The chemotherapy docetaxel is widely accepted as a standard therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. But 10-20 percent of patients will have adverse side effects that force discontinuation of treatment. These patients may have been better off with another treatment or alternative dosing of docetaxel in the first place, but who’s to know before trying...
Category: <span>Miscellaneous</span>
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Artificial Intelligence is the Stethoscope of the 21st Century
It took some time for the medical community to accept the stethoscope. It will also take a while to recognize A.I. as a full-fledged health tool – despite its vast potential to revolutionize healthcare. Yet, it is so powerful that when it will finally take its rightful place in healthcare, it will displace the stethoscope as its symbol. Watson...
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Spike in calls to poison control centers over dietary supplements
Children can suffer serious health problems from accidentally ingesting dietary supplements. New research offers a reminder that dietary supplements don’t come without risks— and the problems they can cause appear to be on the rise. A study published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology finds that U.S. Poison Control Centers receive a call every 24 minutes,...
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Engineered liver tissue expands after transplant
Tiny implantable “seeds” of tissue produce fully functional livers. Many diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatitis, can lead to liver failure. More than 17,000 Americans suffering from these diseases are now waiting for liver transplants, but significantly fewer livers are available. To help address that shortage, researchers at MIT, Rockefeller University, and Boston University have developed...
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Seeking Online Medical Advice? Google’s Top Results Aren’t Always On Target
A man walks past a building on the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif. Google search results about health can be influential, but sometimes they can be unreliable or wrong. JEFF CHIU / AP My wife is pregnant, and I’m terrified. I don’t even have a baby yet, but I have an untold number of questions and...
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Scientists replay movie encoded in DNA
“Molecular Recorder” would reveal secrets of brain development. For the first time, a primitive movie has been encoded in — and then played back from — DNA in living cells. Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health say it is a major step toward a “molecular recorder” that may someday make it possible to...
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HHS reports ‘largest healthcare fraud takedown in history’
Dive Brief: HHS Office of Inspector General on Thursday reported it charged 400 defendants for false billing schemes totaling $1.3 billion this month in what it called the “largest healthcare fraud takedown in history.” Nearly 300 health professionals were served exclusion notices for conduct related to opioid diversion and abuse, including 162 nurses and 57 doctors. In...
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New Discovery Brings Us One Step Closer to Growing Replacement Organs
IN BRIEF Australian scientists have found that a protein called Meox1 plays a vital role in stem cell growth in the human body. Understanding the mechanism behind this growth will eventually allow us to grow organs in the lab and save thousands of lives. THE MEOX1 MIRACLE Scientists at Monash University in Australia have found...
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Artificial Intelligence ushers in the era of superhuman doctors
Non-human intelligence will soon be a standard part of your medical care – if it isn’t already. Can you trust it? THE doctor’s eyes flit from your face to her notes. “How long would you say that’s been going on?” You think back: a few weeks, maybe longer? She marks it down. “Is it worse...
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This Mom Used VR to Open Up New Worlds for Her Son
Despite the limitations of his body, now he can use VR to see the world. Tim Bartow is a filmmaker and writer hailing from Kansas City, Missouri. As one of only 100 Americans affected by the extremely rare genetic disorder Lesch Nyhan, which results in celebral palsy, Tim uses a wheelchair. Though Tim has no cognitive impairments, people often assume that...