Emerging research has shown that social media services are being used as tools to disclose a range of personal health information. To explore the role of social media in the discussion of mental health issues, and with particular reference to insomnia and sleep disorders, a corpus of 18,901 messages -or Tweets -posted to the microblogging social media service Twitter were analysed using a mixed methods approach. We present a content analysis which revealed that Tweets that contained the word "insomnia" contained significantly more negative health information than a random sample, strongly suggesting that individuals were making disclosures about their sleep disorder. A subsequent thematic analysis then revealed two themes: coping with insomnia, and describing the experience of insomnia. We discuss these themes as well as the implications of our research for those in the interaction design community interested in integrating online social media systems in health interventions.

CRISPR technology has opened up many diverse genome editing possibilities in human somatic cells, but has been limited in the therapeutic realm by both potential off-target effects and low genome modification efficiencies. Recent advancements to combat these limitations include delivering Cas9 nucleases directly to cells as highly purified ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) instead of the conventional plasmid DNA and RNA-based approaches. Here, we extend RNP-based delivery in cell culture to a less characterized CRISPR format which implements paired Cas9 nickases. The use of paired nickase Cas9 RNP system, combined with a GMP-compliant non-viral delivery technology, enables editing in human cells with high specificity and high efficiency, a development that opens up the technology for further exploration into a more therapeutic role.

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This paper introduces the idea of using modern technology to work as an assistive tool for adults with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and Higher-Functioning Autism (HFA) The study investigated the use of mobile phones by a neurotypical control group. Participants reported their pattern of phone use given specific social scenarios. Results showed that participants were more likely to use the text messaging facility on their phone to contact someone rather than call them. It also showed that their choice of communication mode did not differ given different social scenarios and neither did it when the information was given from the recipients' perspective. Further investigation is described where this information will be compared to a group of AS individuals.