Real-time data from smartphone thermometers can effectively track and predict influenza activity at national and regional levels. When a flu season is more severe than expected—like this year’s—the surge of patients can overwhelm clinics, emergency rooms, and hospitals. An accurate forecast of flu activity could provide advanced warning and help health care systems and public health departments be better prepared.

A multidisciplinary neuroscience study using rare, intraoperative brain recordings suggests that low frequency stimulation of a deep brain region may be able to improve cognitive function in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The study findings, published in the journal Brain, also hint at the broader potential of brain stimulation for treating other cognitive diseases.

University of Iowa researchers are working with a California-based startup company to make clean energy from sunlight and any source of water. The university recently renewed a one-year research agreement to further develop the technology with HyperSolar, a company that aims to commercialise low-cost renewable hydrogen. Hydrogen power is arguably one of the cleanest and greenest energy sources because when it produces energy, the final byproduct ...