Robot Playmates Monitor Emotional State Of Children With Autism

— The day that robot playmates help children with autism learn the social skills that they naturally lack has come a step closer with the development of a system that allows a robot to monitor a child's emotional state.

There is a lot of research going on around the world today trying to use robots to treat children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It has shown that the children are attracted to robots, raising the promise that appropriately designed robots could play an important role in their treatment," says Nilanjan Sarkar, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University. "However, the efforts so far have been quite limited because they haven't had a way to monitor the emotional state of the children, which would allow the robot to respond automatically to their reactions."

Can Exercising Your Brain Prevent Memory Loss?

Can Exercising Your Brain Prevent Memory Loss? Participating in certain mental activities, like reading magazines or crafting in middle age or later in life, may delay or prevent memory loss, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American

Stem Cell Therapy Boy Develops Tumors

A newly published medical article by researchers in Israel describes the case of a boy who developed tumors in his brain and spine four years after receiving fetal stem cell therapy for a rare genetic disease.

Laser Acupuncture System

Developing a user-friendly, intelligent laser acupuncture system that can be controlled and monitored remotely over the Internet.
Laser Acupuncture System
Traditional acupuncture places needles on meridian points beneath the skin for therapeutic purposes. More recently, laser acupuncture (using therapeutic lasers to stimulate meridian points) has proven effective. It has definite advantages over using needles – it is aseptic, noninvasive, and painless, and if used properly, has no reported side effects
The Solution:
Using National Instruments LabVIEW software, data acquisition, and NI IMAQ Vision to control and monitor laser acupuncture treatment with an automated intelligent system that automatically recognizes the meridian points and compensates for body movement

Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Women Reduces Urinary Incontinence

Reducing urinary incontinence can now be added to the extensive list of health benefits of weight loss, according to a clinical trial funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The paper reporting the results of the trial will be published in the January 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine

Researchers Find Abnormal Cells in the Blood Years before Leukemia is Diagnosed

Researchers have shown that abnormal white blood cells can be present in patients’ blood more than six years prior to the diagnosis of a chronic form of lymphocytic leukemia. This finding may lead to a better understanding of the cellular changes that characterize the earliest stages of the disease and how it progresses. The study, led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was published in the Feb. 12, 2009, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Time of Day Can Be Critical in Chemotherapy

The time of day that chemotherapy drugs are taken may be a major factor in the effectiveness of the treatment and the extent of its side effects, according to a new study. The results have important implications for cancer treatment.