Health

Software Created To Help Find a Cure for a “Great Neglected Disease”

Published

11 years ago

January 29, 2015

For decades, scientists around the world have worked to develop a treatment for schistosomiasis, a debilitating water-born parasite that affects more than 200 million people worldwide.

To aid this research, Rahul Singh, professor of computer science at San Francisco State University, has developed software that solves the key challenge of quantitatively assessing the impact of a drug on the parasite. Singh and his team recently completed and made public the Quantal Dose Response Calculator (QDREC), software that analyzes images showing the effects of potential drugs on parasites and quantifies their effectiveness. A description of the software was published online in Bioinformatics (Oxford University Press) on Dec. 24, 2014.

QDREC is designed to streamline the screening stage of the drug-discovery process, during which possible drugs are first identified. Traditionally, after introducing a chemical compound to a parasite, a scientist is required to meticulously document and analyze changes.

The subjective and low-throughput nature of this process — requiring highly trained scientists to study, one by one, the effects of a potential drug — is one of the major barriers to breakthroughs, Singh said. “You are doomed to only a trickle of advancements,” he added.

“The thought came to my mind to try to use computational and algorithmic ideas to do something that humans can’t do yet, which is to automate the process of the parasites being exposed to the drug,” Singh said. “The biologist or chemist would capture images or videos of what happens to the parasite, then the computer would analyze the images automatically and, at the end of the process, the computer would come up with a single measurement that would quantify whether the compound is effective.”

For the past six years, Singh and his team of students have developed many of the algorithmic solutions that comprise QDREC. The software is now available for parasitologists, biologists and other drug developers around the world to use — free of charge — in the quest to find a cure for schistosomiasis.

Endemic in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, the parasite — which Singh describes as the cause of a “great neglected disease” — lives in fresh water and penetrates a person’s skin when they enter the water.

It can remain inside the body, reproducing, for decades. Symptoms, caused by the body’s reaction to the worms’ eggs, can include abdominal pain, liver enlargement and kidney damage. Children who are infected often develop learning difficulties.

Beyond causing physical pain and suffering, schistosomiasis creates an unfortunate domino effect, Singh explained. “Typically, poor people have to use water infected with this parasite, then they catch this debilitating disease, so it impacts them economically,” Singh said. “It’s a vicious circle of poverty, and it goes from bad to worse.”

While a drug, called praziquantel, does exist to treat the disease, Singh pointed out, using a single drug to treat millions of people across a large area over decades carries a high risk of the parasite building resistance. For that reason, the World Health Organization has designated the discovery of new therapies for schistosomiasis an urgent need.

Nonetheless, Singh said that the commercial drug discovery sector has typically neglected such diseases — even though they affect a large percentage of humankind — because most of the infected people are poor. “People who suffer from these diseases do not carry credit cards, so it would not fit the business models of pharmaceutical companies to try to pursue these diseases — they would not make enough money to recoup their research and development costs,” Singh said.

But Singh said that he is optimistic that QDREC will help make it possible to find an effective treatment for schistosomiasis. “This parasite has been studied since the 1800s, but until last month the kind of results obtainable with QDREC were not possible,” Singh said. “Now scientists can screen a large number of compounds, upload the data, press a button, and in a few moments they will have an answer as to which are efficacious — something that before could take months or years.”

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Rep. Kamlager-Dove Introduces Bill to Protect Women in Custody After Reports Detailing Miscarriages and Neglect

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2026

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) on May 7, reintroduced updated legislation aimed at strengthening protections and healthcare standards for pregnant and postpartum women held in federal custody, including in immigration detention facilities.

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

The legislation builds on a bipartisan version previously passed by the House during the 117th Congress. The updated bill includes new standards for healthcare access, mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity protections and increased federal oversight.

“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody.”

The bill would also limit the use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant women, improve data collection on maternal health in custody and require additional staff training and enforcement measures.

Supporters of the measure said the legislation is intended to address long-standing concerns about maternal healthcare and safety in detention settings, particularly for Black women and low-income women who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and health disparities.

“Pregnant women in custody should never be subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment that threatens their health, dignity, or the well-being of their babies,” said Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP and a longtime public policy and government affairs strategist, in a statement.

A 2021 report estimated there are about 58,000 admissions of pregnant women into U.S. jails and prisons each year. Kamlager’s statement also cited a recent investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law that identified allegations of severe mistreatment or medical neglect involving at least 54 pregnant women or families in county jails between 2017 and 2024.

Federal policy under the Department of Homeland Security restricts the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants except in extreme cases. However, the agency reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing women between January 2025 and February 2026, including 16 recorded miscarriages during that period.

The bill is cosponsored by several House Democrats and backed by organizations including the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice.

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How Is AI Affecting California? The State Wants You to Share Your Story

The program marks the first time the state has opened the platform to all Californians. State officials said the effort is designed to give residents a direct role in discussions about how AI should be regulated and used as the technology rapidly expands across industries.

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1 day ago

May 17, 2026

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced May 7 that California is expanding its Engaged California digital democracy initiative statewide, inviting residents to help shape future state policies on artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on jobs and the economy.

“We’ve got to be clear-eyed about this moment: AI is moving fast, bringing enormous opportunity, but also real risks,” Newsom said in a statement. “Californians deserve a seat at the table as we shape what’s to come.”

The initiative will roll out in two phases. Beginning immediately, Californians can sign up online to share how AI is affecting their work and communities and provide ideas for possible government action. Later this summer, a smaller group reflecting the state’s workforce demographics will participate in live discussions focused on developing policy recommendations.

State officials said the goal is to identify areas of agreement among Californians and provide policymakers with public feedback as the state develops future AI regulations and workforce strategies.

Engaged California is modeled after digital democracy programs used in Taiwan and is intended to encourage structured public discussion rather than social media-style debate. Officials described the effort as a form of “deliberative democracy” aimed at helping residents engage directly in state decision-making.

“The more Californians are engaged in the democratic process, the better able we’ll be to confront the challenges we face together,” said Nick Maduros, California Secretary of Government Operations, in a statement.

The statewide launch builds on two earlier pilot programs. One pilot gathered public input following the Los Angeles firestorms to help guide recovery efforts, while another collected ideas from state employees about improving government operations.

California has positioned itself as a national leader in AI policy and development. Since 2023, the Newsom administration has introduced initiatives focused on responsible AI use in government, cybersecurity protections, workforce training and regulations targeting risks such as deepfakes and AI-generated robocalls.

The state has also partnered with companies in Silicon Valley — including NVIDIA, Google, Adobe, IBM and Microsoft — to expand AI education and workforce training programs across California schools and universities.

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California Launches Free Diaper Program for Newborns Statewide

The initiative, called Golden State Start, will provide 400 free diapers to every newborn delivered at participating California hospitals beginning this summer. The state is partnering with Baby2Baby, a California-based nonprofit that distributes essential items to children in need nationwide.

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1 day ago

May 17, 2026

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California will launch a first-in-the-nation program providing free diapers to families with newborns, part of a broader effort to lower costs for parents and improve infant health outcomes.

The initiative, called Golden State Start, will provide 400 free diapers to every newborn delivered at participating California hospitals beginning this summer. The state is partnering with Baby2Baby, a California-based nonprofit that distributes essential items to children in need nationwide.

State officials said hospitals participating in the program will give families the diapers when they are discharged after birth, helping parents leave with an immediate supply of newborn essentials.

“Every baby born in California deserves a healthy start in life,” Newsom said in a statement. He said the program is part of California’s broader affordability efforts, which also include free school meals, universal preschool for four-year-olds and expanded after-school programs.

The announcement comes ahead of Mother’s Day and is tied to the administration’s broader CalRx initiative, which aims to reduce costs for essential products and medications. State officials said California is also exploring ways to lower diaper prices by challenging high costs from major brands.

The first year of the program will prioritize hospitals serving large numbers of Medi-Cal patients, with plans to expand to additional hospitals and birthing centers over time. Officials said the effort is intended to reduce financial pressure on low-income families and improve infant and maternal health by ensuring parents have access to clean diapers.

“California families deserve to feel supported during one of life’s more exciting, yet vulnerable transitions,” First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom said in a statement. She said the program would allow parents to focus on caring for their newborns instead of worrying about basic supplies.

According to Baby2Baby, one in two families in the United States struggles to afford diapers. The organization has distributed more than half a billion items to children over the past 15 years through partnerships with shelters, hospitals, foster care programs and schools.

State officials said Baby2Baby will oversee diaper purchasing, warehousing and distribution through its existing hospital and community partnerships across California.