Low-dose CT chest scans could help detect pneumonia in at-risk patients while exposing them to only small amounts of radiation, a new study has found. The research, published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, shows that ultra-low-dose scans can effectively detect pneumonia in patients with compromised immune systems, enabling doctors to treat the infection before it becomes life-threatening. According to the researchers, these scans expose patients to just 2% of the radiation dose used in a standard CT scan.

"This study paves the way for safer, AI-driven imaging that reduces radiation exposure while preserving diagnostic accuracy,” lead researcher Dr Maximiliano Klug, a radiologist with the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, said in a news release. He added that CT scans are the gold standard for detecting pneumonia but there are concerns regarding the risk posed by repeated exposure to radiation. There is a solution- ultra-low-dose CT scan. However, the problem is that these scans can be grainy and hard to read, researchers said.

Study Gives Solution To This

To overcome that, Klug's team developed an AI program that could help "de-noise" low-dose scans, making them sharper and easier to read. Between September 2020 and December 2022, 54 patients with compromised immune systems who had fevers underwent a pair of chest CT scans -- a normal dose scan and an ultra-low-dose scan. The AI program cleaned up the low-dose scan, and then both sets of images were given to a pair of radiologists for assessment. Radiologists had 100% accuracy in detecting pneumonia and other lung problems with the AI-cleaned low-dose scans, but 91% to 98% accuracy in examining the scans that hadn’t been improved through AI, results show.

"This pilot study identified infection with a fraction of the radiation dose," Klug said. "This approach could drive larger studies and ultimately reshape clinical guidelines, making denoised ultra-low dose CT the new standard for young immunocompromised patients.

How Can You Detect Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes the air sacs in the lungs to fill with fluid or pus and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. The symptoms can range from milk to severe, which includes:

Coughing with or without cough

Fever

Chills

Trouble breathing

Chest pain, especially when breathing deeply or coughing

Sweating or chills

Rapid heart rate

Loss of appetite

Bluish skin, lips, and nails

Confusion.

How to detect Pneumonia in coughing newborns and toddlers?

Pneumonia can severely affect newborns and young children as their lungs are comparatively more sensitive. As per Dr Goyal, young children can cough for various reasons including seasonal infections and tonsillitis, which is very common in this age group. But if they look visibly irritable and have poor sleep patterns, then parents must reach out to an expert. "I am not saying that parents must visit a hospital but any local paediatrician would be able to detect pneumonia in your kid.

Barbados recently joined the list of 26 countries and territories that have been certified by the World Health Organization for eliminating mother-to-child-transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, syphilis or hepatitis B. 15 of these countries are in the Americas, which makes the region a global leader to achieve this feat.

The major public health milestone comes after years of sustained efforts to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said, “I congratulate Barbados on protecting a generation of children from HIV,” said “Barbados has shown what universal health coverage looks like in practice: free services for every pregnant woman, regardless of nationality, and care that respects her rights and privacy. With 15 countries and territories in the Americas now recognized, the region continues to show the world the way.”

How Did Barbados Prevent Mother-To-Child HIV Transmission?

Also read: Exclusive With Leading HIV Expert: What's Driving Rising HIV Cases Among India's Youth And How To Prevent It

The Caribbean country's achievement was backed by widespread coverage of antenatal care, HIV testing and antiretroviral treatment.

“Barbados has shown that eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV is possible when women and children have access to quality health services without barriers,” said Dr Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO Regional Director for the Americas.

“This achievement means that children are born free of HIV and that women living with HIV can access the care and treatment they need. It is a proud moment for Barbados, the Caribbean, and the global effort to end AIDS in children.”

During the three-year period, 98% of pregnant women received antenatal care, 98% were tested for HIV, and 98% of pregnant women living with HIV received antiretroviral treatment.

An essential step in Barbados' HIV elimination strategy is making HIV testing and treatment accessible to all pregnant women. Free HIV testing and treatment are available to all pregnant women regardless of race and nationality. These services are available through public clinics and hospitals.

“This is incredible for us, and it allows us to be able to see our children living their full, best lives. It allows mothers to be able to have the benefit of treatment during pregnancy, before treatment, but also, it means that we're able to ensure that we have a healthier population, and we're able to join the other countries around the globe that have also equally been able to achieve this historic milestone,” said Lisa Cummins, Minister of Health and Wellness of Barbados.

Additionally, pregnant women are offered voluntary and confidential HIV testing. Those who test positive are provided specialised care and treatment to reduce the risk of passing the virus to their babies.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is central to preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. These medicines suppress HIV in the body, reducing the amount of virus in the blood. When an HIV+ pregnant woman receives ART, the risk of transmission to her baby can be reduced significantly.

Barbados also provides early testing and follow-up care for babies at risk of contracting HIV from their mothers.

Also read: 1 In 60 Adults In Fiji May Now Have HIV As Meth Use, Unsafe Injecting And Treatment Gaps Fuel Surge

How Does HIV Pass From Mother To Child?

HIV can be transmitted from a woman living with HIV to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. This is known as vertical transmission or mother-to-child transmission.

Without preventive interventions, the risk of transmission can be significant. However, timely diagnosis, antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy and appropriate care around childbirth can substantially reduce this risk.

With effective treatment and appropriate medical support, women living with HIV can have children who are born without the infection.

The WHO certification recognises that Barbados has brought transmission down to a level at which it is no longer considered a public health problem. It does not mean that HIV has been eliminated from the country.

In a world first, scientists have administered AI-designed viruses to a human patient to treat a serious antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. The experimental treatment marks a milestone in the development of personalized therapies that use artificial intelligence (AI) to design viruses capable of targeting drug-resistant bacteria.

California-based AI startup Radical Numerics announced the development in a blog post, saying a patient with a serious bacterial infection received an experimental treatment containing viruses generated by its AI model, Omnii-1.

How AI Helped Design the Viruses

Also read: AI Creates 16 Viruses To Kill Drug-Resistant E. coli, Raises Biosafety Concerns

The treatment uses bacteriophages, or phages, which are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Phage therapy is being explored as an alternative when antibiotics fail, particularly in drug-resistant infections.

However, identifying phages that can effectively target the specific bacteria causing an individual patient's infection remains a major challenge.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat. A 2024 study published in The Lancet projected that bacterial antimicrobial resistance could directly cause 39.1 million deaths globally between 2025 and 2050.

Radical Numerics said it trained Omnii-1, its multimodal genome language model, to address the challenge of identifying and designing effective phages.

"We trained Omnii-1, our multimodal genome language model, to help bridge this gap. We demonstrate that it can generate viable phages, prioritize variants, and predict phage-host interactions," the company said.

"In the world's first clinical use of AI-generated phages, Omnii-1 designs were administered to a human patient under compassionate use," it added.

How Did the AI-Designed Phage Treatment Work?

Read More: Anthropic Says Claude Blocked Bird Flu, Chikungunya Research: How AI Could Enable Biological Misuse

According to the company, researchers tested the AI-designed viruses against bacteria obtained from the patient before administering the treatment. The resulting phage cocktail eliminated the patient's antibiotic-resistant bacterial sample in laboratory testing.

The treatment was administered under an authorized, physician-led compassionate-use pathway. Compassionate use allows patients with serious conditions to access investigational treatments outside clinical trials when satisfactory alternatives are unavailable, subject to regulatory authorization and appropriate oversight.

The report has not been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal. Company officials said the trial had been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, the New York Times reported.

The company has not disclosed the patient's diagnosis, clinical course or treatment outcome, citing privacy concerns. It is therefore unclear whether the treatment successfully cleared the infection.

Eric Nguyen, chief executive officer of Radical Numerics, said the company was prioritizing patient confidentiality and intended to publish its findings through peer-reviewed research.

"We intend to publish our scientific findings through peer-reviewed research, with any future disclosure of clinical details subject to appropriate consent," he added.

The company said making phage therapy accessible to more patients would require reliable workflows for designing effective phages against individual bacterial infections.

Previous Research Used AI to Design Bacteria-Killing Viruses

The development comes amid growing interest in using AI to accelerate medical research, including the design of new biological therapies.

In August 2026, researchers at Stanford University and the Arc Institute announced that they had used AI to design previously unseen bacteriophages capable of killing E. coli bacteria in laboratory experiments.

Of nearly 300 AI-designed phages synthesized and tested, 16 produced functional viruses. However, these experiments were conducted in bacteria and did not involve human patients.

The Radical Numerics development goes a step further by reporting the clinical administration of AI-designed phages to a human patient.

The share of US children aged 5–17 who had ever received an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis increased from 9.9% in 2019 to 13.8% in 2025, according to new CDC data.

Nearly 1 in 7 children and adolescents aged 5–17 in the US have received an ADHD diagnosis, according to a QuickStats report published in the CDC's latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) found that the percentage of children who had ever been diagnosed with ADHD increased by 3.9 percentage points over the seven years, representing a relative rise of approximately 39%.

More boys received the diagnoses than girls throughout the period, although the trends fluctuated from year to year.

ADHD Diagnoses Among US Children: Trends From 2019 to 2025

Also read: ADHD Linked To 71% Higher Risk Of Death; Suicide And Injuries Among Top Concerns

According to the CDC data, the percentage of US children and adolescents aged 5–17 who had ever received an ADHD diagnosis rose from 9.9% in 2019 to 11.6% in 2020. It dipped to 10.8% in 2021 before increasing to 11.5% in 2022.

The figure climbed to 13.4% in 2023, 13.6% in 2024 and 13.8% in 2025.

Among boys, the percentage increased from 13.2% in 2019 to 17.5% in 2025, reaching a high of 17.6% in 2024.

Among girls, it rose from 6.5% in 2019 to 9.9% in 2025, although it dipped from 9.9% in 2023 to 9.3% in 2024.

The estimates are based on household interviews with a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalised US population. The survey considered children to have an ADHD diagnosis if a parent or respondent answered yes to whether a doctor or health professional had ever told them the child had ADHD or attention-deficit disorder (ADD).

What Is ADHD?

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention, executive function, impulse control and activity levels. It typically begins in childhood, with symptoms appearing before age 12, and can persist into adulthood.

Read More: Attention Deficit May Be The Wrong Way To Understand ADHD, Says US Psychiatrist

What Are the Symptoms of ADHD?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), ADHD symptoms fall into two primary categories:

• Inattention: Difficulty sustaining focus, missing details, making careless mistakes, forgetfulness in daily routines and struggling to stay organised.
• Hyperactivity and impulsivity: Fidgeting, excessive talking, restlessness, interrupting others and acting without thinking. In adults, hyperactivity may also manifest as internal restlessness.

AAP Guidance on ADHD Evaluation and Treatment in Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 clinical practice guideline recommends that primary care clinicians initiate an ADHD evaluation for children and adolescents aged 4–18 who present with academic or behavioural problems and symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity.

The guideline recommends assessing children using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria, based on information from parents, teachers and other school personnel.

It also calls for screening for coexisting emotional, behavioural, developmental and physical conditions.

For preschool-aged children, parent training in behaviour management is recommended as a first-line approach.

For school-aged children and adolescents, the AAP recommends FDA-approved medication alongside behavioural and school-based interventions. It also emphasises managing ADHD as a chronic condition, with ongoing monitoring and follow-up.