NationalInstitutesOfHealth
Latest
Fitbit chosen for long-term US health study
Fitbit has been tussling with Apple and Xiaomi when it comes to market share in the wearables field and quarter to quarter, each has held the top spot at one point or another over the past year. But it turns out Fitbit is the favorite wearable producer in the medical research world and because of that, its products were just chosen by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to play a role in its long-term All of Us research program.
Robotic exoskeletons improve mobility for kids with cerebral palsy
Kids with cerebral palsy (CP) can have limited movement (and therefore independence) throughout their lives. Some of them who experience the related set of neurological and movement disorders have what's called "crouch gait," which is characterized by excessive bending at the knee; up to 50 percent of people with cerebral palsy stop walking by adulthood. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been testing robotic leg exoskeletons that help kids with CP walk more easily. According to the researchers, six of the seven study participants showed improved knee extension and were able to walk with robotic assistance after just six trials.
NIH bans funding for genetic engineering of human embryos
Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China made headlines late last month upon announcing that they had successfully edited the genes of a human embryo. This revelation set off a firestorm of controversy as the scientific community took sides in the ethical debate of genetic manipulation. Now, the National Institute of Health has weighed in on the issue and is denying funding to research that involves meddling with the human germline.
