Archive for big data
Beyond HIPAA: Maintaining patient privacy in a big data era
After a prolonged, painful era in which medical data were exchanged mainly by fax, most patients today have electronic health records. But the data within them aren’t as private as they might think, says Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH. As director of the Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP) at Boston Children’s Hospital, he’s seen patient data ... Read More
New health care data-sharing rule, coming in 2022, has its roots at Boston Children’s Hospital
Are you sick of health care systems not communicating with each other? Do you wish you could access more of your medical information — or your patients’ information — online? Do you ever wonder whether a health pattern you see is part of a larger trend? Two key developments have advanced the vision of seamless, ... Read More
Missed signals? A new way we vary from each other biologically
Genetics has made huge strides over the past 20 years, from the sequencing of the human genome to a growing understanding of factors that turn genes on and off, namely transcription factors and the DNA “enhancer” sequences they bind to. New research from Boston Children’s Hospital introduces another previously unknown layer of human genetics. It ... Read More
Rising global temperatures tied to rising antibiotic resistance
A new data analysis suggests that two rising public health threats — climate change and antibiotic resistance — are related. The study, spanning 2000 to 2016, doesn’t establish cause and effect. But its findings, in the journal Eurosurveillance, suggest that rising global temperatures could be helping to fuel increases in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Key takeaway Countries ... Read More
Mobile ‘location’ data could help guide COVID-19 social distancing measures
How well are quarantines and social distancing working to slow the COVID-19 pandemic? When is it safe for us to return to school or work? The answers could lie, in part, in the “location” data that companies like Google collect from us every day. Last week, a group of epidemiologists, public health experts, and data ... Read More
A nimbler way to track alcohol use: mining Twitter and Google searches
Large, survey-based studies are a slow, expensive way to collect rigorous public health data. New research, focusing on alcohol use, shows that mining Twitter and online searches could enable public health professionals to get immediate, localized insights, spot emerging trends, and even measure the effects of interventions. “Online user-generated data are fluid and nimble — ... Read More
CHIP-ing away at health and medicine for 25 years: A look back
In 1994, when CHIP was formed, the dotcom boom was just dawning. iPhones and social media (except for the earliest versions) were more than a decade away. Bill Clinton was president. Isaac Kohane, MD, PhD, had just completed a fellowship in endocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital under the mentorship of Joseph Majzoub, MD. He wanted ... Read More
After GWAS studies, how to narrow the search for genes?
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) look at large populations to find genes that contribute to common, multi-gene traits like height or obesity. These comprehensive investigations frequently turn up large numbers of tiny genetic variations that show up more often in people who are tall, obese, etc. But this association doesn’t mean the variant actually helps cause ... Read More
Small samples, big data: A systems-biology look at a newborn’s first week of life
The first week of a baby’s life is a time of rapid biological change. The newborn must adapt to living outside the womb, suddenly exposed to new bacteria and viruses. Yet scientists know surprisingly little about these early changes. Reporting in Nature Communications, an international research team provides the most detailed accounting to date of the ... Read More
Families and data scientists build insights on Phelan-McDermid syndrome
This is the third year that Jacob Works has made the trip down to Boston Children’s Hospital from Maine. With research assistant Haley Medeiros, he looks at pictures, answers questions, manipulates blocks and mimes actions like knocking on a door. His father, Travis, and another research assistant look on through a window. “At first, we ... Read More