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Tens of millions of people have female genital schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease that few physicians have even heard of. Efforts are under way to move it out of obscurity and empower women and girls to access sexual and reproductive health care.
Social robots that promise companionship and stimulation for older people and those with dementia are attracting investment, but some question their benefits.
Unusual microbial communities in a person’s lower airways could influence the onset and progression of lung cancer and other conditions, and might point the way to therapies.
Researchers are cautiously optimistic that the neglected tropical disease could be gone by 2030, but new barriers — including antibiotic resistance and primate reservoirs — might stand in the way.
Stubborn compounds called PFAS in drinking water put health at risk. Technologies based on plasmas, pressure, sound or fungus could finally degrade these chemicals.
The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is essential to decarbonizing economies. Industrial policies and technology developments could trim the water consumption involved in producing the gas, minimizing its cost and environmental impact.
Strategies for collecting water from the atmosphere using minimal energy could fill a crucial gap in sustaining communities that have limited access to water.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought home the value of cheap, ‘good enough’ methods of detecting disease. Extending that approach to other illnesses could improve health care in low- and middle-income countries.