MIT uses machine learning to develop powerful antibiotic
The drug works in a different way to existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by setting AI loose on vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds.
Public health & disease
Researchers invent an “EpiPen” for spinal cord injuries that can prevent paralysis
The approach was demonstrated in mice at the University of Michigan, with the nanoparticles enhancing healing by reprogramming the aggressive immune cells—call it an “EpiPen” for trauma to the central nervous system.
U.S. life expectancy goes up for the first time since 2014
Life expectancy in the United States went up for the first time in four years in 2018, thanks largely to a decrease in death rates from cancer and drug overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Legalising gay marriage caused dramatic fall in suicides in Denmark and Sweden, study finds
A 46 per cent fall in suicides among people in same-sex marriages was recorded by comparing two time periods in Denmark and Sweden – from 1989 to 2002, and 2003 to 2016.
HIV infections among gay and bi men fall by 71% in U.K. since 2012
The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the U.K. has dropped substantially since 2012. The drop has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep).
The global homicide rate fell by 46% worldwide between 1990 and 2015
Between 1990 and 2015, the number of homicides per 100,000 people fell by 46%, with countries in Oceania experiencing a 22% drop over the same period, and 36% in Asia.
New LED lamp has helped 90% of its dyslexic users to read ‘effortlessly’
The Lexilife team tested the light’s efficiency on 300 people with dyslexia—and 90% of participants said that they could “effortlessly read a text illuminated by the lamp.”
27,000 deaths avoided in the United States by shutting down coal plants
Researchers from the University of California – San Diego found that tens of thousands of deaths had been avoided between 2005 and 2016 by replacing coal plants.
U.S. cancer death rate sees largest-ever single-year drop
From 2016 to 2017, the United States saw its largest-ever single-year drop in overall cancer deaths, a 2.2% plunge spurred in part by a sharp decline in lung cancer deaths, according to a new American Cancer Society report.
U.S. FDA approves pancreatic cancer treatment shown to double patient lifespans
The drug Lynparza was developed by AstraZeneca and Merck as a maintenance treatment for patients with a specific gene mutation whose cancer spread beyond the pancreas.