A new device uses a smartphone and a paper microfluidic chip to detect extremely low levels of norovirus.

Norovirus is a very contagious virus responsible for around 19–21 million yearly cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States.

In fact, norovirus is “the leading cause of foodborne illness” in the U.S.

Norovirus is also responsible for up to 1.9 million hospital visits and another 400,000 visits to the emergency department. This costs the U.S. around $2 billion in healthcare expenses and loss of job productivity.

The virus can be contagious at very low levels, with just 10 virus particles being enough to cause an infection.

So, researchers from the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson set out to create an efficient way to detect even the smallest levels of the virus.

Three researchers co-led the project: Jeong-Yeol Yoon, from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UA; Soo Chung, a doctoral researcher in Yoon’s laboratory; and Kelly A. Reynolds, chair of the Department of Community, Environment, and Policy in the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at UA.

Yoon presented the research at the American Chemical Society Fall 2019 National Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, CA, and the paper now appears in the journal ACS Omega.

How the cheap and quick device works

The virus can spread very quickly through water. Existing devices for detecting norovirus require a laboratory and a range of microscopes, lasers, and costly spectrometers. These are instruments that measure types of radiation and wavelength.

With the new method, the researchers used simple materials including paper and a smartphone. Chung explains how it is possible for paper to transform into microfluidic chips.

“Paper substrate is very cheap and easy to store, and we can fabricate these chips easily,” he says. “The fibrous structure of paper also allows liquid to flow spontaneously without using the pumping systems other chips, such as silicon chips, usually require.”

A new study has challenged suggestions that the male sex hormone testosterone reduces cognitive empathy, or the ability to read other people’s emotional states. Lower cognitive empathy is a feature of autism, a condition that predominantly affects males.

he new research takes the form of two large-scale randomized controlled trials that included a total of 643 adult males. It is the largest work of its kind.

The investigators, who hail from institutions in the United States and Canada, report their findings in a recent Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences paper.

They explain that earlier studies that have found links between testosterone and lower cognitive empathy had relied on very small samples and so had insufficient statistical power to establish a direct link.

“Our results unequivocally show that there is not a linear causal relation between testosterone exposure and cognitive empathy,” states first study author Amos Nadler, Ph.D., who worked on the study while at Western University, in Canada.

Cognitive empathy and ASD

In the United States, around 1 in 59 children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and males are four times more likely to have it than females, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Although it has been clear for some time that ASD affects more males than females, scientists do not understand why.

Scientists in Japan have, for the first time, treated a damaged cornea using induced pluripotent stem cells. According to the surgeon, the person’s vision has improved since the procedure.

Scientists create induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells by reprogramming adult cells.

This process converts the cells into embryonic-like cells, which means that they can develop into any other type of human cell, including nerve, pancreatic, liver, and corneal cells.

Although iPS cells have great potential to treat a range of conditions, they have been slow to make it from the laboratory to the clinic.

In carrying out a new groundbreaking procedure, ophthalmologist Kohji Nishida from Osaka University in Japan has taken the next step.

Corneal repair

The cornea is the transparent front section of the eye, which covers the iris and pupil. Stem cells in the cornea ensure that it becomes refreshed and repaired when necessary, keeping it clear so that light can enter.

However, if these stem cells sustain damage due to disease or injury, maintenance of the cornea is no longer possible, and this can lead to corneal blindness.

Individuals with damaged corneas must wait for donor tissue to become available, and — as with any organ transplant — this can be a lengthy process.

The person who underwent the recent surgery has a genetic condition that affects the stem cells of the cornea. Her vision was blurry, and she would eventually have lost her sight.

The researchers implanted thin sheets of iPS cells into the patient’s eye, hoping that they would take root and fill in the gaps that her missing corneal stem cells had left.

More procedures to come

Following successful research in an animal model, the Japanese health ministry gave Nishida permission to carry out the corneal repair procedure in four people.

So far, the first treatment appears to be a success. According to Nishida, the person’s cornea is still clear, and their vision has improved in the month since the operation.

Nishida plans to carry out the second procedure later this year, and he is hopeful that the surgery will be available to more people within 5 years.

The authors of a recent global survey of corneal transplantation concluded that there is “only one cornea available for 70 needed.” Hopefully, this groundbreaking technology will, eventually, go some way toward closing that gap.

Providing people with a safe way to manage their own care could be an effective solution to the healthcare burden of long term conditions. According to researchers in China, this could come in the form of text messages.

Researchers have found that a series of simple motivational texts can improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Not only is this an affordable and scalable solution, it is also one that researchers can apply to almost any population across the globe.

The researchers chose people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease for the trial because they need to pay particular attention to their bodies.

Over time, high blood sugar levels can lead to a number of serious complications, including kidney disease, heart disease, and stroke. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Managing these conditions can often require sticking to several lifestyle recommendations, so researchers studied whether texts could help.

In the past, trials of text based systems were limited for failing to take into account the fact that some people may have more than one condition.

By including people with both diabetes and coronary heart disease, the scientists hoped that the findings would better apply to real life settings.

Controlling vital levels

Published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, the study enlisted 502 people from 34 hospitals in China.

They all received typical care, but the scientists split the participants into two groups. One group received six autogenerated texts per week (the motivational text group).

These messages focused on a variety of factors, including controlling glucose and blood pressure levels, lifestyle advice, and the importance of adhering to medication rules.