Tracking mobile phone data is often associated with privacy issues, but these vast datasets could be the key to understanding how infectious diseases are spread seasonally, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Princeton University and Harvard University researchers used anonymous mobile phone records for more than 15 million people to track the spread of rubella in Kenya and were able to quantitatively show for the first time that mobile phone data can predict seasonal disease patterns.

Many patients in the latter stage of Parkinson's disease are at high risk of dangerous, sometimes fatal, falls. One major reason is the disabling symptom referred to as Freezing of Gait (FoG) - brief episodes of an inability to step forward that typically occurs during gait initiation or when turning while walking. Patients who experience FoG often lose their independence, which has a direct effect on their already degenerating quality of life.

Leading mental health clinicians, academics and young people are to see the launch of a suite of apps designed to deal with the growing problem of youth mental health at an event celebrating the use of technology in the treatment of mental illness. Co-designed by clinicians from one of the largest mental health trusts in the country, and young people affected by mental illness, the apps will show how mHealth can be a vital tool in the treatment of psychosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and emotional resilience.

In the journal Nature prominent researchers from Canada, Europe and the U.S. have made a powerful call to major funding agencies, asking them to commit to establishing a global genomic data commons in the cloud that could be easily accessed by authorized researchers worldwide.

An in-depth review of randomised trials on screening for breast, colorectal, cervical, prostate and lung cancers, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, shows that the benefits of mammographic screening are likely to have been overestimated.

The HSE (Health Service Executive) launched its eHealth Ireland website. This site has been developed by the Office of the Chief Information Officer within the HSE. The information provided within the content of the site marks a milestone for the creation of the eHealth Ireland capacity. The team have set specific targets and goals for delivery of eHealth and this site will be transparent about these targets and achievements.

A new technique to study proteins, which does not require advanced equipment, specialized labs or expensive reagents, has been developed at Uppsala University, Sweden. The technique could be further developed to be used in point of care devices, for instance for diagnostic purposes. The possibility to identify and localize proteins in tissues is essential for understanding disease mechanisms and for diagnostics.