A new low-cost, rapid blood test for sickle cell anemia could someday save the lives of thousands children in developing countries. An estimated 300,000 children are born with the genetic blood disorder each year in Africa alone. It causes affected red cells to form into a sickle shape, clogging blood vessels. Researchers say more than […]readmore
Scientists are using mutations of the Ebola virus to track the deadly outbreak’s origins. In study published in the journal Science, researchers worked backwards, tracking Ebola’s 300 mutations to determine where the illness was first detected and where it has spread. The scientists identified the funeral of a traditional healer in Central Africa as the […]readmore
A series of experiments performed by scientists from UK and Japan suggests that coffee and naps taken together maximize the brain’s alertness much better than when taken alone. Scientists at Loughborough University in Britain found out that tired test takers who drank a cup of coffee and immediately took a 15-minute nap had fewer errors […]readmore
Listening to Residents Helps Rhode Island Nursing Homes Continue to Outperform the Nation Quality of life and care for Rhode Island seniors and their families reach above average marks, making the state a more desirable place for elders Providence, Rhode Island, August 28, 2014 – Nursing home providers are increasingly recognizing that the people who […]readmore
Providence: With the tandem of increased outdoor activities and increased tick populations, the Department of Health (HEALTH) has partnered with other state agencies to urge Rhode Islanders to check for tick bites as the first line of prevention against Lyme disease when enjoying and working outdoors. HEALTH, the Departments of Environmental Management (DEM) and Transportation […]readmore
Providence: Director of Health Michael Fine, MD today declared the flu to be widespread again in Rhode Island. This declaration triggers the requirement that healthcare workers who have not been vaccinated against the flu wear surgical masks during direct patient contact. Rhode Island is seeing a second wave of flu that is even more intense […]readmore
Katie Brooks is this week’s Medical Apprentice. She speaks fluent Spanish and said that she decided to become a doctor later in life. While in college she majored in Political Science, taking classes in sociology and Hispanic Studies. She also worked as a social worker in Philadelphia, working primarily with AIDs patients. Through her interactions […]readmore
Providence: Thirteen people, most of them in their 80s and 90s, have died from influenza this season, many since the arrival of the H3N2 strain of flu in late March. Rhode Island is also seeing cases of Type B strains recently. There have been 392 hospitalizations, with 40 of those occuring in the last week […]readmore
Can a traumatic experience, or any change in our lifestyle be transmitted genetically to our children? This phenomenon, called Epigenetic inheritance has been linked in a multitude of diseases, from obesity to psychiatric problems like bipolar disorder where there is a gene that is clearly identified. But up to this date, no mechanism by which this occurs has been identified. A team of […]readmore
In less than a minute, a child’s face can be aged to show what he or she will look like when older. Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a software that automatically generates images of the face of a young child to age through life. The technique is the first fully automated approach for the aging of the image […]readmore