❤️ Health Tech
Health Tech, or digital health, helps us understand and take control of our own health. But we also cover more traditional health news like medicines, vaccines and medical procedures.
🦾 AI saved Joseph Coates' life - and can save millions more
Researchers are using AI to find new uses for existing drugs that can treat rare diseases. Joseph Coates survived a deadly blood disorder thanks to a treatment identified by an AI model.
🍹 New study shows that Ozempic reduces alcohol consumption
Patients who received semaglutide reduced their alcohol consumption by 30 percent, compared to 2 percent for the placebo group. Nearly 40 percent of participants who received semaglutide had no heavy drinking days during the second month of the study.
🦠 Researchers gain free access to 100 million cancer cells to accelerate drug development
The dataset maps 60,000 drug-cell interactions across 50 cancer cell lines, enabling faster and more accurate development of new cancer drugs. Researchers can now for the first time study both natural cell states and how cells respond to 1,200 different drug treatments.
👩⚕️ New cancer vaccine shows promising results against pancreatic cancer
Patients who received a personalized cancer vaccine and developed an immune response lived longer without relapse. The T-cells created by the vaccine remained in the body for about 3 years and continued to fight cancer cells.
🥼 AI shortens handling of pharmaceutical documentation from 15 weeks to 10 minutes
Processes that previously required more than 50 people and took several months can now be handled by only three people with AI support. Novo Nordisk has reduced the time to compile regulatory documents from 15 weeks to less than 10 minutes using AI.
🦠 Scientists recreate life's most important microbial interaction
Scientists have for the first time managed to observe how a bacterium begins living inside a fungal cell. The results provide new understanding of how complex life has evolved.
😷 Covid symptoms are getting milder
Despite covid-19 variant XEC showing concerning early results in the laboratory, hospitalizations are fewer than previous winters. The majority of those infected are either asymptomatic or experience only mild cold symptoms that can be confused with seasonal allergies.
💊 AI-designed drugs entering clinical trials this year
Alphabet's subsidiary Isomorphic Labs plans to have their first AI-designed drugs in clinical trials before the end of the year. The company focuses on major disease areas including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegeneration.
💊 New comprehensive study shows over 60 health effects of Ozempic drugs
Study with 215,000 participants shows that Ozempic-like drugs reduce the risk of 42 different health conditions. People taking the medications have a 12% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The study also shows 9% lower risk of heart attack and 8% lower risk of deep vein thrombosis.