“Smart tattoos” could someday monitor health; 1 in 6 children have incomplete vaccine series; All minorities underrepresented in Alzheimer’s studies - Morning Medical Update

“Smart tattoos” could someday monitor health

A researcher in London pitched his idea for ‘smart tattoos’ that will swap regular ink for materials that will change color based on blood sugar levels or dehydration status. Another researcher in Colorado is developing a “solar freckle” – an ink dot tattoo that appears after too much UV exposure. So far, the technology has been tested on pig skin. Human clinical trials will take place over the next three years.

1 in 6 children have incomplete vaccine series

A study on pediatric vaccine records of children ages 19 to 35 months shows that 1 in 6 children have an incomplete vaccine series. These early vaccines are given in a series of seven. Four out of seven of these series had a completion of 90% or greater which is enough for herd immunity to kick in.

All minorities underrepresented in Alzheimer’s studies

A study done on Alzheimer’s research samples shows that while 84% to 87% of participants are non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic whites make up less than 60% of the United States population. The research also shows that 94% of studies drew from just 10 data bases. It’s believed that in the beginning of Alzheimer’s research, scientists were more focused on recruiting large numbers rather than making it diverse.