Going to the dentist is a scary experience for many, but obviously not for the brave person who volunteered to undergo oral surgery performed by a robot. The procedure took place in China, where the robotic dentist successfully implanted a pair of teeth into patient's mouth. No human took an active role in the surgery, according to a local report.
A team of scientists have announced that they have successfully edited DNA in human embryos and that editing has allowed them to make what they call a fundamental discovery about the earliest days of human development. The researchers modified a key gene in very early-stage embryos that is said to be crucial to allowing the embryo to develop normally.
Bacteria has been spotted 'eating' chemotherapy drugs intended for treating cancerous tumors, potentially opening the door for more effective cancer treatments in the future. According to a new study, certain types of bacteria may exist in the vicinity of cancer cells, devouring the chemo drugs that would otherwise combat the cancerous tumors that result. This prevents adequate levels of these drugs from reaching the cancerous cells, resulting in a sort of chemo-resistant cancer.
Makers of fitness trackers or any device with health-related sensors are often careful to remind their customers that these gadgets, advanced as they may be, shouldn't be considered as conclusive medical data or replace professional opinion. Apple, however, might be going in a different direction and might soon advertise the Apple Watch as a potential medical aid. Sources close to the matter claim that Apple is working with Standford and telemedicine company American Well to determine if the wearable is accurate and sensitive enough to reliably detect abnormal heart rhythms.
Painkiller addiction has reached epic proportions and this has spurred a search for suitable alternatives to opiates. We've seen some potential novel alternatives, such as sea snail venom and using VR to distract patients from pain. One new potential alternative comes in the form of a hallucinogenic drug call salvia and a synthetic version of it with painkilling properties.
Researchers from the UK's Durham University and the US's Rice and North Carolina State universities have detailed a type of molecule that can kill off cancer cells by drilling directly into them. This drilling action is performed using rotors that spin between 2 and 3 million times a second, boring through the membrane of cells to bring about cellular death. The entire drilling action is made possible via ultraviolet light.
Samsung has a pair of new wearables for IFA 2017, the Gear Fit2 Pro and Gear Sport, each targeting the wrists of fitness enthusiasts. The two smartwatches each come ready for a variety of exercise types, including a new Speedo partnership for tracking laps in the pool. Unusually, each also includes onboard GPS.
Garmin's Vivoactive 3 smartwatch may have leaked already, but its only today that we're discovering its most unexpected feature. The fitness-tracking smartwatch was spotted earlier this month, with a circular face and the ability to flag notifications from your phone to your wrist. Now, we also know that it could replace your credit card.
In the age of technology, health is fast becoming a priority. Devices like the Apple Watch lean into it as a means to encourage sales, and both Google and Apple have apps designed to quantify your well-being. They work, too; not only do you get a glimpse of your raw data points, you often get insight on how that looks over the course of weeks and months, and what trends your data is returning. The question I had was wether or not connected weight lifting equipment like the Bowflex SelectTech 560 can help me achieve goals.
If you open the Google Search app on mobile and search the term 'clinical depression,' Google's front page results now include a questionnaire that visitors can take to gauge whether they're depressed and how severe that depression may be. The quiz is clinically validated, according to Google, which has teamed up with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The quiz is the clinically-validated PHQ-9 questionnaire.
A new study published in the journal The Lancet details a treatment breakthrough that successfully eliminated peanut allergies in some afflicted individuals for up to four years. The treatment involved a combination of peanut oral immunotherapy (PPOIT) and probiotics, and though it isn't a proper cure for the allergy, it did produce a tolerance in afflicted individuals that allowed them to, in some cases, eat peanuts for a long period of time without experiencing an allergic response.
Mushrooms containing psilocybin -- usually just called 'magic mushrooms' -- are a godsend for some individuals, proving to be a cure or a very effective treatment for cluster headache disorder and some other conditions, possibly including depression. Despite the growing evidence of psilocybin's medical potential, health-related usage hasn't been a viable option for most people. A new breakthrough study may change that.
