EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 8-May-2025 21:09 ET (9-May-2025 01:09 GMT/UTC)

New XR simulator improves pediatric nursing education

Hokkaido University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new simulator gives nursing students hands-on practice with vital procedures like mechanical ventilation and tracheal suctioning in children.

Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Novel detection technology alerts health risks from TNT metabolites

Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Recently, a research group led by Prof. HUANG Chaoqun from the Hefei lnstitutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed an innovative dual drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (DDT-IMS) technology. This novel approach has successfully facilitated the rapid detection of both positive and negative ions of four toxic metabolites derived from 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT), allowing for the detection of residual metabolites in the human body and providing valuable health warnings.

Journal: Talanta

Passport control for glycan maturation: Discovery of a molecular tag enhancing biopharmaceutical quality

Nagoya City University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new technology enhances critical modifications of glycoprotein glycans, specifically galactosylation and sialylation, by adding a “passport sequence” that promotes efficient transport through the secretory pathway. This approach improves the quality and efficiency of therapeutic glycoproteins, advancing the development of high-quality biopharmaceuticals.

Journal: iScience
Funder: JST-CREST, JST FOREST Program, the Human Glycome Atlas Project, MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI

The Lancet: Deeply entrenched racial and geographic health disparities in the USA have increased over the last two decades—as life expectancy gap widens to 20 years

The Lancet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Life expectancy in the USA varies by more than 20 years depending on an individual’s race and ethnicity and where they live. These widespread and persistent life expectancy disparities have divided the country into “ten Americas,” according to new research examining inequities in US life expectancy between 2000 and 2021, published in The Lancet.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Cetuximab outperforms durvalumab in treatment of head and neck cancers

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The standard treatment for head and neck cancer, cisplatin, can’t be given to some patients due to pre-existing conditions. A new study compares the efficacy of two alternatives: cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody, and durvalumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

Journal: The Lancet Oncology

UM School of Medicine researchers link snoring to behavioral problems in adolescents without declines in cognition

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Adolescents who snore frequently were more likely to exhibit behavior problems such as inattention, rule-breaking, and aggression, but they do not have any decline in their cognitive abilities, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). This is the largest study to date tracking snoring in children from elementary school through their mid-teen years and it provides an important update to parents struggling with what medical measures to take to help manage snoring in their children.

Journal: JAMA
Funder: NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Justice, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

How school eligibility influences the spread of infectious diseases: Insights for future outbreaks

University of Michigan School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent study in JAMA Network Open sheds light on how school attendance influences the spread of infectious diseases, using COVID-19 as a case study. Researchers analyzed the natural age cutoff for kindergarten eligibility in California to compare COVID-19 rates between children old enough to start school and those who were not. This approach, called regression discontinuity, offers a way to rapidly understand the role of schools in disease transmission and evaluate the effectiveness of within-school prevention measures without requiring additional data collection or school closures.

Journal: JAMA Network Open