Medicine & Healthcare

Nationwide mobile phone data tracking aggregated movements of people in China can accurately predict the geographical and temporal spread of COVID-19 infections up to two weeks ahead of time, according to a study in Nature.

COVID-19 is affecting every corner of the world with its disastrous damage to human health and economy. Hidden infections that skip the usual surveillance system pose an obstacle to controlling the spread of COVID-19. There is currently no information on hidden COVID-19 infection in Hong Kong.

A range of essential textbooks from all disciplines will be freely available to support higher education institutions worldwide

Springer Nature achieves new milestone in 2019 in publishing over 100,000 OA articles in one year, and is the largest OA publisher of primary research

It is no secret that genetic factors play a role in determining whether children have neurodevelopmental disorders. Maternal exposure to drugs and viral or bacterial illnesses can be detrimental too.

According to a clinical study conducted by the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), nearly 90% of the patients who took a six-week course of Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of “cold type” asthma had their asthma symptoms eliminated or relieved. Among this group of patients, over half had their symptoms eliminated, while 35% had their symptoms relieved or significantly relieved.

The best timing for endoscopy of patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is still controversial among the medical community. A recent study conducted by the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) found that for patients with overt signs of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, urgent endoscopy performed within 6 hours after gastroenterological consultation was not associated with lower mortality and risk of further bleeding, compared with endoscopy performed between 6 and 24 hours after consultation. In other words, earlier endoscopy did not lower mortality nor improve outcomes. The study results have just been published in the top medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

New understandings of how lipids function within tears could lead to better drugs for treating dry eye disease.

New findings show that the formation of amyloid plaques drives damage and tissue loss in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease in animals, but lithium reduces the life-shortening effects of this loss.

Exercise and a cell-aging drug could help cases of chronic myopathy.

A new X-ray imaging technique could identify lesions and tumors before ultrasound or MRI can.

Looking for experts to who can comment on the coronavirus pandemic? Our Focus On: Coronavirus resource connects journalists with experts prepared to speak with international media about different aspects of the pandemic, including public health, virology, economic impacts, travel and spread of information.

To support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 29, the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) has offered to conduct, for free, stool tests for asymptomatic children coming to Hong Kong by air to screen for possible COVID-19. The test currently employed by the Department of Health relies on collection of respiratory samples. The false negative rate of deep throat saliva test increases to over 40% with improper collection technique. Collection is particularly difficult in young children and infants. The potentially high false negative rate of the current test for children is therefore of great public health concern. The stool test that CU Medicine has developed is non-invasive, accurate and is potentially a better option for screening test for asymptomatic populations such as young children and infants. By conducting stool tests for children, CU Medicine aims to help identify asymptomatic children carrying the COVID-19 virus as early as possible in order to stop its spread through our community.

A Communique from the InterAcademy Partnership urges countries to collaborate, use and share science-based information, and help the developing world.

Screening is important for the early detection of cervical cancer, but rates were significantly affected, in some areas for years, following a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In a recent study published in Autophagy, researchers at Kanazawa University show how abnormalities in a gene called TPR can lead to pediatric brain cancer

Singapore's National Supercomputing Centre fast track access for researchers involved in COVID-19 research. Applications are open from now until 23 September 2020.

Some trans fats enhance a pathway inside the cell that leads to cell death. Drugs targeting this mechanism could help address diseases associated with these fats.

A cheap, biocompatible white powder that luminesces when heated could be used for non-invasively monitoring the temperature of specific organs within the body. Tohoku University scientists conducted preliminary tests to demonstrate the applicability of this concept and published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

Nested in the long-running Singapore Chinese Health Study, a new study by researchers in Singapore, based on data from over 60,000 middle-aged to older adults, has found that people who suffer from diabetes and who are also underweight have a much higher risk of active tuberculosis (TB) than their heavier counterparts, supporting calls for TB screening among these patients.

Scientists and clinicians from Duke-NUS Medical School, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR’s) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), have devised a novel drug combination that could treat a particularly deadly form of leukaemia, known as blast crisis (BC) chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The team has also developed strategies that may identify patients with early stage or chronic phase (CP) CML who are at increased risk of developing BC, and potentially preventing disease progression.

The Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) analysed more than 300 specimens (including sputum, nasopharyngeal swabs, deep throat saliva, blood, urine and stool) from 14 Hong Kong patients confirmed with COVID-19 and discovered that the virus was detectable in the fecal samples of all patients, regardless of the degree of illness. Three out of 14 patients still had viruses in their stool samples even though the virus was no longer found in sputum, nasopharyngeal and deep throat saliva samples. This finding suggests that virus shedding in stool is common and can be an alternative screening tool. Importantly, we should not overlook the potential risk of environmental contamination by virus shedding in stool.

Studying Finnish genes leads to unique revelations about the development of a serious complication of diabetes, and informs an ongoing genomic study of a Singaporean cohort as part of Singapore’s Diabetes Study in Nephropathy and other Microvascular Complications (DYNAMO).

When it comes to awareness of social and legal services available to people with dementia, financial knowledge is key

Computerized sound-cognitive therapy could be a new potential treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A design team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has been honored at the international design competition, iF Design Awards 2020.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has unveiled the structure and mechanism of proteins that are highly overexpressed in various cancers and associated with poor patient prognoses.

Attendees’ health and safety “utmost priority”

South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has decided to postpone the start of the Spring 2020 Semester due to 2019-nCoV outbreak.

A protein that helps colorectal cancer cells spread to other parts of the body could be an effective treatment target.