This simple little device is helping to deal with one of the most annoying symptoms（症状）of Parkinson’s disease—and its creators have just been awarded more than 1 million dollars.

Danish businesswoman Lise Pape was inspired to develop the Path Finder device after her own father developed Parkinson’s disease in 2014. The device, which is attached to a patient’s shoe and shines a laser (激光) onto the floor, helps to prevent “freezing of gait”: a common symptom of the disease which makes the patient feel as if they are unable to walk.

“People describe it as this feeling of being glued to the floor and being unable to step forward with their feet, despite having the intention to do so,” said Pape. “In fact, 70% of all falls in Parkinson’s disease are thought to be due to this symptom.”

Surprisingly, researchers have found that it is easy for patients to avoid this symptom if they have a visual pattern for them to follow as they walk. That’s why Pape designed the Path Finder laser pointer to display a bright green line in front of the wearer’s feet.

Not only do studies show that the laser device helps to reduce the frequency of freezing episodes (发作), they also say that the Path Finder reduces the length of the episodes as well.

Since Pape founded her Walk With Path company in 2017, the devices have been given to individuals and healthcare systems in Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the UK. Carlos Moedas, Chairman of Research and Science, said: “This device makes a real difference for senior citizens by helping them maintain an active social life as well as their independence.”

Winter’s first chill may bring an unwelcome guest: flu outbreaks, a new study says. Researchers looked at data on weather and flu cases in Gothenburg, Sweden, and found that flu outbreaks occurred about one week after the first appearance of cold weather and low humidity (湿度).

“According to our calculations, a cold week with an average temperature below 0°C suggests the start of the flu outbreaks,” said study researcher Nicklas Sundell. He’s an infectious diseases specialist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, which belongs to the University of Gothenburg.

“We believe that this sudden drop in temperature contributes to 5 ‘kick-start’ epidemic (流行病). Once the epidemic has started, it continues even if temperatures rise. Once people are sick, many more may become infected,” Sundell said in a university news release.

The findings support the theory that aerosol particles (雾气粒子) containing flu viruses and liquid spread more easily in cold and dry weather. In northern regions of the world, cold weather is likely a more important factor in flu outbreaks than people crowding indoors during the winter, according to Sundell. “But cold weather isn’t the only contributing factor. The virus has to be present among the population and there have to be enough people susceptible to the infection,” he said.

“If you can predict the start of the annual epidemics of the flu and other respiratory viruses, you can use this knowledge to promote campaigns for the flu vaccine and prepare emergency wards and hospital staff in advance for an increased number of patients seeking care,” Sundell said. He added that the recommendations to try to prevent the flu are the same as in previous years. Get a flu vaccine and remember to wash your hands.