Real-time WhatsApp advice aids surgery in rural Malawi

In remote, rural corners of Malawi, hospitals are often faced with life-and-death decisions. Women in need of emergency caesarean sections, older people with hernias, and children with appendicitis need surgery. But should they be rushed to the operating theatre or transferred to specialists in city hospitals? The answer depends on the patient’s condition, the distance … Read more

A new TB vaccine is within reach – Prof. Helen McShane

Image credit - Public Domain Files, this picture is in the public domain

Nearly 100 years ago scientists developed a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB). Today, there are 10 million new cases worldwide and 1.6 million deaths from the disease every year. Increasingly, these cases are becoming difficult to treat as the bug that causes the disease can be resistant to antibiotics. However, several new TB vaccines are under development and … Read more

Cerebral palsy: studying baby steps could lead to better treatments

Image credit - Paul Eisenberg, licensed under CC BY 2.0, image was cropped

Understanding the progression from the stepping reflex to independent walking could help find new therapies for children with cerebral palsy (CP) – a movement disability caused by brain damage before, during or shortly after birth. A baby’s first steps are a magical moment – an early stepping stone towards independent walking. Children usually begin to … Read more

Chick-inspired autism test for newborn babies to help early intervention

Image Credit - Flickr/Alex Starr,CC BY-SA 2.0

Giorgio Vallortigara didn’t set out to develop software that could detect whether babies have autism. A neuroscience professor at the University of Trento in Italy, his areas of expertise include animal cognition – he’s into the brains of honeybees, zebrafish and newly-hatched chicks. ‘I’m not a clinician or an autism expert,’ he confessed. ‘But my … Read more

Scientists can predict rare leukaemia 8 years before symptoms begin

Image Credit: National Cancer Institute

A study of more than half a million blood samples has allowed scientists to pinpoint the risk factors for a rare type of leukaemia, enabling them to predict if someone will develop the disease eight years before symptoms appear and opening the door to preventative treatments. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a rare cancer usually … Read more

Studies linking green space to lower suicide risk are ‘just a snapshot’

When assessing the link between surroundings and mental health, researchers need to look at people's entire lives, says Dr Helbich.

Research suggests that where we live can affect our mental health but Dr MarcoHelbich, an urban geographer at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, believes these studies only offer a limited snapshot of our lives. Using a smartphone app and register data, he is tracking people through their daily routines and their residential history to see … Read more