Computer simulations created by researchers at the University of St Andrews could be used to create more effective treatments for tackling medical issues such as skin conditions.

Research carried out at the University of St Andrews used algorithms usually used in astronomy to test how certain treatments would work in medical trials.

The research team used the algorithms to assess whether drugs (in this case psoralens which are well-established to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis) would improve the condition for patients when the drugs were activated with ultraviolet light (UV).

The results concluded a medical trial would be sufficiently likely to be effective to justify trying the treatment on real patients.

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