Heena Sharma Blog

Older women, who are sporty or bisexual , are more likely to have a higher than average number of sexual partners in a lifetime compared to their female peers, says a new study. Such women also share some social, demographic and behavioural patterns with men, like income influencing same sex preference among older men, the findings indicated. So far, studies on sexual behaviour and associated health risks have tended to focus on teenagers and young people rather than older age groups, say the researchers from the University College London. To plug this knowledge gap, the team included a sample of 3,054 men and 3,867 women aged 50 and above to explore the factors associated with the numbers of sexual partners they had. Information on ethnicity, marital status, household income, sexual orientation, health and lifestyle -- the frequency and quantity of smoking, drinking and physical activity -- was also gathered. The findings, published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive He...

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can better predict the risk of death in patients with heart disease than human experts. In a study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers showed how the AI could revolutionise healthcare. "It won't be long before doctors are routinely using these sorts of tools in the clinic to make better diagnoses and prognoses, which can help them decide the best ways to care for their patients," said Andrew Steele, from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK. "Doctors already use computer-based tools to work out whether a patient is at risk of heart disease, and machine-learning will allow more accurate models to be developed for a wider range of conditions," said Steele. The model was designed using the electronic health data of over 80,000 patients, collected as part of routine care. Scientists, including those from the University College London in the UK, wanted to see if they ...