Health Research:Artificial membranes with programmable surfaces ♦ Sleep loss impedes decision making in crisis ♦ Ebola virus in patient’s eye fluid

Researchers develop custom artificial membranes with programmable surfaces Researchers have developed artificial membranes with programmable features, enabling studies of cell communication and the molecular basis of disease. The new study demonstrates how researchers can examine the interactions of cell surfaces with other biological molecules, with far ranging applications in medicine, biochemistry and biophysics.

Sleep loss impedes decision making in crisis The difference between life and death in the operating room, on the battlefield or during a police shootout often comes down to the ability to adapt to the unexpected. Sleep deprivation may make it difficult to do so, according to a study that for the first time created a laboratory experiment that simulates how sleep loss affects critical aspects of decision making in high-stakes, real-world situations

Ebola virus in patient’s eye fluid 10 weeks after it was undetectable in blood Researchers are reporting a case study in which viable Ebola virus was present in the eye’s aqueous humor — the clear fluid in the front of the eye, between the lens and the cornea — 10 weeks after the virus was no longer detectable in the patient’s blood.

Ecologist warns of bamboo fueling spread of hantavirus The popularity of bamboo landscaping could increase the spread of hantavirus, researchers say, with the plant's prolific seed production creating a population boom among seed-eating deer mice that carry the disease.

The opioid epidemic and its impact on orthopaedic care The United States makes up less than five percent of the world's population but consumes 80 percent of the global opioid supply and approximately 99 percent of all hydrocodone -- the most commonly prescribed opioid in the world.