Jan. 25 Media Roundup

It was another busy week for us on our social media channels. Catch up on pharma and tech news highlights below.

Be sure to stay ahead of this week’s news and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn!

mHealth and Tech

• Medal is tackling the problem of scattered medical records with software intended to fill in the blanks of a patient’s medical history.
• A team of neurosurgeons and engineers have created a sensor that can be implanted and used during brain surgery to monitor swelling, allowing for real-time changes.
• Wired on gene-editing CRISPR’s tools in action and details future capabilities and some of the current limitations.
• Lyft and National MedTrans Network are partnering to provide non-emergency rides to NYC seniors headed to medical appointments.
• Big Data is making an impact in treatments for both epidemics and common illnesses.
• mHealth is alive and well for kids growing up with smartphones and doctors are beginning to consider how it can help children better access healthcare.
• Does Joe Biden’s new initiative to cure cancer need a dose of Silicon Valley to make inroads?
• Apple Watch is talking about moving towards a holistic presence where data from the physical, physiological and digital worlds intersect in new ways.
• Google has filed a patent for a digital health tool that reminds individuals to take medication while eating.
• Can one Big Data tool rule them all? Microsoft thinks its new product, R Server, may have capabilities beyond other tools.
• A smart nano pill has been designed to help us learn more about our bodies and customize what we eat.

Pharma and Life Sciences

• A rare disease patient switched careers to study her genetic mutation after her mother was killed by the same condition.
• After reading a newly released book about genetics and athleticism, a muscular dystrophy patient recognized a genetic mutation shared with an Olympic athlete.
• Look out, antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Light-activated therapeutic nanoparticles may be effective at killing drug-resistant bacterial cells.
• A recent EMC report finds that healthcare consumers are demanding more personalized treatments and outlines five healthcare imperatives to improve the system.
• Italy’s state-run health system is testing a money-back guarantee for cancer patients in the case that a treatment fails to deliver.
• A Pfizer executive says the “wants and needs of patients” and science should guide everything we do in clinical trials.
• After hikers in the Alps discovered a 5,300 year old man frozen in the snow, scientists reconstructed the entire genome of bacteria species in his stomach.
• The American Cancer Society published research that shows cancer rates are plummeting after reaching a peak in 1991.
• In his State of the Union, President Obama announced that Joe Biden will lead a new effort to cure cancer.