【推荐1】Traditionally, many decisions about medical treatment were left up to doctors: They decided, and patients agreed. Today, health care professionals are embracing the idea of shared decision-making, where patients become informed partners in their choices. Health care professionals now focus on placing the patient at the center of care, informing them about their options, and engaging them in treatment decisions. For example, they engage patients by asking, “What’s important to you? And what are your priorities and goals as we talk about a treatment plan?”

“I think there’s a strong recognition in American medicine, of the importance of patient engagement not only in their care, but in deciding what types of care and types of procedures they’re going to get,” said Dr. Allen, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.

A 2017 study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes found that people with heart disease who went through-shared decision-making had better physical and mental health, better obedience to medication and lower rates of staying in hospital and emergency department use. Patients also reported better communication with their doctors. When people are more engaged in decision-making, they understand the pros and cons of various treatment options, and they’re more likely to stick to the treatment plan and to continue that communication.

But research on how to best approach different, cultural groups is lacking. Many doctors cite limited time as a barrier, although research shows that shared decision-making can be accomplished even within short clinic visits. Also, current models of payment for doctors’ visits do not always agree with the goals of shared decision-making. But underlying all that is that medical decisions can be “incredibly complicated”.

Making the practice work. on a wider scale is an evolving process. But in the long run, Allen said: “shared decision-making can ensure that with all the amazing new technologies and treatments that we will have in medicine, they really can be applied to more patients in a tailored, meaningful way that meets their own values, goals and preferences.”

【推荐2】Jack Andraka was 15 when he came up with an idea for a new way to test for pancreatic (胰腺) cancer. When Andraka was 14, a family friend died of the disease, and this affected him deeply. This kind of cancer is particularly serious because there is no test you can have done to find it in the early stages. By the time standard tests determine you have the disease, it is often too late. Realizing that this was the case, Andraka decided to try to develop a test that might catch problems at the earliest stages.

The road ahead looked difficult for Andraka. He was still a high school student, and he wanted to create something that no one else had done. But Andraka read endlessly about the disease, wrote a proposal for his idea, and sent it out to 200 cancer researchers. Only one professor, Dr.Anirban Maitra, responded positively. Dr.Maitra agreed to work with Andraka on his idea, giving him guidance and access to a laboratory.

The next big reward for Andraka’s perseverance was winning the grand prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. This great award is given to young innovators who have developed a world-changing idea. Developing the test is likely to take many years, but Andraka hopes the test will eventually improve people’s lives and maybe save them.

Jack Andraka is not alone as a young innovator. After all, there were 1,499 other contestants for the Intel award, and all of them had ground-breaking ideas. For Andraka, having a family that loves science and encourages creative thinking gave him an advantage. But the key for Andraka is that reading, research, and discovery are just plain fun, and the chance to improve the world around him in the process makes it even better.

【推荐1】People are always curious about researching the well-preserved masterpieces in Western history from the “Old Masters” such as Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Sandro Botticelli. One incredible finding is that they all loved using a kind of unusual paint in their paintings.

To be exact, the artists would mix eggs into their paints to create a thing called “egg tempera (蛋彩)”. This technique dates back to ancient Egypt and can be found on many of the paintings from the Old Masters such as Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus”.

Scientists study the elements of their paintings and find that there are added proteins (蛋白质) to the works of art. The reason for that had eluded us for a long time until a new study was published Tuesday, which might tell us why.

To reach their findings, the study’s authors drew on analysis of Old Master paintings such as Boticelli’s “The Lamentations of Christ” and Da Vinci’s “Madonna of the Carnation” along with chemical data from lab-made egg tempera. They found that the egg proteins essentially created a thin protective cover around the paint with the oil in the eggs. This helped prevent it from wrinkling, discoloration while stopping it from yellowing over time by slowing down reactions between the air and oil in the paints.

The findings provide fresh insights into the craft of some of the greatest artists who have ever lived. It just goes to show that while Da Vinci and his fellows might be gone now, there are still plenty of artists that we can learn from their processes and artwork. As an old saying goes, you have to crack a few eggs if you want to make an omelet (煎蛋卷) — and, apparently, so does a masterpiece work of art.