when provided with questions alone. However, this effectiveness is significantly compromised by biases introduced through the phrasing of questions and the inclusion of additional information in the prompts.

Worrying can lead to high anxiety, which can trigger physical illness. Learn more from WebMD about how excessive worrying can affect your health — and how to manage it.

Pittsburgh biotech grows second liver in-body:

As per Nature, the experimental procedure was conducted in Houston on March 25. The report also states that the patient is “recovering well” after receiving the treatment. However, the formation of the new liver-like organ in the lymph node may take several months.

Moreover, the individual will be kept on immunosuppressive drugs to prevent any initial rejection of the donor cells.

Continue reading “Groundbreaking trial to grow ‘mini liver’ from patient’s own lymph node” »

USA: Using an electronic health record (EHR)-based algorithm plus practice facilitators embedded in primary care clinics did not reduce hospitalization at one year, according to a pragmatic trial involving patients with the triad of chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.

“The hospitalization rate of patients in the intervention group at one year was about the same as that with usual care (20.7% vs 21.1%),” the researchers reported in the ICD-Pieces study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and hypertension (the kidney-dysfunction triad) are at high risk for multiple complications, end-stage kidney disease, and premature death. Despite the availability of effective therapies for these patients, there is a lack of results of large-scale trials examining the implementation of guideline-directed therapy to reduce death and complications risk in this population.

The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is developing a spacecraft named Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling (APS-R) as part of a $25.5 million project with the U.S. Space Force.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) will build, integrate, and test a small demonstration spacecraft as part of a $25.5 million Space Mobility and Logistics (SML) prototyping project funded by the U.S. Space Force and led by prime contractor Astroscale U.S. The spacecraft, called the Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling (APS-R), will refuel other compatible vehicles while in geostationary orbit.

“Running low on fuel is a common issue for spacecraft in Earth orbit,” said SwRI Staff Engineer Steve Thompson, the SwRI project systems engineer. “When they have expended all of their fuel, their mission ends — even though the vehicle may be in otherwise excellent health. A refueling vehicle can extend those missions, and we can get additional lifetime out of spacecraft that are already in orbit.”

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new treatment course for patients with metastasizing breast cancer, using medication already on the market.

Based on tissue samples from American and Israeli patients and using an animal model, the researchers from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences showed that a combination of existing drugs can hinder the spread of cancer to the bones, thereby improving the chances of survival.

More than 75 percent of patients with metastatic breast cancer see it spread to the bone.

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Analyzing and storing large amounts of data requires a lot of energy, so the future of technology might hold a different approach to data storage. At least, that is what Professor Søren Brunak from the University of Copenhagen thinks.

Brunak states that while Denmark is one of the best in the world at health data, analyzing and storing huge amounts of health data comes at a climate cost. “We have begun to consider the carbon footprint of bioinformatics and CO₂ emissions resulting from data analysis,” he adds.

With rates rising around the world, public-health leaders must prioritize prevention, treatment, funding and data.