Health & Wellbeing

Hearing aids are often stymied by the "cocktail party" effect, wherein they can't amplify one person's voice without also boosting the voices of everyone else in the room. A new AI system, however, could help focus the devices' attention where it's needed.

The common perception is that that it can be harder to shed excess pounds as we grow older, but a new study has contradicted this school of thought, indicating lifestyle changes can help tackle obesity regardless of age.

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have presented the first interim data from their Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial. The vaccine is safe, up to 90 percent effective, and significantly easier to distribute compared to other options.

New research has shown how immune cells produced in the gut play a protective role during MS flare-ups. For the first time scientists have shown how these immune cells travel up to the brain and potentially help shift a disease flare-up into remission.

An exploratory study has found a single dose of the psychedelic psilocybin can reduce migraine frequency by 50 percent for a least two weeks. The preliminary trial was small but the promising findings suggest potential for psychedelics to treat migraines.

Pfizer and BioNTech have announced their large Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial is complete. The trial has reportedly met all its primary endpoints and the vaccine is claimed to be 95 percent effective.

A new study has shone a light on the health benefits of short bursts of vigorous exercise, finding that they can produce “striking” effects on the metabolites circulating through the body and lead to improvements in a wide range of bodily functions.

A new observational study, analyzing data from nearly half a million UK subjects, suggests improving sleep behavior is an important intervention for both clinicians and patients looking to reduce risk of heart failure.

A week after Pfizer reported its COVID-19 vaccine is effective, biotechnology company Moderna has revealed similar results from its own vaccine candidate. But experts suggest the challenge ahead will be overcoming the logistical hurdles of mass vaccinations.

A proof-of-concept study proposes a novel, cheap and surprisingly simple way to rapidly reduce blood alcohol levels. The research suggests a low-tech device aiding safe hyperventilation can more than triple the rate of alcohol elimination from the body.

Days after Pfizer revealed vaccine trial data, Russian authorities have announced their vaccine candidate is also demonstrating promising results. Experts call the Russian data encouraging, but caution the results are premature and based on low numbers.

A new flow visualization study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) starkly demonstrates why face masks with exhalation valves are not effective for slowing the spread of COVID-19.