Tianming Liu

When a person receives radiation for a tumor in the head or neck, the rays pass through healthy tissue as well. Sometimes the jawbone starts to die afterward — a severe complication called osteoradionecrosis. The question isn't whether it happens, but how much the radiation dose itself increases the risk.

Every human brain is covered with folds, much like a fingerprint: each with its own unique pattern. In dementia, this pattern changes, but for two similar diseases, Alzheimer's and dementia with Lewy bodies, the changes are nearly indistinguishable to the eye. Doctors need a reliable way to separate them, because the treatments differ.