Health & Medicine
Breaking down the fort: Combatting clinical biofilms
Treating bacterial infections can be challenging, even more so when they build a fort. These forts, or ‘biofilms’, form on living and non-living surfaces, such as heart valves, and protect bacteria from immune responses and antibiotics. This can lead to serious, chronic conditions, for instance an infection of the heart’s lining (endocarditis), relapsing infections and increased mortality. To help combat […]
Value Added Data systems: An architecture for end-user informed data preparation
As the myriad of data sources continues to grow, so does the need for cost-effective, scalable and principled techniques for integrating and cleaning big data in order to optimise the data quality and thus increase its value. Dr Norman Paton, Professor of Computer Science and Dr Nikolaos Konstantinou, a Research Fellow with the Department of Computer Science, both from the […]
The anxiety-reducing effects of cannabidiol treatment in teenagers with social anxiety disorder
Nobuo Masataka, Professor of Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, Japan has recently completed and published exciting research into the treatment of the debilitating condition of social anxiety disorder with cannabidiol, a constituent of cannabis. Social anxiety disorder has a major impact on sufferers and the condition is becoming increasingly prevalent. Here, Professor Masataka’s promising new research findings are presented […]
Case for the improvement of suboptimal care of gout patients in Hawai’i
The level of care for gout patients in Hawai’i has been a subject of concern to stakeholders. A retrospective study of gout and rheumatoid arthritis patients who were 18 years and above within Hawai’i Pacific Health healthcare system between 2011 and 2017 were undertaken by Dr Sian Yik Lim MD, CCD, Rhmsus, a Doctor of Medicine, Pali Momi Medical Center, […]
The importance of the autopsy in medicine
Clinical autopsy is integral to public health, it has brought critical advances in the understanding of disease and its treatment, leading to improvements in many people’s lives and to many lives being saved. Despite this, there has been a gradual demise in the use of clinical autopsy in medical practice. Professor L. Maximilian Buja of the McGovern Medical School, University […]
Do pacifiers interfere with breastfeeding success?
The use of pacifiers is an ancient practice, but often becomes a point of debate between parents and professionals. The research of Dr Alejandro Gustavo Jenik, a paediatrician at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Argentina, aims to explore the relationships between pacifier use and breastfeeding. His current research is investigating the impact of early introduction of pacifiers on breastfeeding prevalence […]
A holistic approach to cancer: The unseen influence of the unconscious mind
Although the mind-body dualism has dominated Western medicine for centuries, contemporary cancer research is making room for more holistic approaches to understanding carcinogenesis. Dr Marco Balenci, psychoanalyst and member of the American Psychological Association, looks at cancer as a systemic rather than local disease. His recent article places the work of Elida Evans in the history of American medical-psychological thought and, […]
Artificial intelligence allows quick and easy diagnosis of pancreatic cancer
The pancreas is an important organ that regulates food digestion and blood sugar levels. Cancers commonly arise in the pancreas, leading to death for over 50,000 patients per year in the U.S. alone. This is due to a lack of effective therapies and a low survival rate for this disease since symptoms arise only in the late stages of disease. […]
DNA untangled: Topoisomerase enzymes remove our genetic knots
Topoisomerases are enzymes that are abundantly present in our cells and can temporarily cut and rejoin our DNA to remove knots and tangles that form during important biological processes. If they fail to do their job, cells may die. Some anti-cancer and anti-bacterial drugs alter this natural process to eliminate unwanted cells. Dr Neil Osheroff, professor of Biochemistry and Medicine […]
Spirit possession: Perspectives on pastoral assessment and care
Most of us are familiar with demonic possession as depicted in popular culture, for example in horror films such as The Exorcist. While these representations are usually exaggerated, they are frequently based on real-life accounts of the phenomenon. Despite widespread academic scepticism, pastoral care and mental health practitioners are becoming increasingly aware of the affliction, and the need for adequate […]