Hiroshima University research shows that a portable heart monitoring device can detect fetal distress earlier and sharply improve newborn survival rates in low-resource environments.

An international study involving researchers from Singapore, China, USA, Europe and Brazil has identified four subtypes of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Among them, the subtype with the best reproductive and health outcomes is observed in majority of the Singapore cohort. In another related Singapore study, findings show that women with PCOS could attain successful pregnancy outcomes through fertility assistance, even at older maternal ages.

Chronic breathlessness, a symptom often overlooked by healthcare systems, is associated with longer lengths of hospital stay on already overstretched healthcare resources. A new study, published in the Australian Health Review, highlights an urgent need for clinicians and policymakers to recognise chronic breathlessness as a major driver of hospital admissions and healthcare costs and consider making it the ‘sixth vital sign’ in emergency and inpatient settings.

Viruses and bacteria get a bad rap around the world but now Flinders University experts are identifying the positive ‘upside’ of powerful benefits that microbes have on human health.    

Flinders microbial ecologist Dr Jake Robinson and colleagues have presented a timely reminder of these ‘invisible friends’ in a new article published in Microbial Biotechnology, underlining the benefits of moving away from a threat-centred view of microbes and biogenic compounds.