Will artificial intelligence (AI) change the traditional trial–and–error drug development process and become a revolutionary force in the pharmaceutical sector? Active learning and interpretable AI are the two critical paradigms that lead to the positive answer, according to a perspective article recently published in Health Data Science. “Promising progress has been made in using AI for drug design recently. However, […]

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. In mid-November, Kevin Billingsley, MD, MBA, chief medical officer at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut, was keeping a close eye on the new COVID variant sweeping across South Africa. Six weeks later, the Omicron variant had become the dominant strain in the US — […]

An interim analysis of an ongoing Phase III study from UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center indicates that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to guide precisely-focused high-dose radiation treatment for prostate cancer reduced side effects associated with the treatment. The findings are being presented at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, California. Advanced radiation techniques like high-dose […]

Patients undergoing primary radiotherapy treatment with or without chemotherapy, rather than surgery, for head and neck cancers are more likely to experience delays in their treatment starting, according to a new analysis from Flinders University. The researchers say the retrospective study reflects a need to streamline referrals for cancer treatment in the healthcare system, to ensure the best possible outcome […]

A WEHI-led study has identified a molecular ‘culprit’ responsible for causing damaging levels of cell death and inflammation in the body. The findings could lead to improved treatment options for a range of conditions driven by inflammatory cell death, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Cell death is an important part of the body’s immune response to infection. When uncontrolled, however, it […]

One way that scientists are studying how the human body grows and ages is by creating artificial organs in the laboratory. The most popular of these organs is currently the organoid, a miniaturized organ made from stem cells. Organoids have been used to model a variety of organs, but brain organoids are the most clouded by controversy. Current brain organoids […]

Smoking-cessation drugs prescribed exclusively over the internet in a clinical trial were as safe and effective as when prescribed in a clinician’s office, according to a newly published CAMH study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The study, the first internet-based trial for smoking cessation using prescription medication, found that 30.3 per cent of study participants given the drug […]

Brain organization differs between boys and girls with autism, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The differences, identified by analyzing hundreds of brain scans with artificial intelligence techniques, were unique to autism and not found in typically developing boys and girls. The research helps explain why autism symptoms differ between the sexes and may […]

Kim Kardashian is going through it right now — her ongoing divorce from Kanye West coupled by his public pleas for her affections that have veered into harassment territory — but her latest photos show much she’s trying to keep it together for her kids. On Thursday, the KUWTK star posted new Instagram pics of herself and her eight-year-old daughter […]

The pandemic upended much about traditional medical care delivery, and obstetrics is no exception. To that end, a new University of Michigan study found that moms who were pregnant and gave birth during the first six months of COVID-19 reported more distress and anxiety, but also some surprising benefits of enforced alone time, said first author Clayton Shuman, assistant professor […]