Tag: health and medicine

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Digital twins, which are virtual replicas of real-world systems, are being explored for their potential to transform drug discovery. This innovative technology could improve the efficiency of research and accelerate the process of developing new treatments, offering a promising approach to the pharmaceutical industry. By simulating biological systems, digital twins have the potential to change how drugs are developed, making the process more effective and streamlined.

Read this article to learn more about how digital twins can help reduce the number of injuries and deaths caused by medical devices.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8v73dkne3o

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “intersperse” mean? “Using biological data from real people, Sanofi creates AI-based simulated patients – not actual clones of specific individuals – that can be interspersed across the control and placebo groups within the trial.” Make a sentence and give a synonym.
2. Define “next frontier“. “Powering the next generation of digital twins with accurate AI models of complex human biology is the next frontier.” Use this in a sentence.
3. What does “a fraction of something” mean? “Even a fraction of those deaths – and the associated lawsuits – could have been avoided with more thorough testing.” Create a sentence with this.

Discussion Questions:

1. What’s your opinion on digital twins?
2. How do you feel about the idea of using digital twins to replace animal testing in drug development?
3. What are the potential risks or limitations of using digital twins in drug development?
4. In your opinion, what impact will digital twins have on patient safety and drug effectiveness?
5. Do you think digital twins could eventually make clinical trials faster and more efficient, or do you believe traditional trials will always be needed in drug development?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Scientists have discovered that the human heart has a previously unknown ability to repair itself under certain conditions.

Read the article to know more about how this discovery could pave the way for new therapies for heart diseases, focusing on activating these natural regenerative processes.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241121141348.htm

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “standard-of-care” mean? “Standard-of-care for patients with advanced heart failure is a surgically implanted pump that helps propel blood, a so-called left ventricular assist device (LVAD).” Use it in a sentence.
2. What does “radioactivity” mean? “For every following year, there is a little less radioactivity in newly formed cells, which means that they can be ‘dated’.” Use it in a sentence.
3. What does “date” mean here, “For every following year, there is a little less radioactivity in newly formed cells, which means that they can be ‘dated‘.”? Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

1. Did you know our hearts might have the ability to repair themselves naturally? How do you think this discovery could change heart disease treatments?
2. What do you think triggers the heart to activate its self-repair mechanisms, and can we use that knowledge to help patients?
3. How important do you think it is to focus on natural regenerative processes compared to using medical interventions like surgeries?
4. If our hearts have hidden repair abilities, could similar discoveries be made about other organs? Which organ would you hope scientists study next?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

A recent clinical trial found that a popular weight-loss drug significantly reduces the risk of early death in patients with heart failure. This adds to the drug’s potential benefits beyond weight loss, such as improved cardiovascular outcomes​.

Read the article to know the other benefits of semaglutide.

https://www.ajmc.com/view/patients-with-heart-failure-may-benefit-from-weight-loss-drug

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “ejection fraction” mean? “Focusing on the 4286 patients with heart failure at enrollment, 53% had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), 31.4% had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and 15.5% had unspecified heart failure.” Use it in a sentence.
2. What does “baseline characteristics” mean? “While baseline characteristics were similar between patients with and without heart failure, those with heart failure had a higher incidence of clinical events.” Use it in a sentence.
3. What does “composite” mean here, “We showed, for the first time to our knowledge, that patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, overweight or obesity, and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (who had a greatest absolute risk) had significant reductions in MACE with semaglutide, and the treatment effect on the heart failure composite was observed to be similar to that seen in the population with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

1. Did you know that a weight-loss drug could reduce the risk of early death in heart failure patients? How do you think this could change treatment approaches?
2. What might be the benefits of using medications for dual purposes, like weight loss and cardiovascular health?
3. Why do you think weight management plays such an important role in heart health?
4. Do you think medications like this could become a standard part of heart failure treatment in the future? Why or why not?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

A new blood test allows for faster, more sensitive detection of lung cancer, significantly improving early diagnosis and treatment possibilities.

Read the article to know what is the new way of diagnosing lung cancer with a blood draw is 10 times faster and 14 times more sensitive than earlier methods.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241003123245.htm

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “chiral” mean? “Like many biological molecules, these surface proteins are chiral which causes them to interact with light in unique ways.” Use it in a sentence.
2. What does “spectral signature” mean? “As a next step, we want to look at most known solid tumor mutated proteins to understand how their spectral signatures are different.” Use it in a sentence.
3. What does “circular dichroism” mean? “The microfluidic chips, named CDEXO chips for Circular Dichroism detection of EXOsomes, may be able to distinguish among specific lung cancer mutations, helping doctors make treatment decisions to target the dominant mutations as they change.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the new blood test improve the sensitivity and speed of lung cancer detection compared to current methods?
2. What stage of lung cancer is this test most effective at identifying?
3. What are the potential implications of this test for improving early diagnosis and treatment outcomes?
4. Has the test been approved for clinical use, or is it still in the research phase?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

A study revealed that nearly half of toddlers’ daily calorie intake comes from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), raising concerns about long-term health impacts like obesity and poor nutritional habits.

Read the article to know more the most common UPFs consumed by the toddlers.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241003221629.htm

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “cohort study” mean? “The researchers analysed data from the Gemini twin cohort study, using the Nova classification to divide the food and drink consumed into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods (eggs, milk, vegetables, fish and fruit); processed culinary ingredients (salt, butter and oil); processed foods (tinned fish, peanut butter and cheese); and UPFs (cereals, yoghurts, industrially made sliced bread, biscuits, sausages, crisps).” Use it in a sentence.
2. What does “hyperpalatable” mean? “The research team said this may be partly attributable to the “hyperpalatable” nature of these UPFs, as they tend to be foods higher in fat, sugar and/or salt.” Use it in a sentence.
3. What does “redress” mean? “The researchers called for policies to redress the balance of children’s diets towards a lower proportion of UPFs, such as restricting the promotion of unhealthy foods marketed towards children, adding warning labels to products (e.g. those that are high in sugar), and subsidizing fresh and minimally processed food.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

1. What types of ultra-processed foods contribute most to toddlers’ diets?
2. How does the high consumption of ultra-processed foods affect toddlers’ long-term health?
3. What are some demographic factors that influence toddlers’ consumption of ultra-processed foods?
4. What strategies or recommendations does the study suggest to reduce ultra-processed food intake in young children?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Research has identified a potential new treatment for a particularly aggressive subtype of prostate cancer. This development could provide more targeted therapy options for patients with this challenging diagnosis, improving outcomes.

Read the article on a promising degrader that targets CDK12 and a related gene to destroy tumors.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241004121704.htm

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “genetic alteration” mean? “When researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center first identified a new subtype of aggressive prostate cancer, they knew they needed to understand how this genetic alteration was driving cancer and how to target it with treatment.” Use it in a sentence.
2. What does “cancer driver gene” mean? “The loss of this gene activates other known cancer driver genes, causing them to be overexpressed at a high level while also causing DNA to be replicated very rapidly.” Use it in a sentence.
3. What does “bona fide” mean? “Then, when we added loss of the p53 oncogene, the mice developed bona fide invasive prostate cancer,” said senior author Arul M. Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology and S.P. Hicks Professor of Pathology at Michigan Medicine.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

1. What specific subtype of prostate cancer does the new treatment target, and why is it considered aggressive?
2. How does the new treatment differ from existing therapies for prostate cancer?
3. What are the expected outcomes or survival benefits for patients using this treatment?
4. What were some notable side effects of the new treatment observed during clinical trials ?