PSSA News

Artificial intelligence predicts when heart will fail

Artificial intelligence can predict when patients with a heart disorder will die, according to scientists.

The software learned to analyse blood tests and scans of beating hearts to spot signs that the organ was about to fail.
The team, from the UK’s Medical Research Council, say the technology could save lives by finding patients that need more aggressive treatment.

Human embryology: implantation barrier overcome?

Human embryology: implantation barrier overcome?

A proper understanding of early human development is important for improving reproductive health and research on regenerative medicine. However, anyone who ever tried doing research in thisa field will agree that it is all but easy. Even if you can get hold of human embryos, research has to adhere to extremely strict ethical and legal regulations.

Wearable sweat sensor paves way for real-time analysis of body chemistry

Apparently you can learn a lot about a person from his/her sweat! Sweat contains a great number of electrolytes and metabolites and although normal values for many of these components in sweat are not available, it may simply be because sweat has never been considered as a body fluid that can be used as a diagnostic tool.

Ebola Virus Vaccine Trial

In the wake of the Ebola virus outbreak being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), the vesicular stomatitis virus Ebola Consortium (VEBCON) was established (under auspices of WHO) in August 2014. Here the aim was to initiate phase 1 testing of the replication-competent recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV)–vectored Zaire ebolavirus (rVSV-ZEBOV) candidate vaccine.

US Public approves gene editing to improve health

US Public approves gene editing to improve health

During December 2015, an International Summit on Human Gene Editing was co-hosted by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The organizing committee requested an ongoing international forum to gather the perspectives of various stakeholders, which included members of the general public.

PSSA 2016 Conference

It is my great pleasure to announce this year’s PSSA conference in Cape Town at the River Club; located
in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, a mere 10 minutes from the CBD, famous V&A Waterfront and
only 15 minutes from the Cape Town International Airport. Mark your calendar: Dates are 28th – 31st
August 2016.