IN FOCUS: HEALTH
01 What causes that “deer-in-the-headlights” reflex, where people freeze momentarily in response to a potential threat? If we’re anything like flies, it could be serotonin. US researchers have discovered that when a fly experiences an unexpected change in its surroundings, the release of the chemical helps to temporarily stop it in its tracks.
02 Stop fretting about your split ends. A new study suggests they actually allow your hair to endure greater tension before it breaks. Thin hair tends to be stronger than thick hair. Elephant hair is four time thicker than human hair, for example, but only half as strong.
03 Researchers are developing a dye that could allow a person’s vaccination record to be injected into their body at the same time as a vaccine. It would then be stored beneath the skin for up to five years, avoiding the all-too-common problem of vaccination details being lost, and follow-up vaccinations missed.
04 Korean researchers have invented a magnetic microbot that delivers stem cells to damaged cartilage in the knee, a discovery that could lead to treatments that prevent debilitating osteoarthritis. The device was tested in animals, but they are seeking approval for clinical trials in humans.
05 Australian researchers have developed a new way of analysing data from individual human cells by combining conventional techniques with machine learning algorithms. The resulting process, which they liken to fingerprinting cells, allows single cells with a unique genomic profile to be identified from a tissue sample.
06 Pathology appears to be a new focus for the inexorable march of AI into medical science. In January, just days apart, US and Dutch scientists separately unveiled technology they say can match and even beat trained humans in classifying surgical samples for brain and prostate cancers respectively.
07 Overall, obesity is the primary risk factor for obstructive sleep apnoea. Now US researchers using magnetic resonance imaging have found that reducing tongue fat is a primary factor in lessening the severity of the debilitating condition.