Of all the hardships astronauts face, lack of company can be the most daunting. Could a talking robot alleviate the problem? James Cartreine, HMS instructor in psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is involved in developing an interactive computer system to help astronauts combat depression during lengthy space flights.
The gaming industry, say researchers, has both the data and the analytics to identify problem gamblers early, and to stop them from becoming addicts. But few casinos, they say, are making use of the new science. Sarah Nelson, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, is one of the leaders of the research.
Rheumatoid arthritis increases the risk of developing potentially fatal blood clots in the legs and lungs, according to new research from Taiwan. Seoyoung Kim, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, led a similar study investigating this issue.
Need to entertain your baby? There’s an app for that. But whether or not mobile device applications are actually educating your baby is under debate. An advocacy group has filed a federal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Michael Rich, HMS associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, was a guest on the show.
Students around the country can now immerse themselves in “zombie pandemics” in order to learn about how diseases spread and affect the body. It’s all part of the new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Behind Hollywood Program, which teachers and students can download for free online to use at home or in the classroom. Steven Schlozman, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
Obesity rates among preschoolers from lower-income families declined in Massachusetts and 18 other states from 2008 to 2011, according to a new government report. A study last year by researchers at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute is cited.
