Seizure Forecasting with Wrist-Worn Devices possible for People with Epilepsy

medical illustration or graphic of a brain having a seizure representing epilepsy

A new study found patterns could be identified in patients who wear a special wristwatch monitoring device for six to 12 months, allowing about 30 minutes of warning before a seizure occurred. This worked well most of the time for five of six patients studied.

Despite medications, surgery and neurostimulation devices, many people with epilepsy continue to have seizures. The unpredictable nature of seizures is severely limiting. If seizures could be reliably forecast, people with epilepsy could alter their activities, take a fast-acting medication or turn up their neurostimulator to prevent a seizure or minimize its effects.

A new study in Scientific Reports by Mayo Clinic researchers and international collaborators found patterns could be identified in patients who wear a specia...

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Engineers design Autonomous Robot that can Open Doors, find Wall Outlet to Recharge

A student in a face mask stands nest to a robot holding open a door.
Engineering student Sam King demonstrates how UC’s autonomous robot pivots around a door in UC’s Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory. Photo/Ravenna Rutledge/UC Creative + Brand

Engineering students have designed an autonomous robot that can find and open doors in 3D digital simulations. Now they’re building the hardware for an autonomous robot that not only can open its own doors but also can find the nearest electric wall outlet to recharge without human help.

One flaw in the notion that robots will take over the world is that the world is full of doors.

And doors are kryptonite to robots, said Ou Ma, an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati.

“Robots can do many things, but if you want one to open a door by itself and go through ...

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Tread lightly: ‘Eggshell Planets’ Possible around other Star

A false-color radar image mosaic of the Venus lowlands. The brighter, fine peach lines are tectonic structures and the darker, purple areas are relatively smooth volcanic plains. Some small volcanoes appear near the bottom center. This image was made with radar data returned by NASA’s Magellan mission, which operated between 1990 and 1994, and shows an area about 1,400 km (870 miles) across. (Image: NASA)

Strange ‘eggshell planets’ are among the rich variety of exoplanets possible, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis. These rocky worlds have an ultra-thin outer brittle layer and little to no topography. Such worlds are unlikely to have plate tectonics, raising questions as to their habitability.

Only a small subset of extrasolar planets are likely eggshell...

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Lack of important Molecule in Red Blood Cells causes Vascular Damage in Type 2 Diabetes

röda blodkroppar
Illustration of red blood cells, Pixabay.

Altered function of the red blood cells leads to vascular damage in type 2 diabetes. Results from a new study in cells from patients with type 2 diabetes and mice show that this effect is caused by low levels of an important molecule in the red blood cells. The study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has been published in the journal Diabetes.

It is well known that patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Overtime type 2 diabetes may damage blood vessels, which could lead to life-threatening complications such as heart attack and stroke...

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