Health

The largest project of its kind in Australia that will answer the biggest questions facing a generation today has set a new global benchmark for child health research, new findings reveal. The research, led from Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), demonstrates for the first time that large, inclusive, and multilingual research participation involving children and families is attainable on a grand scale.

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the U.S., with more than 100,000 cases diagnosed each year. But some people develop a highly aggressive form of colon cancer that is extremely rare, making up 0.02% to 0.1% of all colon cancers. Known as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the colon, it originates in squamous cells, a type of epithelial cell. Epithelial cells line internal and external body tissues, but squamous cells are not normally found in the colon or rectum. Symptoms of colorectal SCC resemble those of other colon cancers but do not appear until later stages of the disease, making it harder to treat.

A Boston University-led research team has discovered a dopamine signal in the brain that helps determine whether you are moving toward or away from a goal, potentially shedding new light on how the brain uses visual information to guide behavior. The study recently published in Nature examined behavior in mice.

Public awareness of the link between drinking alcohol and elevated cancer risk remains unchanged since February 2025, with over half of Americans saying that regularly consuming alcohol increases your chances of later developing cancer, according to a new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

A study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä shows that regular leisure-time physical activity started at a young age prevents a decrease in work ability at the end of a career. The result is societally significant, as productivity losses due to reduced work ability cost billions of euros annually.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have created the first detailed map showing how genetic activity is controlled in individual cells of the adult human brain and spinal cord. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, shows that oligodendroglia, the cells that form the brain's insulating myelin, retain an "epigenetic memory" of developmental programs long after these genes are no longer active.

Biomedical engineers from Brown University have developed a new wound dressing material that releases antibiotic drugs only when harmful bacteria are present in a wound. In the new study, published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers show that the material could help rapidly clear wound infections to accelerate healing while reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics—a major driver of antibiotic resistance and hard-to-treat "superbug" infections that claim tens of thousands of lives worldwide each year.

UCLA and Stanford Medicine researchers, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Utah and Columbia University, have engineered a new class of supercharged T cells that are stronger, longer-lasting, and more precise at killing prostate cancer cells by fine-tuning how they physically interact with tumor cells.

The human brain contains more connections between neurons than there are stars in the Milky Way. Decoding the electrical activity behind all those cells is the massive task that excites neural engineers like Felix Deku, who are working to build better tools for recording brain activity.

Experiencing a sense of loss and sadness after dozens of hours spent on a video game? Researchers from SWPS University and the Stefan Batory Academy of Applied Sciences examined the feeling of emptiness that accompanies completing an engaging computer game. They created the world's first scale for measuring post-game depression, and published their research results in the journal Current Psychology.

There is an urgent need for new and more effective treatments for depression. The results of a recent study show that psilocybin, an active compound found in certain mushrooms, can have a significant antidepressant effect. For the treatment to be successful and safe, it is important that it be integrated into a psychotherapeutic program that includes both pre- and post-treatment support.

Recent technological advances facilitate the reconstruction of complete brain connectomes in small organisms and partial connectomes in mammals, involving the mapping of the network of neurons and synaptic connections. Accurate cell typing of these connectomes aids in interpreting circuit functions and comparing brain organization across species.

'People with ADHD are great in a crisis'

Socioeconomic factors are widely recognized as potential modifiers of the relationship between air pollution and mortality, but the available evidence remains limited. In this context, a new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), in collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center–Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), analyzed how socioeconomic conditions and the transition to renewable energy in Europe influence vulnerability to air pollution.

According to a team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Tongji University and collaborating institutions, weaning or switching from milk to solid food in early life doesn't just change what babies eat, it helps reprogram the gut's immune defenses to mount faster and stronger responses that can last into adulthood.