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New cutting-edge software developed in Melbourne can help uncover how the most common heart tumor in children forms and changes. And the technology has the potential to further our understanding of other childhood diseases, according to a new study.

The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Genome Biology, found the software, VR-Omics, can identify previously undetected cell activities of cardiac rhabdomyoma, a type of benign heart tumor.

Developed by MCRI’s Professor Mirana Ramialison, VR-Omics is the first tool capable of analysing and visualising data in both 2D and 3D virtual reality environments. The innovative technology aims to analyse the spatial genetic makeup of human tissue to better understand a specific disease.

Cardiac rhabdomyoma, usually detected during pregnancy or infancy, doesn’t cause health problems in most cases. But in some babies and children the tumors can grow and block blood flow to vital organs, causing respiratory distress, irregular heartbeat, obstructions and heart failure.

When the tumors cause severe health complications, treatment options are limited and include surgically removing part of the heart, which may lead to further complications and death. Unfortunately, it’s not well understood why these tumors form.”

Professor Mirana Ramialison, MCRI

To challenge her new software, Professor Ramialison and her team, including Denis Bienroth and Natalie Charitakis, analysed heart tissue from three children in Melbourne with cardiac rhabdomyoma. In a breakthrough, the research uncovered specific underlying features of the tumor that hadn’t been identified previously.

Professor Ramialison said the VR-Omics tool would help researchers to gain a better insight into the disease.

“VR-Omics generates 3D visualisations of the cells within human tissue based on large collections of patient data,” she said. This could allow for greater analysis of human tissue compared to other methods.”

Professor Ramialison also benchmarked the software against existing state-of-the-art methods, finding it performed better in all analysis steps.

“VR-Omics has a unique capacity to analyze large datasets, which allows it to explore new biological mechanisms in rare tissue sections, like those from cardiac rhabdomyoma,” she said. The technology will enable more biological discoveries that could help better understand many childhood conditions.”

Researchers from the Melbourne Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics and Regenerative Medicine (CardioRegen), the University of Konstanz in Germany, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), University of Melbourne and Monash University also contributed to the findings.

Young people with friends who vape are 15 times more likely to use e-cigarettes, and more adolescents are turning to illicit cannabis products, University of Queensland research has found.

In two separate UQ-led studies, researchers have uncovered vaping trends, including a significant increase in the number of young people who don’t know what they’re inhaling.

In one study, PhD candidate Jack Chung from UQ’s National Centre For Youth Substance Use Research examined the types of cannabis compounds that youth aged 11-18 years old were vaping between 2021 and 2023.

We analyzed how many teens were vaping 2 types of cannabis compounds, the first of which is commonly used for its psychoactive ‘high’ effects, and the 2^nd is usually used for medicinal purposes.

We also studied the use of lab-made synthetic cannabinoids which can be more potent and deadly.

We saw an increase in all products between 2021 and 2023, but it was concerning to see a rise in synthetic cannabinoids, where vaping doubled in young people aged between 11-15 years.

Synthetic cannabinoids are particularly dangerous as they can lead to unpredictable health consequences and even death.

It was also worrying to see more adolescents were unsure about the substances they were vaping – 1.8 per cent of teens in 2021 weren’t sure if they had vaped synthetic cannabinoids, increasing to 4.7 per cent in 2023.”

Jack Chung, PhD candidate from UQ’s National Centre For Youth Substance Use Research

Mr. Chung’s study analyzed data from 70,773 middle and high school students in the United States, which was captured in the country’s National Youth Tobacco Surveys.

In a separate UQ-led vaping study, PhD candidate Giang Vu found peer influences were a major factor in vaping trends, while disapproval of e-cigarettes from people important to teens – such as parents – reduced the likelihood of a teen vaping by about 70 per cent.

“We analyzed data from 20,800 American youth between 2015 and 2021 and found while the proportion with friends who smoked declined, having friends who vaped remained concerningly common,” Ms Vu said.

“In 2015, 31.6 per cent of young people had friends who vaped, and while this decreased to 22.3 per cent by 2021, this figure is still high.

“The outbreak of lung disease associated with vaping, and COVID-19 related disruptions to social networks and access most likely contributed to this decline.”

Associate Professor Gary Chung Kai Chan, who collaborated on both studies, said social media played a big part in vaping rates among young people.

“In many videos, vaping is portrayed as trendy and a healthier lifestyle choice when compared to cigarette smoking, but this is dangerous messaging,” Dr Chan said.

“We need more regulation on social media, along with targeted policies and campaigns to decrease vaping rates.

“Further research is also needed to help us understand the evolving trends of cannabis vaping and the physical and mental health impacts on youth.”

The first paper has been published in American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

The second paper has been published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

Key findings:

Adolescent cannabis vaping trends:

• In 2023, it was estimated:
  

  • 7.4 per cent of US adolescents were vaping a cannabinoid known as THC (which is extracted from the cannabis plant and produces a psychoactive high)
  • 2.9 per cent were vaping cannabidiol known as CBD (also extracted from a cannabis plant and is more often used for medicinal purposes)
  • 1.8 per cent were vaping synthetic cannabinoids (a dangerous lab-made drug that mimics the effects of cannabis)

  
  

• Vaping of all 3 products increased between 2021 and 2023 in teenagers aged 11-18 years old.
• Vaping rates were higher among females than males.
• The number of 11-13-year-olds vaping THC and synthetic cannabinoids doubled between 2021 and 2023.
• Consistent increase in the number of teens who weren’t sure what product they had inhaled.

Trends in social norms towards cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use:

• Teens who had friends who vaped were 15 times more likely to use e-cigarettes themselves.
• Between 2015 and 2021, the probability of having friends who smoked cigarettes decreased from 26.1 per cent to 7.9 per cent.
• Meanwhile, the probability of having friends who vaped decreased from 31.6 per cent to 22.3 per cent.
• Between 2015 and 2020, perceived public disapproval increased for both cigarettes (73.3 per cent to 84.2 per cent) and vaping (55.4 per cent to 77.5 per cent).
• Disapproval of e-cigarettes from people important to teens reduced the likelihood of a teen vaping by about 70 per cent.