Research

Artificial Synapse for Neural Networks

For all the improvements in computer technology over the years, we still struggle to recreate the low-energy, elegant processing of the human brain. Now, researchers at Stanford University and Sandia National Laboratories have made an advance that could help computers mimic one piece of the brain's efficient design - an artificial version of the space over which neurons communicate, called a synapse.

Online Pharmacies Could Fuel Antibiotic Resistance

The researchers from Imperial College London analysed 20 pharmacies that were available for UK citizens to access online. This is one of the few studies to have examined the online availability of antibiotics and to have explored the potential effects on public health. The research is published in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

How many calories in that tweet?

It's easy to find out how many calories are in a Twinkie. But how about in a tweet? A team of scientists have invented a new instrument for measuring just that: the caloric content of social media posts - like tweets.

Teach a Computer to Recognize AML

Researchers have developed the first computer machine-learning model to accurately predict which patients diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, or AML, will go into remission following treatment for their disease and which will relapse. The computer was trained using bone marrow data and medical histories of AML patients, as well as blood data from healthy individuals.

One Step Closer to Personalized Antibiotic Treatment

Taking antibiotics to fight an infection won't necessarily solve your problems. Often, natural occurring bacteria in the gut harbor several resistance genes. This means that the gut bacteria may exchange genes with the infectious bacteria, resulting in antibiotic resistance. Therefore, knowing the resistome - i.e. the pool of resistance genes present in the gut microbiota - can improve treatment immensely.

Hand-held Breath Monitor to Detect Flu

Perena Gouma, a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington, has published an article in the journal Sensors that describes her invention of a hand-held breath monitor that can potentially detect the flu virus.

Brain-Computer Interface Allows Completely Locked-in People to Communicate

A brain-computer interface that can decipher the thoughts of people who are unable to communicate could revolutionize the lives of those living with complete locked-in syndrome according to a new paper published in PLOS Biology. Counter to expectations, the participants in the study reported being "happy" despite their condition.

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