Scientists have discovered a hidden sign of consciousness in comatose patients that shows they can hear and understand the world around them. The study found bursts of organized, fast frequencies within the patient's normal sleep patterns when they were exposed to stimuli such as their doctor talking. Researchers at Columbia University analyzed 226 recent comatose patients, observing a third displayed the unique bursts - a phenomenon scientists call'sleep spindles.' Brain circuits that are fundamental for consciousness are also key to how we sleep, the Columbia team explained. Moreover, scientists said comatose patients with this type of'hidden consciousness' showed signs they were already on the road to recovery from their brain injuries and many dealt with fewer disabilities later in life.

The UK's most powerful supercomputer, which its creators hope will make the process of preventing, diagnosing and treating disease better, faster and cheaper, is operational. Christened Cambridge-1, the supercomputer represents a $100m investment by US-based computing company Nvidia. The idea capitalises on artificial intelligence (AI) – which combines big data with computer science to facilitate problem-solving – in healthcare. "If you could imagine ganging up 10 refrigerators in a row and then having several rows of those refrigerators – that is the size and shape of this computer," said Kimberly Powell, vice-president of healthcare at Nvidia. The UK has already made strides with massive datasets such as the UK Biobank, which encompasses anonymised of medical and lifestyle records from half a million middle-aged Britons.

Scientists can only do so much to discover new chemical reactions on their own. Short of happy accidents, it can take years to find new drugs that might save lives. They might have a better way at the University of Glasgow, though: let robots do the hard work. A research team at the school has developed a "robot chemist" (below) that uses machine learning to accelerate discoveries of chemical reactions and molecules. The bot uses machine learning to predict the outcomes of chemical reactions based on what it gleans from direct experience with just a fraction of those interactions.

Human biology is full of surprises -- especially for drug makers. Viagra wasn't designed for erectile dysfunction. Both drugs were meant to treat cardiovascular issues (as sildenafil and minoxidil, respectively), until patients reported their sexual and follicular side effects. When his son was diagnosed with an ultra-rare disease, computer scientist Matt Might, Ph.D., kicked off a search for answers. His quest led to partnerships with researchers across the country, a White House appointment, a faculty position at Harvard, and a profile in the New Yorker.

Jessica Hall recently wrote in Extreme Tech, "Over the last few decades, medical research has shifted from treating transient illnesses to curing long-term disease.

She continues, "Multivariate analysis is by far the greatest strength of AI, because it allows the kind of contextual decision-making intelligence used in systems like the human mind, while also drawing from the eidetic memory of a hard disk. No parsing through the emotions is required, and there are no attentional omissions. AI doesn't need sleep, and doesn't get fatigued after focusing on one topic for too long. At the same time, AI has the benefit of massively parallel processing. The ability to handle huge volumes of data is of increasing value, and AI can drink from the firehose. With enough memory and processing power, a medical AI could hold a whole family tree's worth of medical records in context, scour databases for pertinent diagnostic information, and call up banks of medical and social resources – all at the same time."

Despite Italy's recent cuts in scientific research and the so-called brain drain that has cast a shadow over growth prospects for the peninsula, the country has seen some notable advances in cancer research and robotics in recent months. At Milan's renowned San Raffaele University and Research Hospital, a breakthrough in the search for blood cancer cures that may also fight other cancers is inspiring optimism among some doctors. Dr. Chiara Bonini, head of the experimental hematology unit at San Raffaele University and Research Hospital, and her team have contributed to the global buzz surrounding T-cell therapy, which involves engineering the patient's immune system to fight cancer. Bonini's team has found a way to track the T-cells that can last longest in the immune system, which they believe may lead to creating a drug that can last through a patient's lifetime and prevent cancer from returning. "I have to say, the results are really, really promising," Bonini told FoxNews.com.