Lung infections are a constant risk for people living with cystic fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening genetic disorder which impairs lung function, predisposes people to persistent airway infections and exposes them to acquiring multidrug resistant infections.

Flinders University microbial experts are using DNA sequencing readings to provide more accurate identification  of microbial infections, which helps to address risks from long-term use of antibiotics that could deplete  microbiome composition and bacterial infection in CF patients.

The ability to read facial expressions is a vital part of social communication and can be influenced by the observer’s emotional state. In a study, researchers examine whether positive emotions, induced by watching a comedy video, can help improve observers’ sensitivity to subtle positive facial expressions. The study also explores whether this effect differs when faces are covered by masks and whether individual traits, such as empathy and depressive tendencies, are related to these differences.

As spirometry requires coordinated deep breathing and can be challenging for children to perform, researchers from the USA, as part of the TRANSPIRE study investigating lung complications in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), explored the potential of oscillometry, a simple and child-friendly lung function test. Oscillometry detected subtle lung abnormalities before HSCT that conventional lung function testing may miss, suggesting that these children may be more vulnerable to future pulmonary complications.