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Category: health – Page 5

Camel tears might hold the secret to fighting 26 snake venoms; here’s what researchers found

Deep within the arid and rugged terrains of Rajasthan roams a remarkable creature—the camel, often referred to as the “ship of the desert.” Known for their endurance, unique gait, and ability to survive extreme conditions, camels have long fascinated both scientists and locals alike.

Over time, they’ve been subjects of various studies that revealed surprising abilities, from surviving on sparse resources to even consuming snakes as part of traditional practices. Scientists are now exploring camel tears for rare enzymes and medicinal compounds that could revolutionise treatments for infections, inflammation, and eye diseases. But now, a new claim places camel tears in the spotlight for their potential medical value.

According to a study reportedly conducted by the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai, camel tears may have the extraordinary ability to neutralise venom from up to 26 snake species. If validated, this could mark a significant turning point in snakebite treatment, especially in countries like India, where venomous snakebites are a major public health challenge. Though the findings have yet to be peer-reviewed or widely published, the potential has generated global attention for its revolutionary implications in antivenom research.

Camel tears may neutralise venom from 26 snake species. A Dubai lab study suggests this. It could help snakebite treatment, especially in India. Camel tears have bioactive compounds. These may neutralise snake venom toxins. This could lead to affordable snakebite drugs. Camel tears also fight desert infections. They contain proteins and lysozyme. This discovery may help toxicology and medicine.

New AI tool gives a helping hand to X-ray diagnosis

Can artificial intelligence (AI) potentially transform health care for the better?

Now, rising to the challenge, an Arizona State University team of researchers has built a powerful new AI tool, called Ark+, to help doctors read chest X‑rays better and improve health care outcomes.

“Ark+ is designed to be an open, reliable and ultimately useful tool in real‑world health care systems,” said Jianming “Jimmy” Liang, an ASU professor from the College of Health Solutions, and lead author of the study recently published in Nature.

Dr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D. — Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany — Quantum Computing Innovation In Pharma

Quantum Computing Innovation In Pharma — Dr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D. — Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

Dr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tehmer/) is a seasoned technology strategist with over two decades of experience in IT innovation, business development, and R&D within the pharmaceutical industry, and co-founder of the Quantum Interest Group, at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany (https://www.emdgroup.com/en).

Dr. Ehmer currently is in the Sector Data Office — AI Governance and Innovation Incubator at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, where he scouts emerging and disruptive technologies, demonstrating their potential value for R&D applications, with a focus on quantum technologies.

Throughout his career at Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany, Dr. Ehmer has played a pivotal role in shaping IT strategy, business process optimization, and digital transformation across the entire pharmaceutical value chain, currently focusing on transparent AI and how and where emerging technology can help patients live a better life. His expertise spans technology scouting, business analysis, and IT program leadership, having successfully driven major global projects.

Beyond his corporate career, Dr. Ehmer is an active private seed investor and has contributed to quantum computing research and applications in drug discovery, authoring publications on the potential of quantum computing and machine learning in pharmaceutical R&D (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9783527840748.ch26).

Continue reading “Dr. Thomas Ehmer, Ph.D. — Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany — Quantum Computing Innovation In Pharma” | >

Virginia Tech researchers explore creatine therapy for brain health

Creatine is popularly known as a muscle-building supplement, but its influence on human muscle function can be a matter of life or death.

Creatine is very crucial for energy-consuming cells in skeletal muscle throughout the body, but also in the brain and in the heart.

Flavoproteins as probes for in cell ESR spectroscopy

The drugs, sutezolid and delpazolid, have demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity and a notably better safety profile compared to linezolid, with the potential to replace this current cornerstone in the treatment of drug-resistant TB.

The findings were published in two articles in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Research partners in Europe included Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich, the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, the Center for International Health at LMU University Hospital and Helmholtz Munich.

AI Does Something Subtly Bizarre If You Make Typos While Talking to It

New research suggests that medical AI chatbots are woefully unreliable at understanding how people actually communicate their health problems.

As detailed in yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study presented last month by MIT researchers, an AI chatbot is more likely to advise a patient not to seek medical care if their messages contained typos. The errors AI is susceptible to can be as seemingly inconsequential as an extra space between words, or if the patient used slang or colorful language. And strikingly, women are disproportionately affected by this, being wrongly told not to see a doctor at a higher rate than men.

Hybrid model reveals people act less rationally in complex games, more predictably in simple ones

Throughout their everyday lives, humans are typically required to make a wide range of decisions, which can impact their well-being, health, social connections, and finances. Understanding the human decision-making processes is a key objective of many behavioral science studies, as this could in turn help to devise interventions aimed at encouraging people to make better choices.

Researchers at Princeton University, Boston University and other institutes used machine learning to predict the strategic decisions of humans in various games. Their paper, published in Nature Human Behavior, shows that a trained on human decisions could predict the strategic choices of players with high levels of accuracy.

“Our main motivation is to use modern computational tools to uncover the cognitive mechanisms that drive how people behave in strategic situations,” Jian-Qiao Zhu, first author of the paper, told Phys.org.