Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, but public awareness of the connection remains strikingly low in the U.S., with just 40% of American adults recognizing alcohol as a cancer risk, according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The findings, published today in JAMA Oncology, reveal that 39% of American adults are not aware of the connection between cancer and alcohol and an additional 20% are uncertain whether they have heard or read about the link. Additionally, of the 5,937 respondents, just over 30% believe that cancer prevention is not possible. Despite the well-established association between alcohol and cancer, alcohol consumption has continued to rise in the U.S. Our findings suggest that many individuals are unaware of the significant benefit in reducing or eliminating alcohol intake. Sanjay Shete, Ph.D., corresponding author, deputy division head of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Consuming alcohol has been linked to at least seven types of cancer, including colorectal, breast, liver, mouth, voice box, throat and esophageal. Each year, alcohol-related cancers claim the lives of more than 20,000 Americans, but nearly 70% of American adults admit to consuming alcoholic beverages. Surgeon General issued an advisory about how alcohol increases cancer risk that also called for a new health warning label on alcoholic beverages. Researchers found that awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer was lowest among Black respondents (30%), those with some college education or less (35.2%), and those who did not believe cancer prevention was possible (31.5%). "Given we now know there is an increased risk of cancer, even at low levels of alcohol consumption, it is imperative to improve public awareness," Shete said. "We hope these findings encourage clinicians to speak with their patients directly and that the immediate revision of drinking guidelines becomes a national priority." This study was based on data from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey and was measured through the question: "Have you ever heard or read that alcohol increases the risk of cancer?" Possible responses were: "yes," "no," or "don't know." Limitations may include the design of the survey, which did not allow researchers to establish a causal relationship between awareness and selected variables. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

A relatively new therapy used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in those with mild to moderate disease was found to be effective at preventing death in those with more advanced disease. Results were published on Wednesday, May 28, in The New England Journal of Medicine and could have "transformative implications" for patients, according to an editorial that accompanied the study written by Bradley Maron, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Hypertension Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. When the US Food and Drug approved the first-in-its-class drug, called sotatercept, last year, it was indicated only for those with mild pulmonary arterial hypertension to increase exercise capacity and prevent clinical worsening of the lung condition which is rare but progressive, often leading to premature death. The clinical trial, called Zenith, was led by researchers in France and conducted at several clinical sites in the U.S. and internationally. It involved 172 patients with advanced pulmonary arterial hypertension who were randomly assigned to get an injection of sotatercept along with their usual treatments or to get a placebo injection along with their usual treatments. "The authors observed a 76 percent lower risk of a primary endpoint event [death from any cause, lung transplantation, or hospitalization] with sotatercept than with a placebo – a staggering effect by any standard by uniquely relevant in pulmonary arterial hypertension, since previous trials have typically shown comparatively modest results with weaker end points," wrote Dr. Maron, who is also Director of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing. Death occurred in 15 percent of those on a placebo compared to 8 percent of those on sotatercept. Vascular malformations and bleeding events occurred in some patients taking sotatercept, but this did not lead them to stop taking the drug. "Results from the Zenith trial," he wrote, "offer a key measure of optimism to patients with advanced-stage pulmonary arterial hypertension with limited or no options." A., (2025) Sotatercept and the Clinical Transformation of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Expert insights from startup co-founders Jack and Adam. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Researchers have identified C5aR1 as a novel biomarker for metastasis risk and poor prognosis in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the most common type of metastatic skin cancer. Its elevated presence suggests that C5aR1 might serve as a useful prognostic marker for metastatic disease and, potentially, a target for future therapies in advanced cSCC. Exposure to solar UV radiation is the predominant risk factor for cSCC. Approximately 3% to 5% of primary cSCCs metastasize, and the prognosis for patients with metastatic cSCC is poor. Although most cases are curable by excision of the primary tumor, a subset of patients develop aggressive and metastatic disease with few treatment options. It is estimated that cSCC accounts for nearly 25% of annual skin cancer deaths. Lead investigator Veli-Matti Kähäri, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, and FICAN West Cancer Research Laboratory University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland, explains, "Currently, there are no established molecular markers in clinical practice for predicting the metastasis risk of primary cSCCs. Studies in multiple cancers have indicated that the complement system, which is a part of the human innate immune system and is a tumor-suppressing cytolytic mechanism, can also contribute to tumor progression and metastasis by inducing inflammation or causing immunosuppression. This prompted researchers conducting the current study to investigate the interaction between C5a (which acts as a signaling molecule in cancer) and its protein receptor C5aR1 (which is found on the surface of cells) in cSCC. First author Lauri Heiskanen, MD, Department of Dermatology, and FICAN West Cancer Research Laboratory University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland, elaborates, "We observed that fibroblasts in the tumor microenvironment induced C5aR1 expression in cSCC cells. Exposure to recombinant C5a further increased the invasiveness of cSCC cells. They also had not anticipated that C5aR1 expression would correlate with patient outcomes across a large clinical sample set. Co-investigators Pilvi Riihilä, MD, PhD, and Liisa Nissinen, PhD, Department of Dermatology, and FICAN West Cancer Research Laboratory University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland, conclude, "What is particularly interesting in the results of our study is how the tumor microenvironment — especially fibroblasts in this study — affects progression of cSCC through C5aR1. It emphasizes the idea that the interplay between tumor cells and stromal cells plays an important role in cancer progression. Our findings suggest that C5aR1 is a potential metastatic risk marker, a novel prognostic biomarker, and promising therapeutic target for cSCC." C5aR1 Promotes Invasion, Metastasis, and Poor Prognosis in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Expert insights from startup co-founders Jack and Adam. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

A new material developed at Cornell University could significantly improve the delivery and effectiveness of mRNA vaccines by replacing a commonly used ingredient that may trigger unwanted immune responses in some people. Thanks to their ability to train cells to produce virus-killing proteins, mRNA vaccines have gained popularity over the last five years for their success in reducing the severity of COVID-19 infection. One method for delivering the mRNA to cells is by packaging it inside fatty spheres, called lipid nanoparticles, that protect it from being degraded. However, a common component of lipid nanoparticles called poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) can provoke immune responses in some individuals, leading researchers to search for more biocompatible materials. Shaoyi Jiang, professor of biomedical engineering, is working to replace the PEG component of lipid nanoparticles with a more adaptable and stealthy option. The delivery vehicle for an mRNA vaccine needs to strike a Goldilocks balance – stable enough to protect the mRNA, yet labile enough to release it inside cells, and shielded enough to evade immune surveillance, but not so hidden that it hinders cellular uptake. PEG does the job but presents some unintended side effects in a small subset of individuals. The human body is mostly water, so if you insert something with exposed hydrophobic moieties, like PEG, into our blood stream, our immune surveillance system says, 'Hey, that's a foreign material,' and will generate an antibody to destroy it." This environment makes adverse responses to a vaccine more likely and thus makes it harder for the vaccine to do its job. Most people's immune systems are already primed to fight PEG. Prior research shows that a majority of people have anti-PEG antibodies "from people being exposed to PEG in so many commercial products like shampoo and toothpaste," said Jiang, adding that this widespread exposure may explain why the body is so quick to flag PEG as a threat. To solve this, Jiang has developed lipid nanoparticles that use a zwitterionic polymer, a crucial alternative to PEG, enhancing the performance and biocompatibility of the system. This specific naturally derived material, called poly(carboxybetaine) (PCB), has perfect balance of stealth and stability. Jiang is working with Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist Cancer Center, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and the National Cancer Institute to move this discovery toward clinical applications, specifically in the development of mRNA-based cancer vaccines. But for a cancer vaccine, the tumor environment suppresses the immune system, so you need a much higher dose to be effective," said Jiang. Poly(carboxybetaine) lipids enhance mRNA therapeutics efficacy and reduce their immunogenicity. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Expert insights from startup co-founders Jack and Adam. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Nanomedicines, especially those based on nanoparticles, are revolutionizing healthcare in terms of both diagnostics and therapeutics. Thanks to their unique properties plus careful engineering, nanomedicines can reach and accumulate in places within the body that conventional medicines cannot, making them promising for cancer detection and treatment. However, the same characteristics that make nanomedicines valuable also present challenges in ensuring their safety and quality. Current pharmaceutical guidelines, including those from the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH), have a significant blind spot: they evaluate only the total amount of elements present in a medication without distinguishing between their different forms, such as ions or differently sized particles. Against this backdrop, a research team led by Assistant Professor Yu-ki Tanaka from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Japan, has developed a new analytical method to address the existing regulatory gap. Their study, which was made available online in the journal Talanta on April 8, 2025, introduces a technique to separately quantify ions, nanoparticles, and aggregated particles in nanomedicines. Co-authored by Yasumitsu Ogra and Sana Hasegawa, also from Chiba University, the study showcases how this method can improve quality control for these advanced pharmaceutical products. "By incorporating a novel evaluation method that addresses a previously overlooked issue in current evaluation guidelines, we can ensure the safe use of metal-based nanomedicines such as Resovist® and Ferinject®" explains Dr. Tanaka. The researchers combined two existing technologies-asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). They used the AF4 method in a novel way, taking advantage of its initial 'focus step.' During this step, particles are held inside the AF4 channel by two opposing flows. Using a special permeable membrane, cross-flows filter out the tiniest dissolved particles (ions), enabling quantification based on the differences in ICP-MS signals between samples with and without ion removal−namely, with and without the focus step. This combination enabled the team to distinguish between free metal ions, small hydroxide colloids, and nanoparticles of various sizes, all containing the same metal element. At approximately 6.3 micrograms per milliliter, this negligible amount falls well below levels of concern. These results confirm both the safety and stability of Resovist® as a nanomedicine. The proposed technique is particularly relevant for emerging cancer treatments that use gold nanoparticles as drug delivery systems or metallic particles for photothermal therapy. These advanced treatments rely on the 'enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect,' by which nanoparticles leak from blood vessels around tumors and accumulate in cancerous tissue. Additionally, this novel analytical approach extends beyond pharmaceuticals. It can also assess the safety of metal nanoparticles in food additives, cosmetics, and environmental samples-helping to ensure public health across multiple sectors. The researchers showcased its versatility by successfully analyzing both negatively charged ions (silicon) and positively charged ions (iron), indicating its potential for a wide range of nanomaterials. Evaluation of elemental impurities and particle size distribution in nanomedicine using asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Expert insights from startup co-founders Jack and Adam. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

I really enjoy working at the intersection of science and engineering—turning lab-based science into real-world solutions. Adam and I met during the pandemic on Zoom, and we actually started the company before ever meeting in person. Adam: I did my PhD in cancer research over 15 years ago, then moved into stem cell research and tissue engineering. I got into hardware engineering because I couldn't believe how much of cell culture was still manual. That's where Unicorn came in—we're trying to automate those laborious processes and bring reproducibility to cell culture, which has been a challenge for decades. First, unicorn companies are startups valued over a billion dollars, so it's a cheeky goal. Second, we had 15 minutes to register a company name and found Unicorn Biotechnologies was available. He still calls it “Daddy's company” every time he sees a unicorn in a store. Jack: Automating cell culture isn't a new idea, but previous systems have three major drawbacks—they're huge, expensive, and not always reproducible. Some are the size of multiple Volkswagens and cost seven figures. They're also typically built from repurposed lab automation hardware, which leads to variability. Adam: Our software is designed with scientists in mind. Many companies bolt on software at the end, but for us, the software and hardware were co-designed. Users can input their standard operating procedures—like seeding, passaging, or differentiating cells—and customize fluid flow, rocking frequency, and other parameters. Setup is super intuitive, like using a capsule-based espresso machine. In the future, we want Emmet to incorporate feedback loops and real-time decision-making, removing the variability of human input altogether. Internally, users can change hardware and software settings quickly. For example, switching from six to twelve T-flasks can be done in minutes. Externally, the system fits on any standard lab bench. To scale, labs can simply add more Emmet units without having to reengineer their process, making tech transfer and scaling much simpler. Adam: We prioritize quality control and reproducibility. Instead of subjective decisions like “it looks 80% confluent,” we generate real data to guide actions. This standardizes processes and reduces the artisan-like variability that still exists in many labs. Most labs, even high-tech ones, still do cell culture manually. We validated Emmet with sensitive pluripotent stem cells, and if it can handle those, it can handle almost any mammalian cell line—from iPSCs to cancer cell lines to HEK cells for viral vector production. The next step is predictive analytics—giving Emmet a target outcome and letting it figure out the protocol. We're experimenting with LLMs like ChatGPT to design experiments automatically. Most of it was organic—people saw our talk or were drawn in by our stuffed unicorns—and we had deep, meaningful conversations with folks who really need what we're offering. Jack: Yes, we had great conversations with people in our ideal customer profile—scientists dealing with manual cell culture issues who want a better solution. They see real business value in Emmet—less FTE time, better consistency, and fewer delays due to human scheduling. We learned more and had more productive commercial interactions in two days at SLAS than we would from months of email outreach. Jack: We're scaling up deployments—already in the UK, with US and EU expansions coming soon. Beyond Emmet, we have other R&D products in the pipeline, including GMP-ready versions and smaller-scale systems for early discovery. Adam: We want Emmet systems to be as common as PCR machines—helping researchers across cancer, stem cells, vaccines, and beyond. It's about creating an outsized impact across all of science. Jack Reid holds a degree in Chemistry and has worked across academic and commercial R&D settings before co-founding Unicorn Biotechnologies. His experience spans multinational corporations and agile startups, with a passion for translating science into scalable technologies. His leadership focuses on product innovation, user-centric design, and startup ecosystem development. Dr. Adam Glen earned his PhD in cancer research and has worked across academia, big industry (GE Healthcare), and biotech startups. He has developed expertise in stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and hardware integration for life science applications. Adam co-founded Unicorn Biotechnologies with a mission to automate and simplify cell culture workflows, inspired by his firsthand experience with the inefficiencies of manual lab work. Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report: Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation: Insights from Unicorn Biotechnologies at SLAS 2025. "Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation: Insights from Unicorn Biotechnologies at SLAS 2025". "Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation: Insights from Unicorn Biotechnologies at SLAS 2025". Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation: Insights from Unicorn Biotechnologies at SLAS 2025. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Expert insights from startup co-founders Jack and Adam. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. To start a conversation, please log into your AZoProfile account first, or create a new account. 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Growing evidence suggested that the skin and gut may be more closely linked than once thought — especially in chronic inflammatory conditions like rosacea. While more clinical studies are needed, the review highlighted new pathways linking gastrointestinal dysbiosis to cutaneous inflammation. Rosacea arises from a complex interplay of multiple contributing factors. While the skin microbiome — particularly Demodex folliculorum and its associated Bacillus oleronius — has long been considered a contributing factor, recent attention has turned to the gut. “Emerging evidence suggests that while microorganisms may not be central causative factors…alterations in the skin microbiome across multiple rosacea subtypes may act as trigger factors or potentiate inflammation,” the review authors wrote. “Gastrointestinal dysbiosis, including conditions such as Helicobacter pylori infection and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO),” they noted, “has been hypothesized as a potential contributor to rosacea development.” In rosacea, this relationship is supported by associations with conditions like SIBO, H pylori infection, and inflammatory bowel diseases, as highlighted in the Manfredini review. In other words, only a subset of patients with rosacea seems to have gut dysbiosis, and in those patients, there appears to be a link.” Katta added that the most compelling mechanisms relate to inflammation. “Patients with SIBO may have higher levels of inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha. Activation of these pathways has multiple downstream effects, which may ultimately increase neurogenic inflammation in the skin.” The review by Manfredini and colleagues supported these theories, citing studies that show improvement in rosacea symptoms following SIBO eradication, although the benefit of H pylori treatment is less clear. Dietary factors may influence rosacea by promoting vasodilation, activating sensory receptors, or altering the gut microbiome. Yet data on specific triggers remain mixed, according to the authors. Katta also noted that alcohol and hot beverages “are common triggers, likely because they lead to vasodilation, which causes flushing.” She also highlighted spicy foods as a culprit. “Foods that contain capsaicin may result in vasodilation and thus flare rosacea, so avoiding spicy foods may be helpful.” Another category included foods that contain cinnamaldehyde — a compound found in cinnamon, tomatoes, and citrus — which may trigger flushing in sensitive individuals, according to Katta. “For most patients, a 6-week trial of eliminating the most commonly reported food triggers in rosacea is a good first step…I tell patients that it can take 6 weeks of avoiding these foods to see if it will be helpful, and I recommend a food diary.” Dairy products have been associated with reduced rosacea severity in some populations, potentially because of their anti-inflammatory effects. High-fiber diets may support gut microbial diversity and caffeine — despite its reputation — has been inversely associated with rosacea in large observational studies, cited in the Manfredini review. She referenced a study that found improved skin barrier function and reduced sensitivity with oral probiotic use alongside doxycycline therapy. Katta said that she has not used probiotics for rosacea in her practice. “Preliminary results appear intriguing, but there are still many questions about the optimal strain of probiotics as well as dose and duration,” she told Medscape Medical News. She added that the current evidence is “too preliminary to recommend specific strains or delivery routes, although some have shown benefit,” referencing studies on strains of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Escherichia coli Nissle included in the Manfredini review. Topical formulations are also being explored with promising results, and a product containing Vitreoscilla filiformis has shown reductions in facial erythema and Demodex density while improving transepidermal water loss, according to the review's authors. While the current research is promising, more rigorous studies are needed. “One of the research areas that I'd love to see more of,” Katta said, “is measuring rates of gut dysbiosis in patients with rosacea, with prospective studies examining gut microbiome composition before and after treatment, and how that correlates to rosacea severity.” For now, clinicians may consider an individualized approach, she said, and asking about gastrointestinal symptoms, evaluating for common dietary triggers, and discussing a food elimination trial can be helpful strategies. Although formal probiotic guidelines for rosacea are lacking, some patients may benefit from a monitored trial of supplementation — particularly if they also have gut-related complaints, she added. “There are many gaps in our understanding of the gut-skin axis,” Katta emphasized.

Interactive robots should not just be passive companions, but active partners–like therapy horses who respond to human emotion–say University of Bristol researchers. Equine-assisted interventions (EAIs) offer a powerful alternative to traditional talking therapies for patients with PTSD, trauma and autism, who struggle to express and regulate emotions through words alone. The study, presented at the CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems held in Yokohama, recommends that therapeutic robots should also exhibit a level of autonomy, rather than one-dimensional displays of friendship and compliance. Ellen Weir, Lead Author from Bristol's Faculty of Science and Engineering In EAIs, individuals communicate with horses through body language and emotional energy. If someone is tense or unregulated, the horse resists their cues. Ellen continued: "We found that therapeutic robots should not be passive companions but active co-workers, like EAI horses. "Just as horses respond only when a person is calm and emotionally regulated, therapeutic robots should resist engagement when users are stressed or unsettled. By requiring emotional regulation before responding, these robots could mirror the therapeutic effect of EAIs, rather than simply providing comfort." This approach has the potential to transform robotic therapy, helping users develop self-awareness and regulation skills, just as horses do in EAIs. Beyond therapy, this concept could influence human-robot interaction in other fields, such as training robots for social skills development, emotional coaching, or even stress management in workplaces. A key question is whether robots can truly replicate - or at least complement - the emotional depth of human-animal interactions. Future research must explore how robotic behaviour can foster trust, empathy, and fine tuning, ensuring these machines support emotional well-being in a meaningful way. Ellen added: "The next challenge is designing robots that can interpret human emotions and respond dynamically-just as horses do. This requires advances in emotional sensing, movement dynamics, and machine learning. "We must also consider the ethical implications of replacing sentient animals with machines. Discover how Unicorn Biotechnologies is revolutionizing lab workflows with cell culture automation. Expert insights from startup co-founders Jack and Adam. Rui Tostoes, Chief Technology Officer at ImmuneBridge, shares how his team is redefining preclinical development and large-scale manufacturing for allogeneic cell therapies. Advancing GPCR drug discovery with fragment screening using GCI technology Evotec's insights into GPCRs and waveRAPID technology reveal new opportunities in drug discovery, focusing on orphan receptors and innovative screening methods. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.