News by Subject Medicine & Health

Mechanical loading is required for creating cartilage that is then turned to bone; however, little is known about cartilage development in the absence of gravity. Now, in a study led by the University of Missouri, bioengineers have determined that microgravity may inhibit cartilage formation. Findings reveal that fracture healing for astronauts in space, as well as patients on bed rest here on Earth, could be compromised in the absence of mechanical loading.

As prescription drug spending continues to rise in the United States, along with prices for new and well-established drugs, insurers, employers and patients are searching for ways to cut costs. A new study led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers found that a policy called reference pricing is effective at encouraging patients to spend significantly less on prescription drugs by choosing cheaper drugs over name brand options.

Adult survivors of childhood cancer face an increased likelihood of financial difficulties related to out-of-pocket costs for their health care, compared with adults not affected by childhood cancer.

In 1926, William Gies published the seminal report 'Dental Education in the United States and Canada,' however dental education is now challenged by a new set of issues. A national project was created to address these complex modern issues and develop a broad strategic plan for the future of dental education. This project is divided into three phases. AADR's response to the completion of Phase One is published in the September issue of the Journal of Dental Research.

Harnessing the nano-tractor-beam like abilities of optical tweezers, researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, developed an all-silicon nanoantenna to trap individual quantum dots suspended in a microfluidic chamber.

Contrary to media reports, the opioid epidemic on New York's Staten Island is not confined to affluent young white residents, and affects all neighborhoods, races, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The study conducted by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) was issued by the District Attorney's Office for Staten Island.

Imagine if doctors could determine, many years in advance, who is likely to develop dementia. Such prognostic capabilities would give patients and their families time to plan and manage treatment and care. Thanks to artificial intelligence research conducted at McGill University, this kind of predictive power could soon be available to clinicians everywhere.

Researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, the Cardiovascular Institute at Stanford University and other institutions were surprised to discover that the four genes in the Id family play a crucial role in heart development, telling undifferentiated stem cells to form heart tubes and eventually muscle.