Advances in health, wellness and self-care make it clear how many of us strive to better ourselves and the world around us. Whether it’s finding ways to reduce the devastating impact of childhood hunger, creating tools to help health care workers better care for patients or simply looking for ways technology can improve our daily routines, breakthroughs and new innovations are made every day.
a.i. and nursing
Health care systems across the country are using technology to transform patient care, and Mercy is leading the way. It played a key role in the development of the first commercially available ambient A.I. solution for nurses with Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Ambient A.I. is designed to operate in the background, observing and adapting to provide assistance without direct commands. Dragon Copilot uses the technology to document observations from conversations between patients and caregivers with patient consent. The program is currently being used in the health care provider’s St. Louis-area hospitals.
According to Mercy, surveys show that 65% of nurses report high levels of stress and burnout, and they report that more than 25% of their shift is occupied with documentation and administrative tasks. The goal of implementing ambient A.I. is to offer nurses relief from these everyday burdens without requiring nurses to learn to use additional technology. Working with Dragon Copilot, Mercy metrics provided by Microsoft showed a 21% reduction in documentation latency, 65% improvement in perceived timeliness, 8 to 24 minutes saved per shift for high-use nurses, 29% reduction in incremental overtime and 4.5% increase in patient satisfaction.
addressing childhood malnutrition
An innovative therapeutic food co-developed by researchers at Washington University was named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025. Called microbiome-directed complementary food-2 (MDCF-2), it was designed to treat childhood malnutrition by repairing abnormally forming gut microbiomes. The team behind the therapeutic food is led by Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor, and his collaborator Tahmeed Ahmed, MBBS, Ph.D., at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh.
Clinical trials in Bangladesh have found that MDCF-2 boosts the activity of gut microbes that play important roles in growth and development. The benefits have been greater than those produced by therapeutic food that does not repair the microbiome. The research offers better insight into the role food and the gut plays in healthy growth, demonstrating how the microbiome works with and impacts various organ systems. Thanks to the support of the Gates Foundation and World Health Organization, more clinical trials for MDCF-2 are underway involving around 7,000 children across sites in South Asia and Africa.
epigenetics in skin care
Advancements in our understanding of the epigenome could revolutionize our daily routines. In skin care, epigenetics deals with how external factors lead to DNA damage, which in turn causes signs of aging and skin problems. Research has shown that most skin disorders are epigenetic, with inherited genetic predisposition playing a less prominent role. While avoiding all external factors is impossible, this insight has led researchers to work on developing products that help change gene expression patterns, essentially causing the skin to act younger. These insights also can help inform how we protect our skin from environmental factors, such as the sun and pollution.
Researchers working with Estée Lauder have been looking into the epigenetics of the skin for more than a decade. They have discovered microRNA molecules, mir-146a, that change in concentration with age and are linked with other anti-aging markers. MicroRNA influences how cells develop and die as well as other things, such as controlling our circadian rhythm. Our skin’s natural repair methods also are tied to our circadian rhythm, with it acting more as a protective barrier during the day and restoring itself at night by producing proteins and lipids. In theory, finding a way to increase the concentration of mir-146a in aging skin could heighten its ability to repair itself, innovating how we approach skin care.
