A new system in a virtual training room is helping users practice and improve sports exercises and other motor activities: six research groups from the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) at Bielefeld University are working on the ICSPACE project to develop this virtual coaching space. CITEC is funding this large-scale research project with 1.6 million Euro and it will run until 2017.
Read more ...
New Milestone for Device that Can 'Smell' Prostate Cancer
A research team from the University of Liverpool has reached an important milestone towards creating a urine diagnostic test for prostate cancer that could mean that invasive diagnostic procedures that men currently undergo eventually become a thing of the past.
Read more ...
Imagined Ugliness Can be Treated with Internet-Based CBT
Imagined ugliness, or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) as it is known, can be treated with internet-based CBT, according to a recent randomised study, the first of its kind ever conducted. The new treatment, which is published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), has been developed by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet and has the potential to increase access to care for sufferers of BDD.
Read more ...
Mapping Happiness Across the UK
British people are at their least happy while at work - except when they are sick in bed - according to researchers at the University of Sussex and the London School of Economics (LSE). The team analysed more than a million responses uploaded to a smartphone app, called Mappiness, that sporadically asks users questions such as how they are feeling, where they are and what they are doing.
Read more ...
Using Mathematics to Improve Human Health
Scientists at the Universities of York and Torino have used mathematics as a tool to provide precise details of the structure of protein nanoparticles, potentially making them more useful in vaccine design. Working with a world-leading group at the University of Connecticut in the USA, who pioneered the development of self-assembling protein nanoparticles (SAPNs) for vaccine design, they have used advanced mathematical calculations to create a complete picture of the surface morphology of these particles.
Read more ...
Smartphones and Intelligent Socks to Help Prevent Diabetic Amputations
Diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage associated with the development of foot ulcers in patients with diabetes. Resulting from anatomical deformation, excessive pressure and poor blood supply, it affects over 130 million individuals worldwide. It is also the leading cause of amputation, costing the United States economy alone more than $10 billion annually.
Read more ...
Smartphones May Decrease Sedentary Time, Increase Activity
A pilot study finds that using smartphone reminders to prompt people to get moving may help reduce sedentary behavior. The study was supported by the American Cancer Society, with technical expertise provided by the e-Health Technology Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study appears in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Read more ...